A couple of hours this afternoon! Solent - Thursday 15 November 2007

Hightower · 15 November 2007, 09:09

Should be out around 12 - 14 hrs today.

Have some work to do fixing the seat bases and back on first.

If anyones around the Portsmouth end of the Solent this afternoon, would be great to meet up. Contact me on Channel 16 as Solent Viper.

Hightower · 15 November 2007, 18:32

Didn't see anyone this afternoon, saw the RNLI out training up Southampton water and took these photo's of Fawley Refinery testing their fire extinguishers.

The seat cushion and back that I fitted are comfortable enough, the seat back looks a little odd to me, but is very functional. I can stand and lean against the back, however this isn't that comfortable for high speed cruising as I'm too far away from the steering wheel and throttle and the arms are a little stretched (fine for those lazy meanders though those slow bits). But the sitting and standing positions where always going to be a compromise and would rather have a little more room sitting.

I tried the 19" prop today and I'm quite dissapointed to be honest. The cruising speed at 3500RPM was 27 knotts against 29 knotts with the 21" one. The top speed was down by at least 4 knotts with no real improvement in WOT. With the 21" I was getting 4500-4700 WOT and with the 19" I was getting 4750, still not the 5250 I was hoping to get.

From a standing start there was a little hesitation from the DI kinda like what you get when your cars damp. Once into the goove though the engine's very reponsive and likes to be worked hard.

Still had the "No Oil" warning come on after running for 23 miles, tried to get though this by restarting the engine after each warning, but after about 15 times I'd had enough. I'm also going to check that the throttle is fully opening as I'm sure I should be getting a little bit more out of the motor.

I also did some high speed corners and found that she didn't lose grip though any corner and that was normal tilt too. So I wonder if I can bring the engine up a little more. What about an 1"?

Neil Harvey · 15 November 2007, 20:52

Andy, I think you are right on the revs piece. I am getting 5800-5900 with a 21" and the book says max power is at 5800rpm. That for my 175 anyway, would not expect to see the 150 much different, so would think maybe your 5250 is even a bit low? Deffinitely seems odd to me.
Good luck getting it all sorted.

Neil

waverunner · 17 November 2007, 22:30

Still had the "No Oil" warning come on after running for 23 miles, tried to get though this by restarting the engine after each warning, but after about 15 times I'd had enough.

Andy,

I guess you have been back in touch with the dealer, what do they reccomend now, they must have some idea?

Hightower · 18 November 2007, 04:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by waverunner

I guess you have been back in touch with the dealer, what do they reccomend now, they must have some idea?

Got straight in contact with them on my return. The pump they replaced last time was the lift pump (£150) that sucks the oil from the tank, the pump they're replacing this time is the main pump to the injectors (£700). All on warrantee I'm pleased to say. I'm certain there's nothing wrong with the pumps though, I did find some water in a one way valve they left on the deck after the last time it went to the dealers. It might be this that's triggering the sensor. Both times this happened I'd covered over 20 miles, very odd.

Chris · 18 November 2007, 19:33

Andy if your tacho is showing you are only pulling 4750 RPM on a 19" prop I would say that one of the following is the case...

Your RPM counter is wrong (They have an adjustment on the back for different engine types) and in fact you are doing much higher RPM than the Tacho is telling you... this could explain the fact that you are only showing a difference of about 50 RPM between this prop and your old one. The difference should have been at least 200 RPM.

Your throttle is not set up right, easy to check just push the throttle all the way forward then check if the throttle lever on the engine can go any further.

Your engine is not right and is not generating enough power. This could be linked to the oil issue and if this were the case I would seriously consider the potential for long term damage that may have been caused if enough oil is not getting through. I don't think this is the case though as you were achieving a reasonable speed on the old prop.

I am suprised that the company you used to replace the pump did not water test the boat to ensure these problems were not going to occur again?

Chris

Hightower · 18 November 2007, 23:10

I can tell you of the checks I've made and my theory on the rev problem.

The throttle is maxed open with the throttle lever fully pushed forward. So that's OK.

I've also checked the connectors under the hood and made sure there's no blanking plugs left in, also smeared plenty of Petrolium jelly in there.

I recon that the engine maxes out at 4750 rpm when in Run-in mode, this would explain why the rpm for the 19" and 21" props are the same rpm and there's a drop in top end performance, but what do I know. I'll get the dealers to turn off the Run-in mode next time it goes in for the pump.

The Jackeens · 19 November 2007, 08:17

Andy

We had an issue with Low Oil alarm occasionally also.

Give Paul a bell if you get a chance.

Looking forward to seeing your new baby in action!

K & P