71 Ericson 29

[ndutton]

I suspect cavity wear. With calipers measure the cavity depth and impeller width. The impeller should be a hair wider than the cavity. If the other way around, that pump is done.

I've been able to resurrect two worn Obedorfers by sanding the pump face (not the cover) on a stationary sander but it's not recommended.

[toddster]

That sounds reasonable. It just really bugs me that the thing could "wear out" while just sitting there over the winter. Something to do with the antifreeze soak, maybe...

[Bratina]

Is the new impeller the same thickness (i.e. depth in the housing) as the old one? I've read that some have been less thick / deep, which could lead to these symptoms.

Have you added a thicker (or, accidentally, a second) gasket to the back of the pump when you replaced the backplate?

[toddster]

Yes and no. Of course I checked these things, but this "new" impeller originally came as a two-pack with the old impeller. I thought maybe the new cam was riding a smidgeon high compared to the old one, so might try lapping that down a bit. But I don't think the cover would seal if that were really the problem.

Dang. It's a perfect day for a sail too. But with the river in flood, I'm not certain I could get back against the current under sail alone. I used to do it on the Hobie 16, but even that was a close thing this time of year.

[toddster]

I guess I could always switch back to RWC for a few days.

[JOHN COOKSON]

Have you tried priming the pump? As noted in post 136 pump cavities wear. This results in the pump not having as much suction as it used to. If the cavity is not to worn you should be able to get it pumping with a prime and it will work just fine.

TRUE GRIT

[toddster]

Yes I primed it. The system should be self-priming because it's a couple of inches below the waterline. However the water flow sensor (part of the EWDS) impedes most of the flow. I had thought to bypass it temporarily as part of the troubleshooting, but convinced myself that it's working properly.

So... I sanded down the pump cover on my lunch break - removed the wear marks on it. It took a bit of work to remove the deeper groove where the impeller hub rests. Nothing left to lose, if that part is toasted anyway. There's some corresponding wear in the back case, but not as much. Will try it tonight.

Hmm... While I was at it, I pulled my spare Oberdorfer (fresh water) gear-driven pump off the shelf and it seems to be in about the same shape. I guess I should test and rehab all those "spare" units some dark winter day, or get rid of them.

[ndutton]

Testing of the flow sensor showed it imparts a 7% restriction. Said the other way around, that means you have 93% flow with it installed. I have mine on the discharge side.

[toddster]

Success! Well, at least as much flow as I had last year.

I didn't get around to trying to move the flow sensor to the other side of the engine. Whatever small amount of force is required to open the sensor is enough to block most of the flow when there is only a couple inches of head. Still, a little trickle comes through, which should be enough to prime the pump.

[toddster]

Finally I am moving forward on the long-contemplated engine instrument panel rebuild. The old one is a combination of dead and mismatched gauges, empty holes, and exposed wiring dangling in the sail locker. At this point, I'm 90% sure I'll go with the location shown on the boat in this photo (This location seems to have been used on a number of E27's, but I haven't seen it on an E29 - possibly the routing isn't quite as direct.) Just inside the companionway on the side of the molded-in cabinet.


Pros: Inside out of the weather (I've had two Isspro gauges fail after being left outside for a winter. And fogging/condensation issues with the others.) Start button can still be reached from the helm and operated by touch. That cabinet is already a wiring nexus - contains backs of sailing instruments, shore power connector, SeaTalk bus, etc. Wiring is easily accessible and protected from cargo. Easily reached and read while working on the engine, immediately below the ladder. No more climbing into the sail locker!

Cons: Will have to remove a nice grab-handle. Have to lean into the companionway to read instruments from the cockpit. (Not worse than bending down to read them upside down between the ankles, though.) Not in direct line-of-sight while "driving" but I do have the EWDS installed to warn of problems.

So, today's ponderables : There is not currently a working ammeter or voltmeter on the engine panel. Given that both are available on the main electrical panel, one step away, and maybe even along the same sight line, is there any need for a separate voltmeter on the engine panel? I can't think of one. (My main panel would correspond to the right hand edge of the photo.) I'm currently running everything off a single battery bank, with a reserve battery available via the 1-2-off switch.

This gets all the electrics out of the cockpit footwell, but I wonder if there is any way to get the shifter/throttle assembly out as well? Every single guest kicks the throttle at some point, and the sheets are constantly getting wrapped around it. Has anybody done something like that? Nothing really feasible has come to mind yet. Oh well. Not today's project.

[toddster]

I realize that I never posted the "finished" product from last summers projects. Probably because it has a bit of a Charlie Brown vibe - I had a little problem with the hole saw. (This old boat has so many holes drilled in it - that wasn't the pilot hole... it was just some other old hole! D'Oh!) Will do it all over again some day when it bothers me enough.



