Regular maintenance and repair is a very essential aspect for safe sailing on your yacht. All parts should be well maintained, oiled, and remain ready for use always. Maintenance work should be carried out on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual basis.
New York (USA), September 02, 2017
Regular maintenance and repair is a very essential aspect for safe sailing on your yacht. All parts should be well maintained, oiled, and remain ready for use always.
Maintenance work should be carried out on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual basis. Only certain maintenance work can be done once every two or three years.
Yacht engines can consume up to 200ml oil every hour when in use. Engine maintenance involves:
(a) Checking oil level with dipstick and pouring in necessary amount of oil.
(b) Checking water level in heat exchanger: Add distilled water, radiator conditioner, or antifreeze as the need may be.
(c) Checking water level in saltwater strainer and locating any debris that could be blocking the filter.
(d) Checking condition of heat exchanger cap and replacing it if damaged or broken.
Check battery charge level in-house and engine batteries. Charge battery with alternator or battery charger if need be. Lead acid battery discharged for long period may damage and shorten battery life.
Water should come out of exhaust every time you start yacht engine. If water does not go into exhaust, you should shut down engine immediately as otherwise the heat can melt water-locks, hoses, or similar parts within. Check exhaust color as white smoke indicates broken thermostat while black or blue smoke indicates engine trouble.
Check water levels in batteries and pour in distilled water as required. Start engine and check voltage level of alternator. Ideally, it should be 14.0 volts and 14.4 volts for flooded batteries.
You can clean battery tops with a soft damp rag and dispose off the rag. Remove and clean battery terminal posts. Measure specific gravity of all battery cells and record in the ship’s log. A six-volt battery has three cells, twelve-volt battery has six cells, and twenty-four volt battery has twelve cells. Check belt tension on alternator belt and keep area around alternator clean to prevent excess dirt from entering alternator coils.
Replace engine oil and filters. This is essential for every hundred hours of engine running time. If you do not run your yacht engine for more than thirty hours each month, this maintenance can be done annually. Check for presence of water in primary fuel filter. Drain it out with a small plug at bottom of filter.
Check gearbox oil level and top up if required.
(a) Do a preliminary test for ground current leaks by disconnecting all electrical circuits, positive battery cable, battery chargers, and solar panels, and thereafter testing voltage between disconnected cable clamp and battery post. Presence of any voltage indicates leakage. Conduct a resistance test for remaining circuit, measure and isolate current leakages.
(b) Check all major electrical cable runs, bonding circuits on board the boat, and iron surfaces for corrosion. Run complete grounding and corrosion test if necessary.
(c) Check brushes, shaft bearing, brush springs, all external fasteners, and blades. Rinse housing with freshwater and lubricate revolving points.
Change fuel filters, fuel pump gauze, and zinc anodes. Check thermostat and check entire engine. Replace or repair parts wherever necessary immediately.
Replace timing belt, cooling system, and stuffing box. Add injectors and injector timing. Adjust valve clearances.
Guide to Sailing and Ocean Cruising in a Medium Sized Yacht
The Complete Reference Guide to Sailing and Ocean Cruising in a Medium Sized Yacht