Your best ever DIY maintenance idea

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Bill Ranson

Bill Ranson

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 8, 2013
Messages
120
Location
USA
Vessel Name
Cork
Vessel Make
Halvorsen GC32
It would fun and educational to compile a list of everyones best ideas for making boat maintenance easier for the do it yourself folks (other than pulling out the checkbook and paying someone else to do it).

I'll start it off with installing a 12 volt oil change pump connected directly to the pan. No more pumping it out through the dipstick pipe.
 
I have a watering system on my batteries. Just hook up the tube and squeeze bulb to a convenient connection point and pump distilled water from a gallon jug until the batteries are full. Five years now and haven't seen my batteries still tucked away outboard behind the fuel tanks and very hard to get to.:socool:
 
My best original idea was converting my unused home security IR cameras into an Engine Room video monitor system which displays ER video on the HDTV through a panel mounted camera selector switch. Works like a charm and very reassuring between ER checks.

img_285401_0_f7b22479d9030da3ca87a0999e5a318f.jpg


img_285401_1_79615e3d26628b48bd43764763ada625.jpg


img_285401_2_bac5f36ac4420429ba243a80a13bd9f9.jpg


The ER in pitch black darkness...no lights.

img_285401_3_6e80ed4fde959b975c63fcf97720dcab.jpg
 
Don't let the smile fool you. That's where we keep our enslaved child labor. They board as the kids of our guests and they disembark as men.
 
Fly

can I send the kid across the street for a visit ?
 
obthomas said:
I have a watering system on my batteries. Just hook up the tube and squeeze bulb to a convenient connection point and pump distilled water from a gallon jug until the batteries are full. Five years now and haven't seen my batteries still tucked away outboard behind the fuel tanks and very hard to get to.:socool:
Click to expand...

Can you give more info on how this is set up?
 
Probably my FW flushing kits for the engines generator and ac systems. Keeps exchangers and strainers free of scale and growth leaving more time for play.


Via iPhone.
 
Fly. How long has your camera been in the ER? No heat problems?
 
Cafe sport. Did you fabricate the flusher or by them. I know Grocco has something called Safety Seacocks that could be hooked to a fresh water hose. I had them on another boat and they really made flushing and winterizing a lot easier.
 
FlyWright said:
Don't let the smile fool you. That's where we keep our enslaved child labor. They board as the kids of our guests and they disembark as men.
Click to expand...

Albeit deaf men.
 
Punching a hole in big diesel lube oil filters to drain them before removal. No more dirty oil spills
 
bayview said:
Punching a hole in big diesel lube oil filters to drain them before removal. No more dirty oil spills
Click to expand...

And slide a gallon ziplock bag around the filter to make it dripless removal and disposal.
 
Not my "idea" but just a simple tip for crimping small wire terminals.
Look for the seam in the crimp barrel. If using a (C dimple type crimper, position the crimp in the tool with the dimple set opposite the barrel seam and don't move it when inserting the wire. If you crimp with the seam to the side or worse, the dimple on top of the seam, the seam rips apart and results in a weak crimp. Insulated butt splices are the most difficult to find the seam. For the () type tool, make sure the seam is centered in the arch (c).
So this means looking for the seam and aligning the crimp tool with the seam BEFORE EVERY crimp.
 
I still do my bottom painting so the best find was sandpaper from the floor refinishing folks.

At #16 , 20 or 24 grit it looks like rocks stuck on a hunk of cardboard.

BUT those chunks are silicone carbide and work very well, with a LIGHT TOUCH.

Bottom paint or bottom growth , gone in an instant.Scrape grass off first.

My method is a 2 inch thick foam sanding pad , with sanding disc adhesive with a large grinder.

AND A LIGHT TOUCH!!

The floor sanding material comes in about 5 ft long sheets , these are cut square , the corners extending from the pad help in not marring the surface.

A light weight light duty sander is easier to hold up, and very little power is required as its THAT fast!
 
Last edited:
I think the best I've come up with is to use a piston ring compressor to squish large impellers and make it easy to install them. Installing smaller impellers is no big deal, but if you have a large engine with a big pump like on my Cummins QSC engines, getting the impellers in is VERY difficult.

Pretty much any auto parts store sells piston ring compressors use to compress piston rings so you can put a piston back in the cylinder during an engine rebuild. They cost under $20. You just put it around the impeller, ratchet it down until the impeller is squished enough, then it will slide right into the pump body, aligning the key or splines of course. No more wrestling matches, and I win every time.

The key, though, is to get the cuff style compressor, not the one that looks like an oil filter wrench. You will need the full length of the cuff to hold the impeller or it will be trying to pop out all the time.
 