I banished the old trailer-connector and made an all new wiring harness terminated on screw-terminal strips. Which ended up taking far more crimp connectors than I had planned! Had to stop and send away for more of them during prime sailing weather. I also replaced all the illumination with red LEDs. The choke cable wouldn't quite reach that far, so the choke knob is hidden on the bulkhead behind the sink.
Uh, I mean, I cleverly hid the choke knob, as an anti-theft feature.

Still haven't figured out what to do with the old control panel opening in the cockpit. Storage cubby, probably. Cup holder? It's temporarily boarded-up.

I went with all Isspro gauges, but was surprised to find that there were three different styles of clamps and wire terminals on back and two different styles of light sockets. I had hoped for more uniformity. Although I did not buy them all in the same year.

I finally got fed up with black oily gunk seeping out of the tiny weep hole under the engine bed and into the bilge. So I took a hole saw to the boat and created some actual access to that space. Cleaning that out was a gruesome task, but at least now I have a proper diaper laid under the engine. Funny thing - after almost a year, the diaper still looks clean, but there is still occasionally a drop of oily stuff floating in the bilge. Must be un-reachable crannies back under there somewhere.

I expected to recover half a hardware store worth of items dropped down into that previously un-reachable space under the motor, but this is all that I found. There must be a screw-eating monster hiding in the bilge.

Also at about that time, the bilge-pump float switch failed. Although I was cleaning everything up, I couldn't bring myself to splice the new switch into that nasty snarl of wires down in the bilge. So I ran everything up to a new terminal strip in the engine compartment. No more splices in the bilge. I suppose I'll regret that placement, the next time I have to mess around with the carb.

[ndutton]

I'd like to hear the details of your fiberglass repair in the area of the old DC panel. In the picture it looks professional. Perhaps the before picture was generic and not of your boat?

[toddster]

No, that photo in post 146 was the inspiration. Some random E27 photo from the web. A few, but not all of them, were wired that way at the factory with DC and engine controls in the “kitchen cupboard.” The original DC panel on my boat was replaced by the two drawers that can be vaguely seen in the bottom of the first photo in post 147. Both the DC panel and the engine controls were rats nests of wires dangling back into the sail locker. Replacing the mostly non-functional DC panel was one of the first things I did to the boat. Instead of repairing the hole, I just enlarged it and screwed a plywood box into it. (Some people have crammed a microwave into that location.) Other E-boats have a trash chute there, which seems like pretty good idea.
Most likely, I will do something similar with hole left by the old engine controls, but maybe in fiberglass instead of wood.

[sastanley]

toddster, Looks great! Old boats are always 'in progress'..those of us that have been following along in the forum for several years appreciate the updates, even if the newbies will see the 147 post thread and shy away.

On C-30's, I've seen a few with microwaves jammed into the area where your two drawers are located in the 'back' of the galley. Ugh..

[toddster]

Arcturus is finally recommissioned, after sitting in the farm yard for nine months! Well, at least it's craned into the water and has a mast plopped down on top.

A funny thing happens when you start telling people that you need to take time off to work on your boat, and sail away for a few weeks. Everyone has a project that just has to be done first! I've barely left the office all summer. I'm going to remember this ploy next time that business is slow...



So, 24 hours before launch, I hooked up the cooling water bypass and test-started the engine, just to be sure... NOT!

No spark! Somehow, the points auto-carbonized themselves over the winter. Well, as long as the distributor was taken apart, I installed the electronic ignition kit I've had sitting in the project bin for months. Aaaand twisted the head right off one of the coil mounting bolts.

Next, brown stuff that smelled like fuel was dripping from places it oughtn't in the vicinity of the carburetor. So off with the carb for disassembly and cleaning. It was dirty, but no passages seemed to be clogged. And as long as it was off, I installed the adjustable main jet that has been in the project bin for months. Replaced fuel line split under over-tightened hose clamp. Aaaand, this mysterious rubbery screw plug dropped onto the deck when I pulled the carb out. Looks like it would screw into about a 7/16 threaded hole. Has a small hole in the middle. Doesn't seem to be part of the carb? Could it be part of one of the EWDS sensors? Entirely possible that it's just some random thing that dropped into the engine bay and was hiding in a crevice of the carb. It doesn't ring any bells for me. Well, the engine seems to run without it.




I also drained most of the fuel out of the tank, through the filter bypass, and topped off with fresh fuel. I know that I bought fuel last year, but the tank probably contains a 50:50 mix of year-old fuel and two-year-old fuel. Or older. I got about 10 ml of water and a bunch of small crystals and brown matter from the filter.

So, anyway, the engine seems happy now, though a few adjustments are needed.

Speaking of EWDS... When the switch is ON but the motor has not yet started, should the fuel pressure light be ON? If it is OFF, is that a sign that the sensor is not hooked up correctly or some other problem? Just asking before testing because it's significantly difficult to get fingers down into that region of the engine bay and will probably require an investment of an hour and several band-aids.