I am launching my H27 this weekend. It has been some time since being in the water (never since I have owned it). I have not seen it float yet. The hull is in good condition. Had a bottom job this past summer but not put in the water. I gave it another coat of bottom paint. I have closed all through hulls as prep for launching. The engine cranks but has not run for some time. It was winterized before I purchased it. I plan on replacing the filters and fuel before attempting to start. Other than that I don't know of anything else to do. Any suggestions? And please say a prayer so she doesn't sink when launched.
- Status
Take your Time
Marcus, I'm sure things will go well. Hopefully you taking someone to help. It's always easier with extra hands. Make sure you check the thru hulls and the entire bilge area including prop shaft packing, while the boat is floating over the trailer or lift. If anything is leaking your retreat is much faster. Good Luck. Jeff S/V "Festivity" 1996 H26
Marcus, I'm sure things will go well. Hopefully you taking someone to help. It's always easier with extra hands. Make sure you check the thru hulls and the entire bilge area including prop shaft packing, while the boat is floating over the trailer or lift. If anything is leaking your retreat is much faster. Good Luck. Jeff S/V "Festivity" 1996 H26
fresh water lines
Check your fresh water lines for any cracks or leakage. If you have a hot water converter, check that as well for any cracks or leaks. Make sure all lines to and from head or porta pottie are in shape. Good sailing!
Check your fresh water lines for any cracks or leakage. If you have a hot water converter, check that as well for any cracks or leaks. Make sure all lines to and from head or porta pottie are in shape. Good sailing!
Did the same thing last Memorial Day
We bought our h27, Lady Lillie last spring, and launched her in Sandusky over Memorial Day. The checklists from you and others are good. Here are some thoughts from our experience. I wish we had had the engine serviced after launching. Having it checked by a good mechanic, doing maintenance as needed, and most importantly, being there with him to learn and ask questions means that your engine will be ready for its first work, and more importantly, you will be comfortable with it. Have him show you how to: change filters; bleed the fuel line (assuming this is a diesel
change the impellor; and check the engine before starting. By the way, you can run the engine on the hard by taking the intake hose off the valve, putting a funnel in it, and feeding it slowly from a hose. But our mechanic wants to see it start and perform under load, so he prefers to have it after launching. We didn't do this on our first launch, and ended up losing the engine as we pulled into Loraine after 4 hours of motoring. This lead to a useful anchor drill, learning how to use the radio in earnest, and a very positive experience with the professional towing service! The other recommendation I would make is to get help in tuning the rigging for the first time. We hired the owner of a cruising school and leasing operation in Sandusky, Carl Romig, to give us a one day lesson. He started with a complete briefing on the boat and safety systems, showed us how to tune the rigging, and then took us out for a day of instruction. Although my wife and I had extensive experience in dinghys and a Rhodes 19, we were rusty, and this day was a fantastic value. We were both relaxed and confident with our new boat, and had a number of new tricks and skills that make our cruising and day sailing a real pleasure. Good luck - you'll love your new boat!
We bought our h27, Lady Lillie last spring, and launched her in Sandusky over Memorial Day. The checklists from you and others are good. Here are some thoughts from our experience. I wish we had had the engine serviced after launching. Having it checked by a good mechanic, doing maintenance as needed, and most importantly, being there with him to learn and ask questions means that your engine will be ready for its first work, and more importantly, you will be comfortable with it. Have him show you how to: change filters; bleed the fuel line (assuming this is a diesel
change the impellor; and check the engine before starting. By the way, you can run the engine on the hard by taking the intake hose off the valve, putting a funnel in it, and feeding it slowly from a hose. But our mechanic wants to see it start and perform under load, so he prefers to have it after launching. We didn't do this on our first launch, and ended up losing the engine as we pulled into Loraine after 4 hours of motoring. This lead to a useful anchor drill, learning how to use the radio in earnest, and a very positive experience with the professional towing service! The other recommendation I would make is to get help in tuning the rigging for the first time. We hired the owner of a cruising school and leasing operation in Sandusky, Carl Romig, to give us a one day lesson. He started with a complete briefing on the boat and safety systems, showed us how to tune the rigging, and then took us out for a day of instruction. Although my wife and I had extensive experience in dinghys and a Rhodes 19, we were rusty, and this day was a fantastic value. We were both relaxed and confident with our new boat, and had a number of new tricks and skills that make our cruising and day sailing a real pleasure. Good luck - you'll love your new boat!Launch and recommissioning aren't necessarily same
If you know the hull is sound, all the seacocks are closed, she'll float. Now the recommissioning begins, and the question becomes, will anything on it work? As someone else has already mentioned, check ALL your hoses and connections--especially hose clamps on the seacocks before opening any of 'em. Check the wiring for signs of fraying, cracked insulation, etc (most boat fires are electrical in origin). Rebuild or replace the toilet, pressure test the holding tank with clean water (easy to do: fill it, then block the tank vent and pump the toilet till you feel some real resistance, and leave it that way overnight...just don't forget to unblock the vent before you pumpout or dump the water.--in fact, check ALL the vent lines for blockages...dirt daubers love to build nests in 'em. Replace the impeller in the macerator (if there is one)...after sitting for several years, it MIGHT work once, and that's all. (In fact, it's a good idea to replace all the impellers every spring...they're inexpensive and better to be safe than sorry). Recommission the fresh water system according to the directions in "Fresh Water Maintenance" article in the Head Mistress forum reference library (on the forum home page). Read the owners manuals for all your equipment before operating it...some things can sit without harm, others need lubrication to prevent damage from startup after sitting unused for extended periods--and if you're unsure about what to do, ask questions BEFORE doing anything...'cuz it's sooo much easier--and usually a lot cheaper--to do things right the first time than it is to do 'em over. That about covers most of the systems...I'll leave it to the sailors to advise you about the rigging.
