Winter Projetcs 2008-2009

Found a cool bracket on eBay for an outboard stand. Made a simple wooden stand using several lengths of 2x8" lumber.

Yamaha T9.9 Lower Unit - Drained the gear oil; much to my dismay the oil had a slight "coffee with cream" like appearance. This looked like a bit more than normal wear and tear, and suggested at least a low level of water intrusion. Will consider professional lower unit rebuild as this requires special tools. Pictures of "temporary" repair to lower half of water pump housing. Filled the unit with 10 oz of Lubrimatic 11540 Lower Unit Gear Lube. Not completely full, but sufficient to prevent any corrosion pending decision on re-build. Replaced gaskets on lower drive gear oil plugs (Yamaha 90430-08020-00).

Began disassembly of the Yamaha T9.9 power head. Removal of the power head involved disconnecting, 1) the throttle linkage and fuel line, 2) multiple color coded (plug in) connections to the CDI unit, 3) unbolting the rectifier module, and 4) removing the starter motor/relay and associated wiring. After removing the six mounting bolts, the power head simply lifted out. Pumped the motor oil from the pan.

Cylinder Head - After removal of the fuel pump and valve cover, the cylinder head could be unbolted from the block. Removal of the cylinder head was straightforward except for a recalcitrant external upper bolt with partially seized threads due to corrosion. A known issue was a clog in the external bypass water jacket channel. This turned out to be a greasy mixture of salt, salt and other "stuff" with a consistency of hard packed clay. Opening of this coolant path involved literally drilling out the upper bypass channel (which exits to the upper bypass nipple). I also did the lower bypass channel for good measure. Otherwise, the internal head and block cooling channels were quite clear. Frank said the engine was torn down a few years ago to rebuild the water pump and to address an earlier coolant flow/salt build-up issue. See a picture of the custom "clean out" in the upper block his mechanic installed. This may be useful in future. His mechanic was also a little generous with the head gasket cement used during that re-assembly, as some was partially blocking several coolant flow path channels. Began the tedious task of removing the old gasket and sealant material on all contact surfaces with a single edge razor blade. Acetone did little to remove the residue; resorted to methyl ethyl ketone to soften the residue. Blew out the flow paths with compressed air. Picture after the angioplasty and mating surfaces clean-up! The oil wetted surfaces were amazingly clean! Frank always used Mobil 1 synthetic oil.. Hard to argue with the results. I will to continue to use the 10-30.

Engine Block - took off the exhaust cover, removed the old gaskets, and cleaned up some salt accumulation in the flow paths and removed the old gasket residue.

Throttle Cable - Removal of the broken throttle cable involved complete disassembly of the tiller arm.

Engine Block - Removed the old gasket and sealant material on all contact surfaces. Used methyl ethyl ketone to soften the residue prior to removal with a razor blade. Blew out the flow paths with compressed air.

Cylinder Head - Fabricated a new exit nipple for upper cooling bypass line exit from a 1/8" x 1/8 compression union. Will drill an exit hole in lower cowling for a separate exit.

Rebuilt the T9.9 carburetor and fuel pump. The carburetor was quite clean inside with few varnish deposits. Installed new O-rings in upper casing.

Cylinder head - The source of the "grit" which often plugged the bypass port last season seems to be (in part) the internal zinc anode! I could see through a cooling port that it was sloughing off chunks of crud. Unbelievably, the internal anode access is under the camshaft! Had to loosen the valve adjusters, removed the oil pump and the timing gear on opposite ends of the cam shaft. The cam shaft then slid out easily revealing the anode plug underneath. Despite trying brute force, Christopher and I could not back out the damn plug. Nothing like hot salt water to corrode metal. Added a few tablespoons of PB Blaster to the inside of the water jacket and tapped the offending bolt a few times. Will let sit overnight. The next day, used an impact wrench to remove bolt. The anode was very friable and in dire need of replacement. Pictures here. Awaiting delivery of torque wrench set for motor re-assembly. Replaced cylinder head (rocker arm) cover O-ring gasket.

Replaced throttle cable and did preliminary adjustment of linkages. Replaced several missing parts on carburetor accelerator pump mechanism.

Engine block - Re-installed the exhaust cover using new inner and outer (water jacket) gaskets. Used Permatex Copper Spray-A-Gasket Hi-Temp Adhesive Sealant on gaskets and mating surfaces. Tightened cover bolts to torque specification.

