SPRING START UP PART 4 / THE EXTRAS YOU MADE NEED TO KNOW

                                                                 

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SPRING START UP XTRA INFO.

 Part 4

-Tips you need to know specific to your boat, manuals, and a service plans

Boat manufacturers have unique ways of installing systems. These systems can be far different or new in design from the standard systems boats have used for years. Some systems are independent and self contained. Systems which are not tied to the panels or the central on board battery charger. These accessories or systems are quite often installed after the boat is built and must be serviced independently.

An example of a boat builder doing things different is Formula Yachts: Formula separates the waste water leaving the boat into three distinct groups, these three groups of water are recognized  and named. An industry standard Black Water, Grey Water and Clear Water.

Black water: This is the water which is flushed down the toilet. Toilet water is held in the waste water holding tank and is removed by having a pump out. It is illegal to dump black waste water overboard in any in land water ways. You will need to check the laws in the country that you are boating in. If you see your boat or any one else pumping there head directly into the water (this is easy to spot you usually see paper products), inform the boat owner so they can have this system shut off. If it continues you can report this to environment protection. Over time the holding tank and the hoses that connect the head to the tank can start to emit odor. There are additives you can by that you add to the holding tank that reduce the bacterial build up and odor. The hoses to the head are available in different qualities and you may have to change the hoses to get rid of the odor that these hoses will emit. If you smell odor bad when the head is flushed. It is coming from the holding tank vent. You can purchase a vent filter to have installed in line if there is enough room to do so. However if the filter ever gets wet you will have to replace it. Of course time will take its toll on the filter also, so replacement is inevitable

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Grey water: This is any sink water that goes down the sink drains or shower drain. This water is allowed to be discharged over board. Most boats have a hose from the sink to a thru hull on the hull side. The shower sump uses a bilge pump system to pump the shower water over board, the sump has a screen to catch hair etc. The other water is any fresh or rain water: Of course this water drains to the lake or in some cases to the main bilge.

 Formula: Routes all of the grey water from sinks and shower to a central shower sump and then overboard. So if you own a Formula you will notice a lack of thru hulls on the sides of the boat. If the sump doesn't work on your Formula all that water ends up in your engine compartment to be pumped out by the bilge pump ( this is a very smelly nasty mess), when the engines run and get warm the odor is horrible. So if you own a formula service the shower sump regularly, a sign of a bad sump is the shower and sinks will drain very slowly and your bilge pump will cycle on and eject soapy water. The down side to this configuration is the hoses will fill up with stinky mold if they are not regularly flushed with water.

A tip for any shower sump on any boat is to place a small bromine puck in the sump preferably in the hair strainer this will stop odor and will keep the box from filling with mold (which they do all the time). On any boat if you shower on your boat you must at least every month remove the cover on the shower sump box and clean it out. As boaters we should be aware of the lake environment, if we remember that all the water going down the drains and overboard while washing our boats goes direct to the lake. Boaters should be using only environmentally friendly soaps and cleaners.

Sea Ray Boats for example: Are now using manifolds to feed the cold and hot water lines on the boat.  These manifolds are located close to the water pump, however there are smaller manifolds      forward in areas like the head. These manifolds have drain caps so that when the system is being winterizing, the manifolds can be drained. The manifolds are made out of light weight plastic, and  if not drained can hold some water and freeze. If they are installed backwards you cannot always get the drain cap off.  In the spring if you have a leak the manifolds are were to start looking . The problem is the manifold in the head is usually is the culprit but its not easy to find. This is why it is important to have a trained up to date technician provide your service. Manifolds are an example of new technology in a simple form that can trip up traditional methods of service, new boats, new ideas, new training.

Another system which can be fully independent is your bow thruster: This is the electric propulsion system that allows you to move the boat sideways. This system requires regular maintenance, the props are attached to a small gear case inside a tunnel. This gear case is filled with gear oil, the same as an outboard gear case. Behind the props there is a drain plug to change the gear oil, you will also see an anode to prevent corrosion. Both these items should be on your maintenance program or service schedule. Bow Thruster can be installed as a self contained system at the front of the boat complete with its own battery and charger. If this is the set up you have, you need to service the battery on a regular schedule. You should not have the thruster charger running every time you are at port. this charger should only be turned on if the thruster is in use regularly, or once a month to just maintain the battery, this only requires a couple of hours maintain a charge. If you have had to replace the thruster battery every couple of years.  The charger has probably been over charging the  battery. Never count on the charger to automatically prevent over charging. Do not use the area were the thruster system is located for storage. Heat is generated when you activate your thruster, the electric motor and batteries need to have air flow. One more important item, if you have a configuration were the battery and charger are installed under the forward bed be sure the charger is off when you are sleeping  or using this cabin area. A battery when it is being charged gives off gases that are dangerous to any open flame and dangerous to breath. If you smell a sulfur smell in your boat immediately shut down all chargers and inspect the batteries CAUTION a bad battery will be burning hot and can explode. quite often you can smell a bad battery on a boat when you are walking down the docks. If you smell this odor let someone know right away and unplug the boat from the dock to stop the charger from continuing to work.

The other system you will want to take a look at is your radar. CAUTION: Never go near or open any radar pots when the radar is on , this is very dangerous. If you have a radar pot on the top of your boat, then you have a service point inside, that is almost never addressed. There is a grease fitting on the rotation bearing, it is also a good idea to bring up a vacuum and vacuum the pot out. This not a big deal however it demonstrates the need to read thru your manuals and be familiar with any service responsibilities. Always keep your manuals in a dry location on the boat. do not take them home they are no good to you if you cannot access them in an emergency.

A note about the batteries you  may have on your boat. Be sure you have the correct batteries in the correct locations. You should have information in your manuals that will tell you the correct size of batteries you require. There are start batteries for the motors and generator, deep cycle batteries for your house circuit. In newer boats the batteries information is critical to be sure the computers and latest systems are not over or undersized. DO NOT just swap your wet batteries for gel cell batteries The problem with this is that you must have a charger that will work for a gel cell application other wise you damage the batteries and or charger. In some cases 6 volt batteries are used in series to create 12 volts . Be sure you understand the battery set up in the boat before you switch or change the batteries around. Mark all the leads to the battery before you disconnect them. New boats have changed the ground wire color to yellow from black. You should never have more than three or four wires on a terminal. Never continue to add wires direct to the battery even if they are done correctly add a bus bar. There should only be a charger lead, main lead, bilge pump and possibly the lead to the trim pump.

Manuals that come with the boat: The '"boat bible" should have all the information you need when setting up a service schedule for your boat. Any time you add an accessory or a piece of equipment place the information in your manuals file. If you are purchasing a boat one of the first things you should ask to see are the manuals. The manuals should be in a zipped bag placed on the boat by the manufacturer. You can tell a lot about the vessel and previous owner(s) by how these manuals have been stored and updated. Like an aircraft all service details and receipts should be kept together, in rare cases these manuals are placed in file holders each manual has the receipts for completed services filed with them. This shows that the previous owner(s) were educated about his/her boat. A sign of a well maintained and loved vessel.

Take the time with a service provider to design a maintenance program, the more detailed the service plan the less apt you are to have annoying breakdowns.

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