If you know the hull is sound, all the seacocks are closed, she'll float. Now the recommissioning begins, and the question becomes, will anything on it work? As someone else has already mentioned, check ALL your hoses and connections--especially hose clamps on the seacocks before opening any of 'em. Check the wiring for signs of fraying, cracked insulation, etc (most boat fires are electrical in origin). Rebuild or replace the toilet, pressure test the holding tank with clean water (easy to do: fill it, then block the tank vent and pump the toilet till you feel some real resistance, and leave it that way overnight...just don't forget to unblock the vent before you pumpout or dump the water.--in fact, check ALL the vent lines for blockages...dirt daubers love to build nests in 'em. Replace the impeller in the macerator (if there is one)...after sitting for several years, it MIGHT work once, and that's all. (In fact, it's a good idea to replace all the impellers every spring...they're inexpensive and better to be safe than sorry). Recommission the fresh water system according to the directions in "Fresh Water Maintenance" article in the Head Mistress forum reference library (on the forum home page). Read the owners manuals for all your equipment before operating it...some things can sit without harm, others need lubrication to prevent damage from startup after sitting unused for extended periods--and if you're unsure about what to do, ask questions BEFORE doing anything...'cuz it's sooo much easier--and usually a lot cheaper--to do things right the first time than it is to do 'em over. That about covers most of the systems...I'll leave it to the sailors to advise you about the rigging.
Two Suggestions
Good luck, From my expereince here are 2 suggestions: 1) I've always found it better to try to get the the old iron genny running in the yard. It's not hard to get it going with cooling water from a hose or bucket. That way if you have a problem tool and parts are easier to get and you can always delay the launch. If you do it once its in the water, at least in NY you wind up paying extra for a on site service call from the mechanic. 2) After your in the water a few hours inspect all hoses and fittings. A friend almost lost a boat to a bad cooling hose that looked OK but after a an hour or so started to leak. I always check mine at launch, an hour or so later and again in a few hours, just to be sure. Have fun there's sitll ice on the water here.
Good luck, From my expereince here are 2 suggestions: 1) I've always found it better to try to get the the old iron genny running in the yard. It's not hard to get it going with cooling water from a hose or bucket. That way if you have a problem tool and parts are easier to get and you can always delay the launch. If you do it once its in the water, at least in NY you wind up paying extra for a on site service call from the mechanic. 2) After your in the water a few hours inspect all hoses and fittings. A friend almost lost a boat to a bad cooling hose that looked OK but after a an hour or so started to leak. I always check mine at launch, an hour or so later and again in a few hours, just to be sure. Have fun there's sitll ice on the water here.
She's in and floating!
I launched her on Friday. No leaks! And the engine fired right up! Ran for about an hour to hour and a hlf and quit. I think it is a minor fuel delivery problem. Have mechanic looking at it this week. Things lookd good so far. Thanks for all the support. Still have lots to do though. Marcus Hart
I launched her on Friday. No leaks! And the engine fired right up! Ran for about an hour to hour and a hlf and quit. I think it is a minor fuel delivery problem. Have mechanic looking at it this week. Things lookd good so far. Thanks for all the support. Still have lots to do though. Marcus Hart
Couple of thoughts.