Re-installation of cylinder head - Installed new internal anode; oiled O-ring and coated bolts threads with High Temperature Thread Sealant. Tightened the anode bolt to specification. Installed a new cylinder head O-ring; installed the cylinder head on the block after coating the new head gasket with the copper spray sealant as above. Installed new external head bolts using Anti-Seize Lubricant. The six larger bolts under the valve cover tightened to specification (22 ft*lbs), but the two smaller external bolts did not and continued to turn! These did get to about 15 ft*lbs. Suspect some internal thread corrosion since these are close to the exhaust cooling path. May not be a good sign. Checked torque on head bolts; inside bolts OK; outer ones achieved only about half the specified torque. At higher loads they continue to turn. The final straw was when one broke off! Took the head off, tossed the "new" head gasket in the trash and removed the broken bolt with an EZ-Out. Will get some advice about repairs. proper torque, etc. Started to clean up mating surfaces again! Scott and Rodbolt on the IBoats Yamaha forum gently reminded me that the torque specification for the external 6 mm bolts was 5.8 ft*lbs not 22! I may have dodged a bullet as the receiving threads seem OK. New head gasket and external bolts on order.

Reinstalled the camshaft, replaced O-rings in oil pump, oil path O-ring in cylinder head, new head gasket, timing belt, and new valve cover gasket. Used Permatex Copper Spray-A-Gasket Hi-Temp Adhesive Sealant on head and power head mounting gaskets. All bolts tightened to specifications. Adjusted the intake and exhaust valves. Reinstalled the power head into the upper casing, mounted the carburetor, reconnected /adjusted the throttle linkage, CDI unit/ignition wiring, rectifier, and starter motor. Temporarily connected the battery and turned over a few revs to verify starting circuit. Cleaned the exterior surfaces. Took motor outside; connected water muffs, fuel tank and battery. Would not start; verified ignition spark and fuel pump operation. Noticed spurts of gas coming from carburetor intake. Suspected carburetor malfunction or timing problem. Removed and checked carburetor; re-build looks OK. Determined the valve timing was off by ~ 90°. Adjusted the timing belt. Engine started right up! After warm up, engine misfires at higher revs. Water flow looks weak. Oil filter began to leak due to stripped threads in plastic filter assembly! Verified that valve clearances were OK after re-installation of the timing belt. Installed new spark plugs. Will install new oil strainer assembly.

Removed lower unit. Replaced upper water pump assembly including new impeller. Water tube going to oil pan broke while being moved slightly! See pictures of corrosion at break point. This may have been another factor in the cooling problems. Removed the stub from the lower oil pan using a bent coat hanger! Parts ordered.

Installed new water tube in the upper leg. Replaced a broken plastic clip on the carburetor linkage and installed a new oil strainer. Brought the engine outside, hooked up water, battery and gas. Engine started with some manual choking (thumb over intake), but ran a bit rough at first (it was probably 10° F outside!). Smoothed out when warmer, but coughing at several speeds and when varying RPMs; wondering about carburetor and ignition timing. Decided to re-install stock water nipple in upper exhaust bypass. Will seek more advice.

Dropped the outboard off with Dan at O'Brien's Outboard Repair in Rockland, MA (obcustom@yahoo.com). Based on my description of the problem, he agreed the carburetor was suspect.

Picked up the repaired outboard. Dan had the motor in a test tank. It certainly starts right up now! Dan put in a fresh set of plugs, cleared some grit lodged in the thermostat housing, replaced the thermostat and gasket, widened the valve clearances, replaced the upper water pump assembly and impeller, and cleaned up the mating surfaces of the water pump housing. He also reinforced the epoxy repair to the lower half of the water pump housing (described here) to ensure a more durable seal. His testing determined that the lower unit held ~15 PSI for 15 minutes. He added fresh LU oil, so that seems OK despite the trace of water in the oil I observed in the Fall.

Most notably, Dan found and cleared a blocked cross-over passage in the carburetor. This would explain the hard starting. Dan verified that the fuel enrichment circuit works fine. The running motor has a somewhat distinctive putt putt sound due to the valve clearances being wide out of range. Dan reminded me that these motors run rough at higher RPMs unless under load, and that running well above idle unloaded is not a good idea. According to Dan, "...the motor is a little tired, but now purrs like a kitten. Plenty of pep to push a sailboat, but baby it a bit" He thought it should be fine for at least a few more seasons, but when the time came suggested to replace and not rebuild. Sounded good to me.

