Preparing to launch

[Daddio]

Last fall we purchased a Hunter 29.5 with a 20hp yanmar inboard. It was winterized prior to shipping and arrived late in the season. So we have not had it in the water yet. This is the first boat with an inboard diesel so I am unsure on what I need to do to get her ready to launch. Can you start the motor prior to launch? If not, how do you know if it will start once you get her in the water? I can't imagine the hassle of having a dead motor and sitting in the launch.

Any advice is appreciated.

Dale

 

[Dan Hill]

Once the threat of a hard freeze is over I will fire our yanmar up for a test run while still in the stands. I use the same method for winterizing only with fresh water. Disconnect the suction side of the raw water strainer and install a longer hose routed into a full 5 gallon pail of water. Shut down when the pail ruins dry.

Remember! Even this method can flood your engine with water if cranked too long without firing up.

Good luck and enjoy the new ride!

 

[Tom L]

Dale,

I have a '94 29.5. I'm not an expert but here is my experience on this.

I think you could safely start the engine out of the water but I'm not sure if I would put it in gear for very long without water around the cutlass bearing to cool and lubricate it. Maybe the packing in the stuffing box needs to be wet also. I guess these won't be an issue if you don't put it in gear.

You will want cooling water running through the engine if you run it for any length of time. The trick for feeding cooling water into the engine is to remove the sea water intake from the seacock (Kingston valve?) at your through-hull. If you have enough slack in the hose you can stick the end in a bucket of water so the engine can suck in cooling water. You will need to keep adding water to the bucket because the engine will pump it dry pretty fast. I do this every fall when I winterize my engine. I have to dump antifreeze into the bucket about as fast as it will come out of the jug to keep up with the engine intake.

It is important to use a bucket and let the engine suck up the cooling water at its own rate. DO NOT connect a garden hose directly to the intake and put water pressure on the engine intake. This could cause water to flow back into the exhaust port from the mixing elbow and destroy your engine. I have been warned not to even crank the engine too long with the intake seacock open if the engine does not start because the engine can pump itself full of water without the exhaust forcing the cooling water out with the exhaust.

If you are not going to run the engine very long, you could probably get away without any seawater cooling. It could take a few minutes for the engine to start overheating. In fact, when I was buying my 29.5 and we took it on a sea trial, the impeller was completely gone so it had no raw seawater running through the engine. We ran for over half an hour with the over-temperature alarm sounding and did not destroy the engine (it was a cold day). I DO NOT RECOMMEND REPEATING what we did! The previous owner still owned the boat and it was his responsibility if anything was destroyed. But, he was lucky and he really wanted to get rid of the boat.

I hope somebody else joins in with some advice. I don't think I am much of an expert.

Good luck, I hope all goes well for you. I love my 29.5.

Tom

 

[JoeWhite]

It is interesting that no one mentioned that you never want to start the engine without seawater intake having water to suck in. The seawater or fresh water in a bucket - not only cools the engine - but it provides lubrication for the impeller. The raw water impeller will become destroyed in a matter of seconds if it runs without water to lubricate its rubber impeller.

 

[quadrille38]

I can't imagine a yard being in such a hurry that they wouldn't give you time to get the engine started and running smoothly while in the launch well. Our yard typically figures an hour per boat for launch. That gives time to connect batteries, start engine, make sure the seawater cooling is pumping properly. They don't even completely lower the slings until you are sure all the through hulls are not leaking.

And sometimes a boat won't start. The mechanics are there to help get it started if need be. And if worse comes to worse they have had to wrestle a boat into a slip so they can work on the engine later.

Be sure to check that all the hoses to the through hulls are connected before splash. Close all the valves before launch then go around and open them one at a time and check for leaks.

 

[Daddio]

The bucket method sounds like the way to go. Another hunter owner at our marina told me that this is the method he has used. It wouldn't be so much a concern, except we don't have a mechanic at our marina if something goes wrong. Plus I want to get everything right on our first launch.

Thank you for all the advice. It was very helpful.

 

[braol]

Bucket.

In a pinch, you could remove the water pump/impellor cover plate and lube the impellor with petroleum jelly or something similar...or just pull off the impellor. The engine will run for several minutes (10?) with no overheating issue. The real idea of this is to make sure the engine is running properly before launching so you can hammer out any issues in the yard rather than in the water...especially if you are launching to a mooring buoy and not a slip with easy access.

After making sure the engine runs properly I would run it with the bucket so that you can ensure that the raw water system is functioning. Pay attention to the exhaust mixing elbow which has a tendency to carbon foul. Also make sure the engine is actually drawing water. If not you might have a loose connection sucking in air from the intake side.

 

[Jake N Eggs]

Be careful running the engine with no cooling water. The cooling water also cools the exhaust which protects the rubber exhaust hoses and the water lift muffler.