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Mike AitkenParticipantWalked out to the driveway to check…
Mine is also a michigan wheel…14 LH 6 ……No “8” on mine. I’ve also got the 2:1 paragon SA tranny….pushes the boat nicely…Electrics??..A buddy of mine looked at electric drive for a 30 footer…Installed cost +/- around $18,000…..ouch.
Mike
Mike AitkenParticipantAll sold today ……..
Mike AitkenParticipantPerkins and westerbeke might not be 100% interchangeable on filters…not too sure. I buy the “on engine” filter from the local westerbeke distributor (hanson marine)..I suspect a call to TAD diesel will result in a good fitment of correct filters at a decent price. I run a racor 500 & a bigger “pre-filter” made for big “CAT” Diesels as a water separator/gunk filter. All this was put in after I had water in the fuel & had the injection pump go bad a few years ago…Fuel filters..the only thing between you & $5,000 worth of injection system repairs….My system is probably overkill…but….
I assume the “main fuel filter” mounted on the “wall” is a racor. easy to get…i think 15 micron is what was spec’d for this engine.
I had HUGE old fuel issues when we bought Iris after sitting in a yard in Maryland……old diesel is a bucket of trouble waiting to bite you. I finally ended up actually removing the tank and cleaning it to get all the junk out…(it takes about 2 1/2 hours to get the tank out – much less to go back in.) Do yourself a huge favor & drain the old fuel all out – not worth the hassle for 15 gallons of fuel. Throw in a gallon of kerosene after most of the fuel is out & drain that out too….helps to get the “junk” out….kerosene will not hurt the engine at all…
These old diesels ran the old “high sulpher fuel” made in days gone past…I add a lubricity enhancer (to replace the sulpher removed from the new diesel fuel) as an additive. A decent auto parts store has a bunch to choose from….a couple ounces/tank. I’ve been told it’s good for the injection pumps & injectors…I look at it as cheap insurance. I don’t use Biocide…
My d-36 has a round tank (looks like a 30 gallon drum) sitting under the stbd seats in a plywood cradle held in place by plastic covered wire on turnbuckles..neat arrangement I assume is standard to Dickerson. The tank is Monel- monel is great – I assume yours is the same…Monel lasts a long, long time. I don’t worry about the tank..(now it will cause trouble, just for spite
.Hope this helps….
Mike
Mike AitkenParticipantAl,
If I were removing lots of bottom paint, ect to seal the bottom with epoxy & do the keel at the same time I’d have a soda blaster visit the boatyard & do the whole job. They do this stuff all the time & are in/out & done 1 day. They might be i n the yard doing other boats, and just to do the keel is a little “filler” job for them….just a thought.
Mike
Mike AitkenParticipantAl,
Is your paint flaking off the lead?…West system, or any decent epoxy (moisture insensitive) will bond to lead …I’d call the folks at WEST’s *800 # and ask what they suggest…I’m sure they have done this proceedure a few times. Heres a link…seems like “clean, bright..done”http://www.westsystem.com/ss/surface-preparation/
I’d either strip off the paint using one of the “environmentally friendly” strippers – they are water based so they are not a toxic mess ( IF the boatyard allows…), or use a vacuum sander (Festool of FEIN) with a HEPA vac system & a respirator to catch any weird “lead dust”…..I can’t imagine this is a fun job….
A buddy of mine used 3M 5200 on a smaller centerboard repair…..5200 is rated for in water use & seems to have held up….
Just a thought..I know the prior owner of IRIS used 5200 for many many repairs.. I’m always bumping into the stuff & it holds up like iron…
Mike AitkenParticipantOuch…a lot of $ for an old design..
Peugeot…never caught on here in the usa….My family owned a bunch of them. 404..504..505… Diesel & gas.
I always liked it when folks drove the 404 at night and turned the “left directional” – the headlights would turn off & they would flip out!! ; the french had the directional control & horn on a little stalk on the Right side of the steering wheel…I always told my friends that “really weird” controls were in Citroens ..Ahhh fun is!!
