Went out over the week and had a great sail out, but some problems
along the way. But I have two maintanence issues.
1. Automatic Bilge Switch problems
Alera is factory wired for a manual switch and then a hot lead to the
bilge to use with the switch. There was no auto switch on her when
we got her a few years ago and since we keep her in the water all
year, I needed to install one. I like state of the art electronics
so I went with the fully electronic Ultima Bilge Pump
Switch. Instead of mounting the switch to a 1/4" piece of plywood as
instructed, I mounted it to the floor of the Bilge directly. which
may be contributing to the bad cycling problem. The first one I
installed started coming on and refusing to shut down until we cycled
the manual switch. This week end it was so bad I just pulled the
fuse. This weirdness had started when we were on our summer
cruise. So, I had a replacement switch on board. I replaced the
switch, but may have screwed the wiring up. It ran, but did not shut
down. So, as I have been doing before when it would not shut down, I
cycled the manual switch and it shut down...but from the way it shut
down, I suspect I fried something because the switch is not working
at all now. I checked the breaker panel and all's well there. The
in line fuse I installed with the switch is fine as well. The
manual switch is still functional...thank god! (see 2 below!)
2 Dripping dripless bearing
In March when I had her bottom painted I had the yard (Seaview West
in Seattle) install a brand new dripless bearing. As a result of the
bilge switch issue I decided to check the bilge on the 2 hour run
back yesterday. The bilge was substantially filled. I traced the
ingress to the dripless bearing which was spewing water
everywhere. Not enough to outpace the electric bilge pump or require
whalegusher intervention. After we docked I checked and the rotor
was loose enough for me to turn it on the shaft. I am getting the
documentation from the yard to make sure I get the right parts, but
as I understand it, I should not just tighten the set screws, but
replace them to be sure they bite, then use a 2nd set crew and lock
tight to lock them in place.
Any thoughts on these electronic switches, alternatives, dripless
bearing maintenance or anything else?
Tom B
Tom Buscaglia
SV Alera
1990 C&C 37+/40
Vashon Island WA
(206) 463-9200
www.sv-alera.com
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