December 3, 2010

I got a call from Scott on Wednesday telling me that the crane would be at the marina the next day to step someone's mast and I could use it to remove the big old genset that was now sitting in my cockpit. I took the day off on Thursday so I could bring the boat over to a corner of the marina known as "Bill's Boatyard" for the operation. The "boatyard" is nothing more than spot next to the bathrooms that's close enough to the bank for the crane to reach out to boats squeezed into the corner. While waiting for the crane to arrive Thursday morning, I installed the polished stainless heat shield for the bulkhead by the cook stove and started work on a cover for the windlass motor hanging down from the ceiling in the v-berth. About noon we got the boat moved and tied up at the "boat yard."I removed the teak doors from the aft cabin companionway so they wouldn't get damaged as the monster genset swung around. We padded other vulnerable areas with plywood, carpeting and blankets. Dennis, who was paying for the crane to re-step his mast, helped Scott and me prep for the big hoist. We rigged tackles to control the position of the big genset as it was eased up and around the overhanging aft end of the doghouse. Once the crane arrived, it only took a few minutes to hoist the monster out and set it on the back of Scott's flatbed truck.It all went without a hitch...until I started Circadian's engine to bring her back to her berth.

The oil pressure warning buzzer continued to blare after the engine started, even though the idiot light was not on and the gauge showed 75lbs. Not wanting to risk destroying a nearly new engine, I immediately shut it down. Turning the key to the "run" position without starting the engine got the same indications: buzzer blaring, no idiot lights on, and 75lbs of pressure showing on the gauge. Very odd. I tried starting the engine again just long enough to see if I could tell if oil was circulating normally by looking in the fill hole on top of the valve cover while it ran. I couldn't tell, so I shut her down immediately again. By this time we had to get Circadian out of the way so Dennis could get his boat in position to re-step the mast. Scott's brother Jeff ended up towing me back to my slip using the marina's little work boat while Scott helped Dennis re-step his mast. It didn't help that it had begun raining; I was now cold and wet as well as disheartened. I spent some time escaping from the rain by perusing the troubleshooting section in the engine manual. It advised that the symptoms indicated a faulty ground. That might also explain the intermittent failure of the electronic engine hour meter (although that was still working fine). While that's a whole lot better than oil pump failure or something worse, it's still a pain in the ass to find the fault. I checked all the connections under the instrument panel by sight and feel, and everything seemed clean and snug. The connection to the sender appeared solid as well. I tried cleaning and re-securing the ground connections I had messed with when I installed the radar ground originally. No luck. To add to my woes, I discovered the newly rebuilt and re-bedded skylight in the doghouse roof had developed a new leak.

I was out of time and enthusiasm, so I put things away and called it a day. In the next few days I'll study the engine wiring diagrams and see if I can sort out the grounding circuits. Based on my previous unrewarding experiences trying to solve ground fault problems, it will probably be easier and more successful to just add a new ground circuit. As for the skylight leak, hopefully all that will be required to staunch it will be tightening the mounting bolts. Sigh. Always something!