Topped off the gear oil and replaced the gaskets in the LU. Lubricated the propeller shaft. LU anode OK and will last another season. Re-adjusted the valve clearances (Dan had intakes @ 0.014" and exhausts @ 0.025"; both way out of specification which explained the "purring") to within specifications (intakes @ 0.008" and exhausts @ 0.010"). Noticed a few droplets of water on the inner valve cover; hope that's just condensation! Will test run again.

Installed the new tilt rod assembly. Test ran the motor which started right up; no "purring" now. After warm-up, ran it at slow- moderate idle for about 30 minutes. In the 40F weather, the thermostat did not seem to open. Will keep an eye on this. Disconnected the fuel line to run out the gas. After a few minutes noticed a soft rapping noise attributed to an empty fuel pump actuator lash since the noise went away immediately upon re-connecting the fuel line. Drained the remaining fuel from the carburetor bowl. When cool, removed the valve cover and re-adjusted the valves to specification mid-range (intakes @ 0.007" and exhausts @ 0.009"). No evidence of condensation or water in oil noted. Removed the plugs, pumped several squirts of Marvel Mystery Oil into the cylinders. Turned the flywheel a few times to distribute the oil. Three hours later, ran the motor for another 30 minutes. Drained fuel from the carburetor and repeated application of MMO to the cylinders. That takes care of everything until Spring! Fingers crossed for the upcoming season.

Began refinishing teak trim used on hatch and tiller with Sikens Cetol Marine per Frank's instructions. Sanded lightly with 120 grit paper; applied 3 thin coats over several days.

Began refinishing summer drop boards. A small portion of the plywood was delaminated at the edge on the lower board. Re-glued with Gorilla Glue. We'll see how that holds up. Filled a few surface gouges with epoxy on the upper board. Re-finished upper drop board with three coats of Sikens Cetol Marine. Refinished the lower drop board with three coats of Sikens Cetol Marine.

Used 2x4's for uprights and 2x3's (8 x 19" wide) for rungs. The rungs are 12" apart, held with exterior glue and 2 1/2" deck screws. Link to basic design. Treated with two coats of Formbey's Tung Oil Finish to seal wood. Wrapped top 8" of the uprights with pieces of old rug to prevent scratches to hull.

Picked up some medium grey indoor/outdoor carpeting at Lowe's to replace that currently in cabin.

Cut new carpet to just oversize using old carpet as a template. Will trim in place on boat if needed . A couple of extra pieces will become mats for the companionway step.

Merry Christmas Crab Louie! We got a good deal on an "excellent +" radial head asymmetric/cruising spinnaker at Bacon Sails. The colors are yellow, red, white and blue. Despite a very small (~3x4") patch, the chute looks brand new! The sail bag indicates the chute was made in 1986 by Thomas SailMakers in Cleveland and was from the Bristol 26 "Redoubt". The luff measures 31'6", the leech 28'9" and the foot 18'7". These are nearly the drifter dimensions noted in Dan Pfeiffer's P26 website of 31'9", 30"4", and 20'11", respectively. Close enough! A Chutescoop is on the way. A couple of blocks and she'll be good to go!! Ho Ho Ho...

The 6V incandescent bulb (GE1406) in the Guest Model 452 automatic anchor light is not particularly bright and getting hard to find. The bulb base is identical to the readily available GE1445 bulb used on cars. Bought two 1455's, crushed the glass bulbs, and drilled out the bases down to the glue being careful to preserve the external nubs on each base. De-soldered the lead at the bottom of each bases. See picture of the new lamp. Two made, each using an 8mm 360° high output white LED (Super Bright LEDS # RL8-W110-360) wired in series with a 47 ohm resistor to limit the current to 60 mA for the 6V source. A short piece of PVC tubing was used as a spacer to center the glowing portion of the new bulb in the Fresnel lens of the light. Much brighter, much better. <top of page>

Partly cloudy, 25 °F. Stopped by the Marina for a short visit; boat under a nice blanket of snow! A bit too soon to start hoping for nicer weather. Drat!

All wrapped up and sitting on the hard. We had about a foot of snow over the weekend. The shrink wrap was job very convenient but not cheap(!); will consider alternatives for next season's covering.

Close up of ~ 2 feet of keel near keel-hull joint on the starboard side. A bit worse on the port side. The pinhole rust spots will require some attention just like last season or maybe a complete re-finishing job.

Got a good deal on a new ST1000+ Tiller Pilot from a fellow sailor in Seattle which arrived today! Thank you Craigslist. Powers up just fine. Installation added to the list of springtime chores.