Engine Alignment

[garethreeves]

Hello,

I have had a survey done on a 320 and the biggest issue that came up was engine alignment. Apparently it came up in a survey done a year ago and the owner had it addressed then, but now it has come up again on this new survey.

The surveyor said that there was unusual resistance when turning the prop (although I couldn't not observe this) and commented on one of the engine mount adjustments being bottomed out.

She is on the hard now (we are in Chicago) and the yard suggests doing another engine alignment, perhaps a rigging tune up and then another check when she is in the water.

Does this sound about right to you guys? I have a few other questions about the 320, but will store them up for a bit ;-)

Thanks

Gareth

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Sounds right to me. Replace the engine mounts if necessary and do an initial alignment. As the alignment can change once it's in the water, make sure you adjust it after a week or so to allow the hull to flex back to normal shape after sitting on the hard. This isn't a show-stopper.

 

[Allan12210]

Even after I aligned my engine, the prop was hard to turn. What happened was that the strut was out of alignment and so the shaft although contained by the shaft log was binding on the cutless bearing. Looking very closely with a magnifying glass at the front and back of the bearing can tell if you see the rubber pinched on one side at the front and the opposite side on the back. Also, by separating the coupling (which has to be done to align anyway) and rotating the shaft also can tell if the strut is true to the shaft log. It really isn't that difficult. I had to do some shimming under the strut to get it into line. It sure made a difference in the feel of the boat....all the earlier vibrations disappeared.

 

[garethreeves]

Great - thanks for the reply guys. Thats pretty much what I was thinking. I compared turning the prop on the h320 to another and didn't feel any difference and the owner didn't experience any vibration before she was pulled out of the water.

I put down a deposit and am basically just waiting until we can put her in the water and do a sea trial. Unless anything major comes up I will become the proud new owner of a h320. I've been in a fractional program for a few years, but this will be my first experience as an owner.

One other debate that we are having with the owner, is painting the bottom before we put her in the water. The bottom looks in ok shape to me, but the survey came back that it needs a new coat of vc17. I gather that in the great lakes its recommended to do a coat of vc17 every year and that would be my inclination.

The current owner doesn't want to do it (doesn't think it needs it) but is ok if I do it before the sea trial. Its seems unlikely at this point that I wont purchase, so I was thinking about going ahead and doing it. Thoughts? Worst case I am out a couple of hundred bucks and a day of my time?

Total newbie question here. What do you do about the parts of the hull that you can't paint because of the stands?

Gareth

 

[robertsapp]

Some thoughts:

If I understand you, you're considering having the engine aliigned while on the hard, and then fine tuning it while it's in the water? With no other information to go on, I'd say just wait till you're afloat and do it once. I'd dial in the alignment by eye, which will give you enough to let you motor at low RPMs to get around the marina once back in the water, and then do an actual alignment after she had been floating for a few weeks.

I'm not completely sure what you mean when you say that one mount is bottomed out. If you have a Yanmar, and these are Yanmar mounts, and the upper metal bracket has settled onto the lower one, then it probably means the rubber has torn or released from the brackets, and you need to replace that mount. If you're saying that the mount height adjustment nut that the engine sits on is at its lowest point, well, that's a whole nuther problem that could indicate several different issues.

I will say that after several years of struggling with trying to get our engine properly aligned, I just bit the bullet and put in four new mounts. What a difference it made. Everything just lined right up afterwards. I learned in the process that one was torn, and they were installed incorrectly by the previous owner. He had put the two rear mounts on the starboard side of the engine, and the two front mounts on the port side. It's a wonder I was ever able to get it as close as I was.

There are some excellent videos on Youtube that show how to align an engine btw. No need to pay the yard to do this unless you're just totally tool phobic or absolutely can't spare the time.

Good luck.

 

[robertsapp]

Total newbie question here. What do you do about the parts of the hull that you can't paint because of the stands?

Gareth

Paint around them, then have the yard move the stands, and paint the spots where they used to be. I also have the yard "hang" our boat in the lift at the end of the day so that I can paint under the keel, and then launch the next morning. That way the paint gets at least 12 hours to dry. Some people will throw on a quick coat of paint on the pad spots and under the keel while the boat is in the slings being launched, but that means the paint is still wet when the boat splashes.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

One other debate that we are having with the owner, is painting the bottom before we put her in the water. The bottom looks in ok shape to me, but the survey came back that it needs a new coat of vc17. I gather that in the great lakes its recommended to do a coat of vc17 every year and that would be my inclination.

The current owner doesn't want to do it (doesn't think it needs it) but is ok if I do it before the sea trial. Its seems unlikely at this point that I wont purchase, so I was thinking about going ahead and doing it. Thoughts? Worst case I am out a couple of hundred bucks and a day of my time?

Total newbie question here. What do you do about the parts of the hull that you can't paint because of the stands?

Gareth

Painting the hull is a trivial issue when purchasing a boat so if the current owner refuses, bite the bullet and do it yourself as it isn't difficult. VC17 should be redone every year and appearance isn't an indication to the contrary.

Keep in mind there are ALWAYS issues when purchasing a boat. The only thing you don't want are surprises.

 

[garethreeves]

Sorry - I should have been more specific about bottom'ing out. This is direct from the survey:

Since unusual resistance was noted when we turned the propshaft and due to the fact that one of the engine mounts was at its lowest possible adjustment location, we recommend having a qualified technician check the engine alignment and repair or adjust as or if found necessary.

Thanks for the reference to youtube. I would prefer to do the work myself so that I know its done properly. Like I said, this will be my first so I would just be a bit cautious about messing with things like prop shaft alignment.

G

 

[garethreeves]

I figured that in a pinch it might be done in the sling right before going into the water, but not sure how the paint would handle that. Putting it in the lift during the day makes sense is possible. The boat is on a cradle now, so I am not sure if it would be possible to move the stands.

Thanks for all the great responses guys.

 

[garethreeves]

Great words of advice, thanks Don.

(I guess theses quick replies don't go inline...)

 

[seadaddler]

Just Painted

I just moved the stands back down after adding more stands next to where already painted and found out the yard would have done it,in lift night before so could paint bottom of the keel.
I was told to align engine when in the water because every thing will change do to flexing of the whole boat and sounds like you need new motor mounts.
Nick