When pulling up the anchor in Rodney Bay, the engine wouldn't start. Not so much of a problem as we usually sail off the anchor and mostly on again at day’s end, but a nuisance none the less. So off we sailed for Ste. Annes, Martinique; we had a great sail, by the way.
We anchored in the outer anchorage at Ste. Annes, Martinique and after dismantling, cleaning and reassembling the exhaust and cooling systems of the 4-236, it now runs fine, but we still no idea why we had water in the cylinders. We ran about an hour after reassembly, to the inner anchorage at Marin, so the engine had plenty of time to heat up. The exhaust is on the transom, well above the water line and we only ran in to get fuel and back to the anchorage in Rodney Bay the previous day (the engine barely had time to reach operating temp), so there’s virtually no chance the water came up through the exhaust. There is a siphon break on the s/w cooling line and the fresh cooling water stayed topped up. I pressure tested the heat exchanger and riser (a difficult design to pressure test but it seemed to be fine) and visually inspected everything else, but found nothing anywhere that would indicate water leaking where it was not supposed to be. Again this morning the engine turned over just fine. No bubbles in the header tank when the engine is running and the water remains green (clean), so I doubt a head gasket is at fault.
Does anyone have any idea of where this water may have come from; if not the exhaust manifold, head gasket or the riser? Don’t we all love boat gremlins?
We anchored in the outer anchorage at Ste. Annes, Martinique and after dismantling, cleaning and reassembling the exhaust and cooling systems of the 4-236, it now runs fine, but we still no idea why we had water in the cylinders. We ran about an hour after reassembly, to the inner anchorage at Marin, so the engine had plenty of time to heat up. The exhaust is on the transom, well above the water line and we only ran in to get fuel and back to the anchorage in Rodney Bay the previous day (the engine barely had time to reach operating temp), so there’s virtually no chance the water came up through the exhaust. There is a siphon break on the s/w cooling line and the fresh cooling water stayed topped up. I pressure tested the heat exchanger and riser (a difficult design to pressure test but it seemed to be fine) and visually inspected everything else, but found nothing anywhere that would indicate water leaking where it was not supposed to be. Again this morning the engine turned over just fine. No bubbles in the header tank when the engine is running and the water remains green (clean), so I doubt a head gasket is at fault.
Does anyone have any idea of where this water may have come from; if not the exhaust manifold, head gasket or the riser? Don’t we all love boat gremlins?
