Engine room Rehab

Been Busy rehabbing the Engine Room and bilges. Here are a couple of shots:

Looking good. What's that blue spring looking hose coming out of the bottom bilge?

Swampu,

Thanks

That's my fresh water wash hose. It's plumbed off the freshwater lines to give the bilges a good washing from time to time.

Yep, looking good, what have you used to coat your engine bearers with?

Greetings,
Atta-boy Mr. Blue Heron! Nothing sweeter than a sweet bilge. It absolutely amazes me when I am searching boat ads (for pleasure NOT to buy) the state of some ERs or more importantly, the lack of ER photos. If photos included, interesting as well is the amount of over spray on hoses etc. by owners attempting to do a "tune up in a can" none of which, by the way, Mr. BH I see in your photos.
When actively searching for a vessel, in a previous life, the first place I would try to inspect was the bilge areas. An EXCELLENT indicator IMHO of overall care of the boat.

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Atta-boy Mr. Blue Heron! Nothing sweeter than a sweet bilge. It absolutely amazes me when I am searching boat ads (for pleasure NOT to buy) the state of some ERs or more importantly, the lack of ER photos. If photos included, interesting as well is the amount of over spray on hoses etc. by owners attempting to do a "tune up in a can" none of which, by the way, Mr. BH I see in your photos.
When actively searching for a vessel, in a previous life, the first place I would try to inspect was the bilge areas. An EXCELLENT indicator IMHO of overall care of the boat.

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Exactly! Over spray always says to me someone has made a half axx attempt to fool everyone into thinking the components are properly cared for. Well done BH.

Andy, I used POR-15 to convert the rust I saw on the mounts and anywhere that was corroded. Before I used the POR I used a good wire brush and a repeated engine wash down using a metal phosphate that left a good etch on the exposed now cleaned former rusted parts. Then the POR then a good Enamel. Trying to get a close match to the Perkins Blue, I went with GM Blue from the 70's. I think Chrysler Blue was too bright as I had used that on my replacement HX. The Engine Mounts are hand painted.

RTF,
I appreciate the kind words. Like you, I too look at the engine rooms and bilges as a sign of care and diligence. I think if youre going to truly make it your own, you need to start at the bottom and work your way up. I have worked off all the ABCY descrepancies on my survey and decided a CLEAN bilge and Engine Room will allow me a good indicator of future problems with either Motor or Tranny. You are correct about the overspray on the motors we have all seen. For that reason I did it the old fashion way.. Paint Brush and roller. Mostly Paint Brush.. it was a lot of work but it looks fantastic and the end result is worth the sore muscles. all in all it took about a month to clean, de-rust, prime and paint working a couple of hours on the week nights and a day or two on the weekends.. I had to remind my self to go slow and know it was going to take a few weeks to do right.

Thanks Fork. Hopefully others can see if this novice, can do it, anyone can.

That looks great. Bilge cleaning has been on my "list" for going on three years now. Can never seem to get to it as working my engine room is like getting in a glovebox to work on the engine. And as for the DEEP bilge? Pfffft... It's like giving yourself a rectal exam. I keep thinking I want to make a jig that will hang me head-first into the access hole for trying to work on the bilge pumps and the lower areas. At least my hands would be free.

Gonzo,
I get that. It was pretty tough getting to those areas, especially UNDER the motors and the far mounts. Brush control was difficult while balancing on an elbow and using a knee to keep from falling in... but it is done. Hopefully rectal exams are good for 5 or so years...

BH:

Is that a DriveSaver I see between the tranny & prop shaft? If so, how's that working out for you?

A stated by RTF, a spiffy ER can tell a lot. But one thing better than a clean ER is fixing those things (leaks, drips, oil mist, salt water through vents etc) that made it grungy to begin with.

Baltimore, yes it is. They were already installed when I purchased the boat. I can tell you it seems to be a smooth transition when putting into gears and they are pretty good at dampening vibrations. I figure I am lucky to have them considering I cruise in some skinny water around here with often missed or changing shoals due to hurricanes etc.. so if it can save my engine and tranny.. the ones I have appear to be about 10 years old or so.. but I am guessing.

Sunchaser,
Agree. That is why I changed the leaky Fuel hoses, Thru Hulls, Fuel Injector pump and all other "leaky" items before I did this rehab. Now I can have a good indicator of where any new issue pops up.

As a surveyor I am no longer surprised by the absolute neglect of most engine compartments. I like my compartments spotless as it makes routine maintenance much easier (and more frequent). While underway I spend
about 5 minutes per hour sitting in the engine compartment, just watching. The very first thing I did on both boats was to rebuild the decks and install hinges on the hatches for instant access. That alone made life much easier for the major cleanups to follow.

I don't want to spend those 5 minutes in a filthy, smelly toxic enviorment.
Shown below are photos of my 28 year old Volvo TAMD-60B and my 41 year old Perkins HT354.

Very nice !

Yup engine room clean-up and clean bilges are always on my list to do but My DD's leak a little and I never can keep them the way I want, and I am just a little OCD with most things. I do not believe it is an indicator of maintence though. My engines and machinery is taken care of and the PAPERWORK I keep proves that, not spotless engine rooms. Personally I'm not sitting in my ER while underway. Just my 2 cents but Jeff I do like the work you've done in your bilges.

Poker love the color of the detroits. Good job.

Knothead,

Thanks. I understand also about the OCD. That's why I waited until I got all the problem children in line before painting. Drip pans help.

Once my decks are fixed I plan an assault on the ER. Has anyone used a hand steam cleaner to remove the gunk plating the insides of the hull and elsewhere? I used a pressure cleaner in the aft lazarette of a previous boat,results not great except I got very wet. Other ideas, or is it just a messy manual job?
Seen those jobs where someone spray paints an engine,and paints all the hoses too? The hoses don`t like it, me neither, and it`s a dead giveaway of a last minute sale campaign tart up.

BruceK said:

Seen those jobs where someone spray paints an engine,and paints all the hoses too? The hoses don`t like it, me neither, and it`s a dead giveaway of a last minute sale campaign tart up.

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I fell for it.

I keep my Tolly engine compartment completely orig, un repainted, and very clean in its 35 years of age. I've got it set up so the salon sole hatches can be opened nearly instantly (or, faster if needed - LOL). Being an early riser... I love to be in there checking-it-all-out and if required servicing everything/anything for an hour or so - - > often starting at around 5 AM when Admiral is still dreaming!

BruceK, many years ago I bought an old wooden Chris Craft. I pulled the engine and used a steam cleaner to clean the bilge. It worked great but it was a full blown industrial steam cleaner that I borrowed from the pile driving company next door.

Bruce,

I used a marine cleaner that was cut with water in a 2:1 mix. Same company that makes POR. It is a spray on and rinse off. Then a plastic putty scraper if desired to lift off the loose and peeling. After that, just paint.