Vira - Sailboat rebuild, Irwin Citation 34

 Day 206, New Fixed windows trim installation.   Interior (small things) Fixed windows  New trim around fixed windows made out of teak and installed. each trim piece made of 4 parts. all cut on my workshop CNC out of teak wood. Only thing left here - paint the gap between window and trim.    Other things done today Made and  installed Door-cover under the AC inlet. LPG sensor - alarm installed. I installed the alarm ind found it is alarming all time. I am pretty sure I have no LPG on the board.  I bought the sensor several years ago, and it was on the boat all the time and likely was "poisoned" by paint thinners fumes. Ordering a replacement. Other small things Replaced engine overheat dumb lamp fixture (original had rubber disintegrated) .   In attempt to tight engine (ignition) switch  I broke it, by break line it was cracked for a while.  Good to get it broken at the dock ;-)   Connected compass light back, added connector f...

 Engine Manual starter  Last steps of the manual starter installation. In previous posts I showed how I built  new chain drive for manual starter. Due to I added coolant recalculation pump i was not able to use original parts for raw water version, fresh water engine version is very hard to source and also it will not fit my engine compartment. so, i designed  my own ;-) New part added. Steel plate 8mm thick about 200x60mm. screwed to existing holes on the top of timing gears box, 2 pillow block bearings, shaft, bicycle 28 tooth sprocket and shaft hub. Mechanism assembled for dry fit in the shop.  When engine installed shaft (with pin) is hidden inside engine compartment. Manual starter mechanism in place. To get to starter shaft I drilled wall and installed block of HDPE plastic to provide extra support to handle adapter.   Little bit about handle. Instead of building whole handle I made adapter which utilities standard sailboat winch handle. Two problems ...

Engine Replaced engine mounts with Ellebogen GT-SDD55 (#120450-06802)  recommended by Ellebogen sales representative.  https://ellebogen.com/us/ellebogen-gt-sdd55/ Originally I planned  to use  some hoist to lift engine, but problem on I34 there is companionway above the engine. the I think about carjack, but there not enough space to locate under engine to lift whole engine together and be able to level it.  Thanks forum. Some guy suggested to use basketball ball as lift bag. And it works absolutely well.     with $9 basketball ball pushed deflated  between carter and bilge floor 400 lb engine was lifted easy, even mode, unlike jacks ball provides you some freedom to move engine side to side.   Engine set back and tested. all works well.  New mounts in place.    Interior   Finished installation of back pillows for settees. Now we look much better  Special word about latches. Original latches was just f...

 Engine, electronics.  Finished installation of the engine monitor.   I like simplicity of my Yanmar 2QM20 , it does not need even electricity to run, BUT i am engineer and want to be sure engine is OK and to be able to monitor it and catch any issue BEFORE it grow to PROBLEM. I am using Open Plotter software on the board and decided to get important vitals from the engine  to Signal K  server to be monitored. I have designed Engine monitor "box" electronics and used SenseESP open source project   as software base for my device. What I can monitor with it? Tachometer     Tachometer sensor input     Tachometer amplified signal output Analog sensors Power voltage Alternator output voltage Engine oil pressure sensor  Two tank level sensors (not connected yet) Throttle position (not connected yet)  Alarms Oil Pressure alarm input Coolant overheat input Low coolant level input Low oil level input (not connected yet) Water...

Spent several hours to cleanup boat to be able to get out to test engine on the water.  Get boat out for 2 hours engine run. What observed: Engine and boat vibration  little more than I would consider as ok.  Need to re-align  engine to shaft, looks like  it is not well setup. Will try to replace or readjust engine mounts later Engine works great under load, no black smoke, no dense white (fuel) smoke observed. Low RPM and instant acceleration sound make me little nervous, likely i will try to measure injection moment and try to re-adjust it if needed. Short video my engine run.    

Engine Installed heat exchanger. Decided to mount it above the wet muffler keep it as close to engine as i can and mount it leveled and keep it high enough to make air naturally run out of engine. To install it there I made a  mount and screw it to the engine compartment wall. 2 hours to put it tight, but stand off of exhaust.I have about 2 inches clearance from wet exhaust hose. Little straggle to find place for coolant expansion tank. For now I put it to the wall little bit right from picture view area. Connected transmission control and engine stop cable. adjusted idle RPM and accelerator cable to do not interfere with idle speed screw.  Temporary installed engine monitoring controller.  Controller designed to collect engine data and transfer to SignalK server. Then I will be able to indicate all on the cockpit display. For now it is very important to monitor engine temperature to confirm the engine is working without overheating and thermostat works correctly. I plan ...