I really like the piston ring compressor for the impellers. Anyone have any cures for pulling the impeller? I don't have he type with the bolt hole that you can use a bolt for pulling. I know there are pullers out there but they run into the $200 or more range.
For removing hoses someone gave me the tip to go to the auto parts store and ask them for the water pump hose puller tools. I got a set of those and what a difference. Still end up bloody some times but it really helps. Also a dremel cutting disc to cut the steel wire if needed.
 
Shop vac to get genset impeller parts out of heat exchanger. Pull the "output" hose off the water pump, duct tape your shop vac to the hose, make sure the exhaust "flap" is open (if you have one), turn on the vac and count the pieces you get to match how many are missing from the impeller. Works well on my Onan.
 
An outboard type squeeze bulb pump right before the racors. Bleeding the entire system or just refilling the racors to the brim without spilling a drop.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by bayview
Punching a hole in big diesel lube oil filters to drain them before removal. No more dirty oil spills
And slide a gallon ziplock bag around the filter to make it dripless removal and disposal. __________________
Click to expand...


I seal the hole, after draining, with a metal screw and anything rubber including faucet washers. The filter is then dry, light and easy to handle.


I have not had good luck with the do it inside a baggie process. If the filter is full, oil comes out and its like grabbing a greased pig. If it is empty there is no need. Of course I have heard rumors that some filters are positioned for easy access.
 
Aluminum foil placed under filters in such a way as to drain into a pan saves a lot of mess.
 
sum escape said:
Shop vac to get genset impeller parts out of heat exchanger. Pull the "output" hose off the water pump, duct tape your shop vac to the hose, make sure the exhaust "flap" is open (if you have one), turn on the vac and count the pieces you get to match how many are missing from the impeller. Works well on my Onan.
Click to expand...

That is a great idea!:thumb::thumb:
 
On our sailboat, Yanmar 2GMF, we installed a speedseal on the raw water pump. Made it possible to change the impeller with no tools. Unfortunately, I don't think they make ones for larger diesels.

Also on the sailboat, I got a piece of pvc pipe almost the same inside diameter as our prop shaft. I cut it to around four inches long with a slit down the side. Heated it with a heat gun, and formed it to the prop shaft. When we would change the stuffing box packing, I would use the piece of PVC to pack in the loops.

On our Nordic Tug, we have a fuel fill that is a straight shot to the tank. We had considered installing a site glass to know exactly how much fuel we have on board, but instead I measured the height of the tank, then transfered marks to a piece of dowl at 1/8 increments. Painted the dowel with clear epoxy and now have a dip stick that tells us EXACTLY how much fuel we have in the tank. With a 200 gal tank, each mark is 25 gals. Cheap and easy.
 
Carolena said:
On our sailboat, Yanmar 2GMF, we installed a speedseal on the raw water pump. Made it possible to change the impeller with no tools. Unfortunately, I don't think they make ones for larger diesels.

Also on the sailboat, I got a piece of pvc pipe almost the same inside diameter as our prop shaft. I cut it to around four inches long with a slit down the side. Heated it with a heat gun, and formed it to the prop shaft. When we would change the stuffing box packing, I would use the piece of PVC to pack in the loops.

On our Nordic Tug, we have a fuel fill that is a straight shot to the tank. We had considered installing a site glass to know exactly how much fuel we have on board, but instead I measured the height of the tank, then transfered marks to a piece of dowl at 1/8 increments. Painted the dowel with clear epoxy and now have a dip stick that tells us EXACTLY how much fuel we have in the tank. With a 200 gal tank, each mark is 25 gals. Cheap and easy.
Click to expand...
A stick with marks or a see through plastic tank are the only methods I swear by.

We have stick stabber for the assistance tow boat and people who have run out of gas that I respond to just shake their heads when I show them the stick. Usually just after I tell them the most unreliable thing on their boat is their fuel gauge.

Some gauges are OK... but not the typical ones unless you get lucky or fiddle with them all the time.
 
The best boat maintenance tip I've gotten came from a member of this forum who appears to be no longer active on it. This is to use GoJo as a cleaner for fenders and shorepower cords. The original GoJo with pumice. Nothing else we have ever tried works as well, and we tried a lot of things before learning about GoJo.

As an aside, Boeing now uses GoJo (with pumice) in all the assembly plant washrooms. Terrific stuff.
 
Marin

it is great stuff and has so many uses
 
Marin said:
The best boat maintenance tip I've gotten came from a member of this forum who appears to be no longer active on it. This is to use GoJo as a cleaner for fenders and shorepower cords. The original GoJo with pumice. Nothing else we have ever tried works as well, and we tried a lot of things before learning about GoJo.

As an aside, Boeing now uses GoJo (with pumice) in all the assembly plant washrooms. Terrific stuff.
Click to expand...
Is pumice that gritty stuff?
 
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