> Why do you need to keep the engine running offshore while you change the > filter? > You may not be offshore, you may be in a tight spot where you really need it. My reference to prepping for a long offshore voyage had more to do with being far away from a source of additional filters and other fuel related services. The utility of having two filters and a manifold that can switch between them without stopping the engine goes more to the Murphy’s Law odds that a single filter will block up at the worst possible time. My worst inshore was departing the Ballard Locks, west bound (towards salt water) in the new to us 1980 C&C 36. The current running out of the locks was pushing us towards the lowered rail road draw bridge with a clearance lower than our “air draft”. As I was sounding the horn signals for an opening the engine quit (of course, no wind nor room to sail). Naturally the RR bridge sounded the 5 short horns indicating they could not open just yet. As we had taken delivery of the boat an hour earlier the anchor was not ready nor do I expect that anchoring in that part of the ship canal would be successful.
As the boat’s co-owner ran forward to attempt to anchor I continued to attempt to re-start the engine. I could get a short burst of engine power each start. I left the reduction gear in reverse to buy as much time as possible before running the mast into the bridge structure. The short bursts of engine power were classic for a blocked filter or fuel intake. Fortunately the combo of good luck and the short bursts of power we bought enough time for the bridge to clear and begin opening. I aimed for the south side where the bridge raises first to gain a few feet of clearance. When we went under I’m convinced I heard the VHF antenna twang off part of the bridge. As it turn out there was debris in the fuel tank including an old fuel gauge sender and some rubber gasket material that would get sucked up and block the fuel intake. Years later I was helping a friend deliver his very nice fast cruising boat from Seattle to San Francisco. As we were rounding Cape Flattery in calm weather the owner wanted to take the short cut inside Tatoosh Island. (If I was a delivery skipper on someone else’s boat I would have gone around Tatoosh on the outside.) Naturally the filter plugged up and stalled the engine in the middle of the narrow passage. The current was not helping the boat clear all the rocky areas. There was some amount of “hurry up” involved in returning the engine to full power. I was to learn a little later that the owner knew there was a lot of crud in the fuel (left over from a So Pac cruise) and was planning on cleaning it out in San Francisco. He did a lot of spare filters onboard and was fast at changing the filters. He did have two Racors but they were not on a single manifold that would allow continued fuel flow when switching filters. We made it to San Francisco in 4 days but he changed a lot of filters on calm days. Martin DeYoung Calypso 1971 C&C 43 Seattle [Description: Description: cid:D1BF9853-22F7-47FB-86F2-4115CE0BAF2F] From: CnC-List [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Dennis C. via CnC-List Sent: Tuesday, August 04, 2015 3:19 PM To: CnClist Cc: Dennis C. Subject: Re: Stus-List filters You may not be offshore, you may be in a tight spot where you really need it. Dennis C. On Tue, Aug 4, 2015 at 4:56 PM, Andrew Burton via CnC-List <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Why do you need to keep the engine running offshore while you change the filter? Andy C&C 40 Peregrine On Tue, Aug 4, 2015 at 5:28 PM, Dennis C. via CnC-List <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: On Tue, Aug 4, 2015 at 4:21 PM, Martin DeYoung via CnC-List <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: If I was preparing for a long offshore voyage I would install a dual fuel filter manifold with a vacuum gauge. If you price Racor's dual filter system, you'll faint. However, you needn't install one of those or even a second filter identical to whatever you currently have. You need only install a small inexpensive filter to keep the engine running while you change the element in your main primary filter and then switch back. Dennis C. _______________________________________________ Email address: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> To change your list preferences, including unsubscribing -- go to the bottom of page at: http://cnc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/cnc-list_cnc-list.com -- Andrew Burton 61 W Narragansett Ave Newport, RI USA 02840 http://sites.google.com/site/andrewburtonyachtservices/ phone +401 965 5260 _______________________________________________ Email address: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> To change your list preferences, including unsubscribing -- go to the bottom of page at: http://cnc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/cnc-list_cnc-list.com
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