hi all,
I have a yanmar 2gm20f on a caliber 28'- how important is it to get my hands on a manual crank to start the engine if the started motor dies? I've heard mixed things and some people say it's so hard to manually start the thing that it's not worth buying and crank. anyone have experience with this and/or know where I could buy one?
also- anyone know of a better yanmar "manual" than the "yanmar manual?" I have probably already learned most of the important things from friends but would like a better source than that lousy manual.
thanks in advance-
brad
I guess I'll break with the pack and say HELL YES get yourself a handle and learn to use it! I had the Yanmar 2QM20F which is a slightly older verion of your exact motor (mine was 1980). I probably hand started it 20 times or so and I'm no gorilla. Once after flooding the starter with salt water I used it to motor out of Princess Louisa Inlet. If you're not familliar with the area, it's a fjord with mountain walls so high you can't even get VHF reception with a nearby coastguard station. We would have had to wait for the next ice age for wind there!
People will tell you that it's impossible but really it's a matter of technique and once you get it right you can always do it, though you do need 2 people so that the second person can release the decompression lever. There are lots of tricks and shortcuts that make it easier. PM me or ask me to post it if you'd like the entire procedure and list of tricks to make it easier.
Yanmar put a lot of thought into this feature also. For example the handle will not fly around and break your wrist as some hand crank engines will. It is attached to a free-wheeling device simmilar to how a bicycle wheel can be driven by the pedals but not the other way around. In fact, in my manual, it listed the starter motor and electrical gauge panel as optional accessories!!!
On another occasion I had another electrical issue and couldn't use the starter. Having the hand crank meant I could still start the engine, and go on my weekend trip to show off the boat at the wooden boat festival without worry.
Now that I have a 45HP that doesn't have a hand crank option I REALLY miss the ultimate redundancy of the hand crank.
Medsailor
PS One more tip, carry a spare length of bicycle chain and a chain remover/fitter tool. Keep it in a zip lock packed in grease. The first time we tried to hand crank the motor the bicycle chain connecting the flywheel to the hand crank wheel broke from rust.