My wife and I are the new owners of a 1984 Hunter 34 with a 20 HP Yanmar 3GMF (with about 1400 hours on the clock). We are new to sailing and just picked up the boat in the spring of this year. She is in relatively good condition but has needed enough maintenance to keep me busy. Our broker told me that if the diesel was going then all was good. It’s been running well all summer so I hadn’t done much to it except clean the exterior and compartment before this past weekend when things suddenly went badly. We were heading out with the kids and had just decided to turn around because the wind and waves were picking up fast when the Yanmar quit and would not restart a few hundred metres off a lee shore. Essentially, we got towed back in quickly and safely but the high adrenaline experience scared the hell out of our daughters (3 and 5 years old).
Here is what I did. Using the Yanmar manual and Don Casey’s maintenance bible I went through the checklists. I was able to turn the engine over manually (big relief). I changed the oil and oil filter (the oil was black and on the low side but there had been no indication of low pressure while motoring out), cleaned some seaweed out of the raw water filter, cleared water and black gunk out of the primary
fuel filter, bled the air out of the secondary
fuel filter and tightened the nuts on one of my batteries (there are three, all were engaged). After all this it still would not start. At first it would not turn over. The solenoid engaged but the engine didn’t turn. This had happened a few times earlier in the summer but it had always started on the second or third try. After a few tries it began to turn consistently but still did not engage. I retried several times over 20 minute intervals as I consulted the manuals. Finally I tried to bleed the fuel
lines at the injectors. After this, the engine started on the third try. Heaven to my ears. After letting it run at varying speeds for a half hour or so I shut it down and tried again. It started right away. Again, big relief. What I am wondering is, have I left anything out? Clearly I need a regular regimen for clearing the fuel
lines and I am replacing the filter elements, but my wife and kids are nervous now and I need to assure them that the engine is reliable. If anyone can recommend any actions or checks I have missed then please let me know. This experience has helped me to understand the diesel a lot more than before, but I’m still a novice. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks