Another Boating Equipment Update

We like to take some time at the end of a cruise or during a pause in a cruise to report on the equipment we have installed in preparation for traveling the waterways. If you have followed our blog for any length of time, you know we post each installation, upgrade and repair we do to Beach House in hopes that other boaters will find the information useful. These Project Posts are the most read and most popular on the Blog, so it only makes sense to let you know how things are holding up, what works and what was an absolute failure. Finding quality equipment and parts for a boat is getting more and more difficult as manufacturers look for ways to cut costs, and as a result, the quality declines. It's also the trend to add more and more bells and whistles to everything, and to use the latest and greatest in technology to justify the increasingly higher costs for equipment. This makes many of our electronics more difficult to understand and also adds to the possibility of failure as new features are added. We're still of the KISS mind set (keep it simple, stupid), but we also appreciate advancements that actually serve a purpose and make our boating experience safer and more enjoyable. So let's do an update of our equipment.

Care And Feeding Of The Ford Lehman Diesel

The time is finally growing short for our departure on our next great adventure. Since we sold our dear friend Sea Trek, our Mariner 40 ketch, we have been preparing Beach House for our Bahamas/Great Loop adventure. The first thing we did was join the AGLCA, America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association, to glean as much knowledge and information as we can from others that have done the Loop in the past or are in the process now. The number one thing we learned was that the engine and transmission would be our top priority and the most important equipment on the boat. With that in mind, we've spent many hours and dollars preparing our Ford Lehman 120 and the Paragon transmission for the 6,000 to 8,000 mile journey. If you have followed us here, you are probably well aware of the upgrades and repairs we have made. We found some minor problems when we bought the boat, added some important safety equipment we wanted, and corrected some deficiencies inherent to the engine.

Midseason Maintenance Can Increase the Life of Your Boat

You have been told over and over that pre-season maintenance and service will ensure a trouble-free boating season. But will it really? A safe and happy boating season is a combination of preparation and prevention. It's so easy to hit the water as often as possible during the boating season and not want to spend time in the bilges or engine compartment. That's what spring commissioning is for. But a regular maintenance and service program during the season will go a long way to make the time we spend on the water truly enjoyable and safe. A little time on a regular basis will keep the breakdowns, failed equipment and need for towing to a minimum rather than a spoiled weekend while fishing or spending time with family and friends.

Moving The Starting Battery

Our starting battery sits in a nice fiberglass box that is mounted in the front of the engine. The distance to our house bank is about a foot and makes for short cables and easy access to use jumper cables in case the starting battery goes dead. But this is the space we plan to use to move the house bank so that the genset can be installed. It also makes for a long cable run to the starter, requiring large wires. So it is time to make a change in preparation for moving the house bank. The plan is to move it right next to the engine starter and eliminate those long and large cables to the starter.

Holding Tank Monitor And Major Service On Our Ford Lehman

We posted our holding tank installation several months back and one of the unfinished parts of that project was to install a tank monitor. We did a lot of research on the different types and manufacturers and finally decided on the Solo Tank Monitor made by New Providence Marine/Ferriello Sales LLC. The decision was based on lots of positive feedback from current owners and a recommendation from Miss Peggy Hall, known throughout the boat industry as the "Head Mistress." Peggy has a couple of excellent books on marine sanitation. The installation could not have been more straightforward or easier.

Adjusting Our Ford Lehman Tachometers In Four Easy Steps

The tachometers for our Ford Lehman 120 have been a question mark since we bought the boat. We have had no way to know how accurate they are, and our cruising RPMs help to determine how much fuel we burn per hour. With the price of fuel today, this is an important piece of information and we would like to be as accurate as possible. Of course, calculating the number of hours run and the fuel added to the tank will give us an average, but we want to be more precise. Running the engine at our average cruising RPMs of about 1750 will mean a fuel burn of about 2.2 gallons per hour (GPH). Running at 1950, the fuel burn jumps up to 3.1 GPH and at 2000 RPMs, it is 3.4 GPH. Having the correct readings on the tachs can save us some considerable cash considering our cruises are usually thousands of miles.