Mike AitkenParticipantHey John,
I guess wet liners might be an issue on a 4-107..eventually. There is no real reason for them to fail unless the coolant has not been changed ( or plain ole water used) and you get rust- that has negative issues on wet liner seals on diesels..( I drove Peugeot 504 diesels for years – wet liners) ..or the engine has been overheated…diesels hate to overheat . Wet liner diesels REALLY hate to overheat…..heads warp, seals are quickly compromized…all sorts of bad stuff…That said.. in normal use they last a long, long time. Have the mechanic pull the valve cover & look for heavy sludge/opaque foamy/ greasy stuff – indicative of overheating…head issues..Oil sludge…Lousy oil change intervals . Also check coolant for oil ( seals again) and oil for water (seals again). Do a compression test if you can. Pressure test the coolant system…Sometimes that shows issues…Lots of times no one wants to compression test these engines – the newer diesels test compression thru glow plug adapters – these need to test thu injector seats – more work & specialized tools.
At least get some fuel to the injector pump & turn the engine over & crack lines to each injector to insure the pump is working. Other than that, it’s kind of a crap shoot & trusting the appearance of the engine & the story…
You can get these running sitting on a wood pallet in about an hour or so….hook up fuel (rubber hose into container of fuel) …hook up a 6 foot length of hose off the exhaust, feed a bucket with a hose and feed the intercooler from the bucket – manually move the injection pump lever & put power to the starter – “Rumble, Rumble”…..I did this with mine in the garage after I rebuilt it. Ran it for 1/2 hour. worth the effort before you drop it in the boat “with fingers crossed”.
Mike
Mike AitkenParticipantI’d give a call to the folks at Trans Atlantic Diesel to see what interesting iron they have in inventory. they usually have 4-107/8 in stock – rebuilt. They do a decent job. I bought quite a bit of “stuff” from them on my re-build a few years back….They are fairly
priced & know these engines.Any other Mfg repower will require different prop, engine beds, exhaust, wiring, fuellines & and..and and. The old 108 is pretty reliable if taken care of, and (most) parts are available and pretty reasonable.
I’d never put a raw water cooled engine in..just waiting for stuff to break in drib & drabs..unless it was free…then??? perhaps still not. Might be able to rig a pump & intercooler to close the loop on the Yanmar…might be corroded in places ya can’t see… Westerbeke 30 is a decent block. Most of The 3 cyl engines are designed to spin a bit faster than the old 4-108…sometimes noiser (or, a different noise)
A decent mechanic who thinks is key….A honest eval of used engines is often hard unless they are installed/running….gremlins show up. If the engine came out of a well maintained boat with a fastidious owner they can be a very good buy – often the owner is “modernizing”, not running from problems – worth taking a look…new paint always makes me look more carefully – what’s it hiding?
Easiest change is newer/rebuid the same as what’s in it…..but…..might be a good time to see advantage/disadvantage of 3 cyl 30 hp aux. diesels in the 37…..Most folks who re-power with newer technology like the lower weight & fuel savings..I like having the extra horsepower for pushing thru ratty weather and find my 4-107 burns a bit less than .5 gal/hr…If I was going to put 3,000 hours on the engine in the next 4 years, the fuel savings of smaller engines might interest me.
If the engine is coming out & you don’t have a pan under the engine, it’s a great time to fabricate one and install….Keeps everything in the bilge so much cleaner.
Be aware that different trannys might also spin different directions…props are expensive.
My 3 cent’s worth…
Mike
Mike AitkenParticipantAl,
Great idea…very reasonable price….cheap insurance on a more than 10 year old boat.
Mike AitkenParticipantDave Hemminway has a beautiful (used) exchanger for a 4-107 from a “spare” engine he has….. Its the old style made out of something like 1/4 inch bronze with bolted on ends….easy to take apart & rod clean if the need arises… It’s in Connecticut.
I’m sure he could e-mail a photo if you are interested.
Mike AitkenParticipantFor my 1973 D-36…..
A. Top of Main Mast is : 36′ 10″ – from deck step.
B. Waterline to top of deck step: 5 feetMe…I’d say 43 feet…plus any wind instruments/stuff on the top of the mast..
Measurements taken off my builders drawing ……
Mike AitkenParticipantSounds like quite the fiberglass project. I’ve not found any “dry” spots in the glass but…I’ve not looked too closely, either. Might take a look as I progress with other projects. But now I’m almost afraid to look…….perhaps they had a “bad” day when they laminated your hull…..
