Help!!!! Engine Steam on Catalina 30

[sailaway123]

I had an issue with my boat (1984 Catalina 30 Diesel engine) this weekend.
As I was motoring back to my slip at night she starting cheech and chonging.
I had the sea valve down and am not quite sure what would cause that to
happen. I let it rest for a few minutes, started her back up and the same
thing happened. Any feedback would be much appreciated!

 

[rbmcintire]

"...she starting cheech and chonging"

I'm not familiar with these technical terms, but by popular reference would you be saying your engine was smoking?

Rob

 

[Bob4203]

Helps to provide as much detail as you can, i,e., (engine brand, HP, etc) and more on the "Cheech and Chonging".

As memory serves me and I am a product of the 60's when Cheech and Chong made smoking grass more enjoyable, is your diesel expelling smoke?

Its all in the details here.

Bob

 

[boardfun]

Steaming diesel

I recently had steam in my exhaust. Turned out I had a blockage in my heat exchanger.
James
1983 Catalina 30 m25

 

[jrowan]

Also not sure what you mean by "Sea valve." Do you mean the thru hull valve for the sea cock for raw water cooling to the engine? If this was down, ie. closed, then your engine will quickly overheat, & that would be why your engine was smoking. It would really help to know the model of your engine. A 1984 engine may still be a 5411 which Catalina installed on early 80's C 30s. I also have one & they routinely emit steam from the transom. You will know if you have a 5411, because they are the only 2 cylinder model that Universal made. When examining the engine you will see only two fuel lines running from the injector pump to the injectors.

 

[jakez]

If it's a 5411 it's normal to emit quite a bit of steam - the higher your throttle, the more the volume of steam. At idle, it will spit water along with some steam.
It shouldn't smell much - I usually can't smell the diesel exhaust on mine unless the wind is behind me and pretty strong.
The handle on your water valve in your engine compartment should be parallel with the hose. If it's 90 degrees to the hose it's probably closed.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

If you are getting white steamy smoke out of your exhaust, that is usually an indication that you have water leaking into your cylinders. Usually this means you have a blown head gasket or a warped head. Your head would warp if you ever overheated your engine to that point.