Ford Lehman Diesel Oil And Filter Change

After a 1,200-mile-plus cruise, engine maintenance is not a to do, it is rather a must do. We did take the opportunity to change oil and filters at the halfway mark, but a thorough change of all filters, as well as an oil change, was high on our list. So I thought I would share the experience with you and give you some insight on how we approach this sometimes messy chore.

Mystical Water Heater and Engine Hoses

Yes, that is correct, I did say a mystical, some might say magical hot water heater. It all started several years ago onboard our Mariner 40 sailboat Sea Trek. Our 6 or 7 year old hot water heater had developed a leak which we could not stop so we ordered a replacement of the exact same model and configuration, not wanting to re-plumb and rewire everything. On the day the replacement arrived, the existing hot water heater stopped leaking and is still in the boat, working fine several years later after we sold her last year. Just a few months ago on our trip up the ICW from Beaufort, South Carolina to the Chesapeake, we stopped in Southport so Susan could rent a car and drive to Maryland for a job interview. While at the marina in Southport, I discovered the existing hot water heater in Beach House was leaking and the tank was pretty rusted on the outside. The magical hot water heater that we have been carrying around for several years was in the back of our van, at a friend's house in Maryland, waiting for us to arrive. I called Susan and asked her to stop by the van and pick up the water heater since I feared the one on Beach House might fail on us along the way. Since we had this as a spare, it should be with us on the boat. Well sure enough, as soon as she returned to the boat with this water heater, the old unit immediately stopped leaking without us even touching it. We finished the trip to the Chesapeake and after a month or more the water heater still showed no signs of leaking.

Replacing The Fresh Water Circulating Pump On Our Ford Lehman 120

If you had read our previous post, we discovered the fresh water circulating pump on the front of the engine had developed a leak and needed replacement. The great folks at American Diesel were quick to get the replacement shipped to us and in my discussion with Bob Smith, he suggested that we replace the engine belt at the same time and be sure and replace it with the proper belt to assure there would be less likelihood of another issue with the pump soon. We agreed and had a belt shipped with the pump. The replacement was actually quite easy.

Servicing The Cooling System On Our Ford Lehman Diesel And Other Things

After the transmission cooler was replaced we decided to also replace the oil cooler since it was probably the same age and condition. But after removing it we found it to be moments away from a total meltdown so the decision was a good one. We ordered the parts again from American Diesel and they arrived within a couple of days. When we went to re-install it we found the oil hose sizes on the engine to be different than the hoses need for the new cooler. So we ordered the correct size from America Diesel and they too arrived in a couple of days. Although not related to the cooling system, we had planned to add an oil changer to make the oil changing process much faster and cleaner. With the hoses off for the cooler we took the opportunity to drain the oil from the crankcase, using a small pump attached to a drill. This is slow and messy but the attachment for the oil changer needs to go in the bottom of the oil pan so it had to be drained.

A Little TLC For Our Ford Lehman Diesel

With the daytime heat in the 90s every day we are ready to spend time working inside the boat and enjoy the air conditioning. A couple of projects that have been in the back of my mind are perfect for a break from teak and painting. Well, as much of a break as working in the engine room can be. An issue with the Ford Lehman has been the overflow for the fresh water coolant. It is simply an overflow and does not draw the coolant back into the tank when the engine cools down as most diesels do. This requires that it be manually poured back into the fresh water tank as it accumulates and is kind of a pain. The folks at American Diesel, http://www.americandieselcorp.com/ , are the experts on the Ford Lehman engine. If Bob Smith or Brian does not have an answer to any question about these engines, then there is no answer. They do have a replacement neck for the fresh water tank that will allow the coolant to overflow and then return back to the tank. I had ordered one of these and have had it on hand for a while now, so it was time to install it. The installation is pretty straight forward and the old retainer that hold the cap needs to be notched with a hack saw blade so it can be bent inward and removed. The new neck is coated with epoxy where it will go down into the tank and with a little coaxing with a hammer and a block of wood it slides into place. Once the epoxy sets it is ready to be reinstalled and attached to the overflow tank.