I have some photos of the hatch hardware used to hold down the main hatch. Pretty simple. 1/8 inch bronze plate on spacers. 3 1/2″ X 1 1/2 inch wide. The plate runs under the long brass plate on the main hatch logs – Kinda like little slides. These screw into the cross members on the hatch. I’ll send you a couple photos..I just finished re-varnishing the hatch..
Mike AitkenParticipantIRIS had the stuffing box repacked when I had a new prop shaft & rudder post made 4 years ago. The old shaft was “welded” to the shaft collar & had to be cut off when I removed the engine. The new shaft was installed about 310 engine hours ago – The packing was replaced at that time.
I thought I’d put in a new dripless unit in with the new shaft, since the engine was out of the boat & it would be a reasonably simple job – I had to put some kind of stuffing box back in……..I mentioned this idea to Frank Rose, and asked for his thoughts – Frank owns Roses Marine Service in Gloucester MA & he did all the shaft and rudder machining work. He also refabricated a new stern tube for IRIS, since the old one had some issues. Roses Marine has been keeping the Gloucester fishing fleet & other “heavy use” vessels going for years & does “recreational work” for folks like me. He is a great guy and his work is the best………..Just a FYI: When he was making my new 1″ x 5 foot shaft he had 4 new shafts in his shop for the High Speed ferries – 8-9 inch diameter stainless by 20 feet long – I can just imagine the bill for that one!!
Frank’s comments on stuffing boxes to me were –
Conventional stuffing boxes never fail all at once – dripless ones can – very infrequently, but it happens.
Conventional boxes are easy to work on. Use waterproof grease on the threads and they never seize.
New Packing Made by Gore-Tex (GFO Packing) makes conventional boxes pretty much watertight – and the packing lasts many, many times longer than conventional packing.
You already own what you have……it’s simple technology.So….I repacked with the GFO packing – per Frankie’s suggestion.. It has worked well. It does not drip hardly at all, the stuffing box is just warm to the touch after 3-4 hours of motoring, and was straight forward to install.
I think the packing cost $8 – It’s sold off large reels.I mentioned the same packing to a friend who “lives” on his boat – a 1938 wooden cutter. He sails in the fall from New England to Florida & on to the Bahamas and back for summer…. He repacked his stuffing box 3 years ago & has put about 2400 hours on his engine – no issues & the stuffing box is still good & water tight.
My sense is that there is no “right” answer – but the newer packing materials run much cooler & last much longer than old style “flax” packing – I’ve been pleased with what I’ve seen so far. I’d do the same thing again – It’s easy.
Do a little looking around on line for “Gore Tex” GFO packing. Makes for interesting reading.
Mike AitkenParticipantTake a photo of the hatch. If I have the same one, I’ll post it to you.
Mike AitkenParticipantWelcome…..
Nice photos……Looks like a “fun”project.
We have Hull #26 – Dickerson 36.
Sorry to not reply to your 1st post….My sense is that you will be better served to remove the cutlass & measure to fit the correct one – mine was replaced a few years back, but I have no idea as to sizing….lousy records on my part.
You mentioned in your 1st post that the boat is a 1973 36 footer….with a universal 30. I was looking at the photos you posted and it seems to me your engine looks like mine – A Westerbeke 4-107, not a “30”. The 4-107, 4-108 and the perkins of the same numbers all had the distinctive “Mushroom” air filter – this engine is usually mated to a Paragon “Saildrive” transmission (the one with the shifter arm mounted on the side). I’ve seen a bunch of 4-107/8’s but not a 30 in the 36 footers…..food for thought.
I had not heard that the Dickersons were prone to blisters…Hmmm……perhaps it’s a function of heat, and in the water for years – although in 1973 resins got expensive & were re-formulated by lots of folks.
I just saw a yard in maine do the complete bottom of a 38 footer islander this past winter….repaired the blisters with vinylester resin & glass & covered the whole bottom with 1 layer of biax cloth and vinylester resin – not epoxy….no epoxy barrier coat…An interesting way to repair – a pro yard that does nothing but glass boat repair for the past 20 years….Faired smooth it looked very good. They told met the cost differential of Vinylester vs epoxy was worth looking at….and Vinylester sets faster. There were quite a few blisters all over the hull…..
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