Winter projects ‘98 310

[NamedItAfterYou]

Hello all, now that my inaugural season is done and Applause is on the hard, I’m planning the preseason work for 2027. Some of the items I’m seeing and would like some feedback on are:

A. Keel crack, it didn’t show on the survey and not in the place you’d expect, as we assume a crack on the keel comes from an impact and is at the top of the keel by the hull. This isn’t that. As seen in the picture, on the top of the angled edge of the shoal keel, there is a crack and some separation. What would you suggest?

B. Gauge goofiness. My fuel gauge has shown full all season, though it moves when under way. I was able to add 5 gallons during winterizing so I know it’s lying. Is this just a wire issue or is this a full replacement of the sensor? Next is the rpm gauge, it will read at 3500 when I push it as hard as I dare, but will then go down after a few minutes even if I don’t adjust the throttle. The engine speed sounds the same as well. The sensor is at the back of the engine so I suspect I need to inspect and clean it, anything else I should look for? Bonus question, what speed over ground should I expect at 3500 rpm and no headwind? If there is significant headwind, does the 310 struggle going upwind under power?

C. Cockpit lighting, only the rpm gauge lights up, not the compass, not the side panel with fuel gauge, not the floor light. Assuming I need a bunch of tiny bulbs, does anyone have a list of sizes?

That’s all for now.

 

[JBP-PA]

It's been a sad day in Port Wobegon. This is the first year I've left my boat at the marina, 2 1/2 hours away. I've always brought it home before. I have some canvas projects to do at home, but don't expect to get much done on the boat. My winter canvas is looking shabby in this photo, it didn't seem so bad in person.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

Maybe I can help as our boats are only a year apart and are quite similar.

A. Keel crack, it didn’t show on the survey and not in the place you’d expect, as we assume a crack on the keel comes from an impact and is at the top of the keel by the hull.

Not being there, that certainly doesn't seem like a crack in the lead keel. Lead in its elemental state is just too soft to crack. My guess is that if you get a chisel or anything else sharp and give it a couple of really good bashes, you'll find it's something other than lead, maybe bottom paint. Remove it and forget it after you smooth out the cavity.

B. Gauge goofiness.

Remove the sensor (whatever type it is) from the tank and see what's going on.

it will read at 3500 when I push it as hard as I dare, but will then go down after a few minutes even if I don’t adjust the throttle.

Something's wrong here ? Do you mean that you can advance the throttle back to 3500 RPM on the tach again and again ? Time to invest in a cheap optical tach and see what's going on under way. Sound like your throttle lever is slipping but that makes even less sense :

Otherwise you could spend a fortune in sensors, guages, etc. and many, many wasted hours. That $24.99 is CAN $.

C. Cockpit lighting, only the rpm gauge lights up, not the compass, not the side panel with fuel gauge, not the floor light. Assuming I need a bunch of tiny bulbs, does anyone have a list of sizes?

With that many failures all at once, you've got to start suspecting the wiring. A common (+) or ground to these lights with high resistance ? Several of those lights are LED and unlikely to have burned out in this time.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Actually, that's a good thing. Why? Because it should lead you to stop, completely stop, using a fuel gauge on a boat and learn your actual fuel consumption in gallons per hour (GPH). This assumes you have an engine hour meter. If you don't, they are cheap and easy to install.

Gauge goofiness. My fuel gauge has shown full all season, though it moves when under way. I was able to add 5 gallons during winterizing so I know it’s lyin

 

[dlochner]

A. Keel crack, it didn’t show on the survey and not in the place you’d expect, as we assume a crack on the keel comes from an impact and is at the top of the keel by the hull. This isn’t that. As seen in the picture, on the top of the angled edge of the shoal keel, there is a crack and some separation. What would you suggest?

You'll need to remove all the paint around the lead to see what's there. Keels are not finely finished castings. Before fairing and painting they are quite ugly. It could be fairing compound or it could be some debris that fell into the casting while the lead was still liquid. My keel had a pocket of casting sand trapped in it. Eventually a little water seeped in and caused it to bulge. Opening up the bulge there was a pocket of casting sand. Cleaned it up and filled it with thickened epoxy. It's been good for 10 years and counting.

B. Gauge goofiness. My fuel gauge has shown full all season, though it moves when under way. I was able to add 5 gallons during winterizing so I know it’s lying. Is this just a wire issue or is this a full replacement of the sensor? Next is the rpm gauge, it will read at 3500 when I push it as hard as I dare, but will then go down after a few minutes even if I don’t adjust the throttle. The engine speed sounds the same as well. The sensor is at the back of the engine so I suspect I need to inspect and clean it, anything else I should look for? Bonus question, what speed over ground should I expect at 3500 rpm and no headwind? If there is significant headwind, does the 310 struggle going upwind under power?

Fuel gauges only give a rough approximation of the fuel level. The least expensive gauges have a float at the end of a lever arm attached to a variable resistor. As the float rises and falls it affects the resistance changes and the gauge shows the resistance as the fuel level. The gauge itself is basically an Ohm meter. The float often becomes fuel logged and no longer floats or the joint in the lever becomes clogged. Easy to replace if you have access to the top of the tank and there are better tank sensors out there. And @Stu Jackson's advice to measure your fuel consumption is a worthy exercise and more reliable than most fuel gauges. It will take multiple fill ups to get a enough data to average out.

Is this a Yanmar diesel? Yanmars use a sensor to count the teeth on the ring gear which is transmitted to the tachometer as an alternating current. The tach head then reads the voltage fluctuations and shows the RPM. The sensor can fail. If you have the shop manual for the engine it will tell you how to test the sensor. Or, the wiring could be faulty, corroded connections or broken wires, or it can be some mysterious force which visits your boat. I have the same issue, the sensor was bad and I replaced it and now the tach works sometimes and sometimes it doesn't. One of these days I'll conduct an exorcism to see if that works.

Cockpit lighting, only the rpm gauge lights up, not the compass, not the side panel with fuel gauge, not the floor light. Assuming I need a bunch of tiny bulbs, does anyone have a list of sizes?

Remove the bulbs to see what size you need. Where appropriate replace with LED bulbs. MarineBeam.com offers high quality reasonably priced LED replacement bulbs for many incandescent bulbs. While the bulb is removed use a Multi-meter to check the voltage and to check continuity in the bulb. If there is no power to the fixture, then you have a wiring problem.

Welcome to the world of boat maintenance.

 

[Indysailor]

The keel crack isn't in a place where I'd suspect an impact or structural issue. Do a little surgery and I'm betting you'll find it's some imperfection in the fairing or gelcoat that just needs a basic repair.

For the cockpit lighting issues, it could be bulbs, but I'd track down the grounds first and make sure they are clean and secure. If possible, rig a jumper wire (e.g. with alligator clips) that you can use to run a light's ground to a known working location. It may be the bulbs, but this is always a good way to start, imo.