The head on my C380’s Westerbeke engine recently underwent a costly overhaul as a consequence of seawater entering the engine exhaust manifold. It was determined that the siphon break [aka “anti-siphon valve”] had seized shut, allowing seawater to flood the engine exhaust manifold after engine shut-down. Having discussed this with various marine engineers involved in engine overhauls, it is likely that the lack of attention to siphon-break maintenance, and sometimes the installation approach, is the cause of many failures of inboard marine engines, irrespective of manufacturer. It can affect any engine mounted below the water line, in both sail and power boats. This unfortunate experience [perhaps fortunate for our readers- Warren], has prompted me to write this article in the firm belief that all owners should understand the role of the siphon break and inspect
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Portlights- Resealing & Reinstalling Rick Ranno May, 2007 Hull #: C-380 # 297
After a few years with my C380 [#297], the portlights developed some water leaks. Most were not obvious as to cause. So, after deciding to “dig in”, the first thing I did was to determine that the portlight was leaking and that a dirty or bad window gasket was not the cause. To do this, I removed the plastic trim rings with a screwdriver and applied some powder around the suspected areas. After several days including some rain, drip lines in the powder made it obvious that most leaks were entering via the window-tohull seal or, in this case, lack of seal. The best, long-term way to beat this one is complete portlight removal and re-installation.
First, with the trim ring removed, remove the 10/32 Philips mounting screws. Use a heat gun to help loosen the seal
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Following is the second of two articles on this subject, this one by Richard Herbst, second owner of C380 #93, a late 1997 boat. The extra emphasis on the Freedom 800 is because of several serious relevant problems reported on our Sailnet email list and due to my desire to maximize your happy-hour time, at least for the captains of the 300 or so C380’s out there with this windlass. Other boats in the fleet have the VW800, either horizontally mounted [first approx 75 C380s] or, for late C380’s & C387s, vertically oriented.
Background & Repairs
I would like to amplify Warren’s article appearing in the previous issue regarding the Freedom 800 windlass. Warren was right on target when he advised owners to wash down that windlass frequently. A vertical main shaft only encourages water, salt,
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Port light Replacement Don and Linda Rooker May, 2007 Hull #: C380 #157
Don and Linda Rooker, who sail “Jolly Mon”, in the Pickwick Lake/ Tennessee River region of North East Mississippi, felt that the crazing on their original portlghts was too much and decided to go for stainless-steel framed units. So, thought I’d insert their photo here, as a different approach [See Photo]. As their new portlights, made by New Found Metal [.com], have tempered glass, no more crazing. Most of the fleet, including Admiral Jeanne and I, continue to shy away from glass on board. Perhaps a few have wine glasses carefully stowed?? But tempered glass is pretty strong.
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Are you tired of that small pool of often dirty water that accumulates on the swim platform of your otherwise beautiful boat?? Well, help is at hand!!
I was surprised– almost shocked– to recently learn, via our Sailnet email discussion group, that many of our fleet do not have this simple, worthwhile device which eliminates water accumulations on the swim platform!!. How can this be?? It’s now taken at least two, maybe three happy hours for this info to sink into my brain and for me to do something about it! So you know that the value/$ of this upgrade must be high: at least semi-infinite!! In other words, this clearly worthwhile upgrade can be done for almost nothing!!
Picture, if you will, a brass tube, maybe 3/8″ diameter and 2″ long, flared at one end. What could be
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More on Portlight Leaks Richard Herbst August, 2007 Hull #: C380 #93
Last month’s [May 07] article on repairing portlight leaks omitted one source of a leak that is very easy to fix. On my boat (C380, S/N 93), the 2-horizontal seams in the Lewmar portlight’s frame is a primary source of leakage and the fix is really simple. My boat had been in the Gulf area for many years with the result that sunlight beat these seams to death. To fix, just run a bead of sealant across each seam and the leak stops (see photo).
Note that the portlight frame is hollow, so after sealing the seams, you may have to take a brisk sail to heel and spill the residual water out of the already present holes in the lower part of the frame. Before starting, put a towel there to catch the water.[Suggest removing trim ring;
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For C387 captains with the baby-stay configuration [hulls #1-60+], a few of you have reported, on our Sailnet email discussion group, a bit of damage to the baby-stay tie points in the forward cabin. These have been- or are in process of- repair. Please note that various conditions can put excessive strain along the baby stay, just as they can on any stay or shroud.
I suggest checking the at-rest rig tensions, especially on both the baby stay and forestay; over tensioning the former and under tensioning the latter can be problematic. A “Loos” gauge or equivalent may help you get the best set-up. The forestay should be moderately tight; some riggers suggest the tension be set as tight as 10% of breaking strength, which is about 1000 lbs. If a back-stay tensioner is installed, know your stay
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“I constructed a separate insulated antenna that runs from one of my my davit arms to the mast head using a spare halyard. I made this antenna from number 10 steel wire (from West ) and 2 porcelain insulators from a ham radio store. That proprietor recommended the longest possible wire as an antenna, which I have. I also avoided cutting the backstay and the expensive insulators for that purpose. Once the metal long wire is up you merely attach the insulated antenna lead from the antenna tuner directly to the steel wire with a hose clamp or a copper u-bolt ( which I found in Home Depot). My total cost is maybe 20 bucks.” –Bob Bierly, C380 #255, “C’Mon Wind”
Bob’s antenna is certainly simple, and should perform well at least in some circumstances. However, as much of
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Although we are sailors at heart, and hopefully by practice, we do need to call on our auxiliary engines regularly. With some luck, it’s only off and on the dock, or in and out of the harbor, but sometimes our “iron genny” will be cranking away for hours at a time. Whatever the modes of operation, there sometimes appears a cloud of doubt: will she start ok?…or how long can the engine keep going like this?
To bring the sunshine–and dispel any clouds–there are at least two general approaches, [maybe three if you include Happy Hours]: maintenance and testing. Most of us are patently familiar with the former: change oil regularly [about 100 hours], keep cooling system in good shape [strainer, impeller, heat exchanger on the raw water side, antifreeze/rust inhibitor for the fresh water system [use the fairly
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Cooling sea water flows through our engine’s heat exchanger, then through the anti-siphon valve discussed above and to the elbow fitting at the aft end of the exhaust manifold. Here the water is “injected” into the hot exhaust gases, where it cools them while transiting the exhaust system, ending up back in the sea.
This elbow fitting is therefore in a very harsh environment, suffering the rigors of both very hot gases and warm/ hot salt water. [Fresh water sailors have an advantage here.] So you can imagine that this part is likely to be on the earlier, rather than later, timescale for failure. This occurred to at least one captain, albeit in a benign fashion. Over a period of months, his engine gradually exhibited higher and higher operating temperatures. After checking all the likely sources of
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