Marcus: If you ran the engine under load for 1.0 -1.5 hours it could be plugged filters and contaminated fuel. If you ran it at the dock idleing it could be just air. They can idle for a looooonnnnggg time on a few teaspoons of fuel. So you may try bleeding the fuel system again and see what she does if you were just idleing. Otherwise you should take a look at the fuel and see if it is clean or not. The may involve replacing the fuel and cleaning the tank if it is really bad. Good luck. PS: Where is Lake Murray?
Marcus: If you ran the engine under load for 1.0 -1.5 hours it could be plugged filters and contaminated fuel. If you ran it at the dock idleing it could be just air. They can idle for a looooonnnnggg time on a few teaspoons of fuel. So you may try bleeding the fuel system again and see what she does if you were just idleing. Otherwise you should take a look at the fuel and see if it is clean or not. The may involve replacing the fuel and cleaning the tank if it is really bad. Good luck. PS: Where is Lake Murray?
To Steve Dion
Thanks for the tip. It was just at isle and the fuel and filters were all new. I think it is just air in the lines. I'm not a mechanic and I did the best I could considering I've never worked on a diesel before. I'm going to have a real mechanic bleed the lines properly. Lake Murray is in South Carolina. A beautiful lake to sail on. I've sailed on it quite a bit on other people's boat. Now I'm looking forward to sailing it on my own. Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. Marcus Hart
Thanks for the tip. It was just at isle and the fuel and filters were all new. I think it is just air in the lines. I'm not a mechanic and I did the best I could considering I've never worked on a diesel before. I'm going to have a real mechanic bleed the lines properly. Lake Murray is in South Carolina. A beautiful lake to sail on. I've sailed on it quite a bit on other people's boat. Now I'm looking forward to sailing it on my own. Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. Marcus Hart
Be sure you are there.
Marcus: Be sure that you are there when the mechanic is. You can get your engine serviced and get some training at the same time. You should also have him do a valve adjustment while he is bleeding the engine. I am not sure which engine you have but this is one of those things that does not need to be done very often and you may or may not have the ability to do it (I don't and won't). Also have him show you how to change the impeller on the water pump too. Need to check the belts for tension. He should be able to do all of this in a one hour visit. Good luck and happy sailing.
Marcus: Be sure that you are there when the mechanic is. You can get your engine serviced and get some training at the same time. You should also have him do a valve adjustment while he is bleeding the engine. I am not sure which engine you have but this is one of those things that does not need to be done very often and you may or may not have the ability to do it (I don't and won't). Also have him show you how to change the impeller on the water pump too. Need to check the belts for tension. He should be able to do all of this in a one hour visit. Good luck and happy sailing.
Most all of that is done
I did change the impeller when I changed out the fuel and filters. I have not adjusted the valves but it sounds like a good idea. He is also going to change the oil while he is at it. Unforunatly I can't be there when he does the wrok but we will get together this weekend for explainations. I plan to get to know this man very well. in addition to being the mechanic, he also dives this lake and says that the diving aint too bad. Got to learn where the good spots are. Marcus Hart
I did change the impeller when I changed out the fuel and filters. I have not adjusted the valves but it sounds like a good idea. He is also going to change the oil while he is at it. Unforunatly I can't be there when he does the wrok but we will get together this weekend for explainations. I plan to get to know this man very well. in addition to being the mechanic, he also dives this lake and says that the diving aint too bad. Got to learn where the good spots are. Marcus Hart
what year is your 27?
I am in the process of purchasing a '93 H27. Just curiuos about what year 27 you bought and what you think about it so far (if you went sailing yet, that is). Thanks, Dan
I am in the process of purchasing a '93 H27. Just curiuos about what year 27 you bought and what you think about it so far (if you went sailing yet, that is). Thanks, Dan
1978 H27
I purchased it in December and just put her in the water this weekend. Have not had a chance to sail her yet. I have sailed 33 of the same vintage. It was a great sailing boat. Don't know if they compare though. I can't wait to sail this 27. Good luck with yours. Let me know how she does. Marcus
I purchased it in December and just put her in the water this weekend. Have not had a chance to sail her yet. I have sailed 33 of the same vintage. It was a great sailing boat. Don't know if they compare though. I can't wait to sail this 27. Good luck with yours. Let me know how she does. Marcus
She's in the water!
Just to let everyone know that she was launched. The engine runs great. The mast went up this weekend and I saied her yesterday for the first time. Thanks to all for the suggestions and help. Peggy, I still have to re-comission the fresh water system but that is a job for an up coming weekend. Thanks again to everyone. Marcus
Just to let everyone know that she was launched. The engine runs great. The mast went up this weekend and I saied her yesterday for the first time. Thanks to all for the suggestions and help. Peggy, I still have to re-comission the fresh water system but that is a job for an up coming weekend. Thanks again to everyone. Marcus
- Status