25 July 2018

Pat's Progressed

A difficult day spent investigating the issues which caused us some grief on Monday, namely the engine running fine soon followed by stalling.

We knew that there were electrical issues in that the battery had taken been exhausted, however, all day Tuesday charged from the solar panel, it had recovered, but initial testing showed that the problem of engine failure persisted.

When we checked the fuel systems at WD, tests were done to probe for water in the fuel, none was found, but the disturbance of launching the boat and then rocking and rolling seems to have released undiscovered water.  The fuel water separator was almost full of the stuff as witnessed by the contents of the container we drained it into.  The thin layer on top is fuel, below is water.
Not only that, some had been carried over into the fuel filter.  Late in the day, we managed to secure a new filter, but then we had the problem of priming the diesel engine.  None of us were familiar with the exact method for the Perkins unit in our boat, so that is the next thing to do when we can get some expert advice. 

We also changed the engine battery as the one fitted was of unknown condition and did not seem to have the sustained cranking capacity expected of it.

Other than that, lock gates were swung to release some of the sediments around them.  Also, greasing of most of the spud leg joints, those that could be reached, offered a welcome diversion.
Shortly after this image was taken, we drained the lock to ensure she rested secure on the bottom
Once we up and running reliably, our attention will focus on trim and stability.