Slow Poke?? Ouch!

[Steve Franklin]

Thanks for the ideas, Gene! I can sail over 5, using the same knotmeter that showed 2.7 under power (under-powered?). I get wake when sailing, but there was no wake under power. The bottom is fairly clean, but I don't have a tachometer yet, so don't know how fast the engine is turning. The engine does sound fine, though. Without a tachometer on the instrument panel, I am a bit confused about how to check RPM on a diesel. No distributor, spark plug wires, etc. Haven't done any research on that yet, but I'm sure there's a way. Sounds like either the prop is fouled, so I get to go swimming in some pretty "brisk" water, or that the engine might be turning to slow. Thanks for your response.

 

[Stan Rogacevicz]

Check the Prop

You should certainly check the prop anyways, but a clue that the thing is Really Fouled Badly would be black smoke which would leave soot on your hull. If you have soot on the outside then you also have soot on the inside of your diesel which is a bad thing, so it would be important to get it fixed asap.Stan"Christy Leigh"c320 #656

 

[Gene Foraker]

Slow engine

If you are sailing OK then it must be either the engine or prop. Unfortunatly, there is no eally good way to judge rpm's without a tachometer if you aren't familiar with the normal engine sound. Have someone dive down and check the prop. If the prop is OK (which it probably is) you need a mechanic. Since this boat seems to be up in age, it could any number of things. Some simple and some expensive.