Aboard Astraea

Invest in experiences

December 10, 2012
by Nate

Changing Zincs

Zincs are an important part of a boat. They are attached to metal parts of the boat below the waterline and corrode away over time instead of the metal they’re connected to. On Astraea they’re on the rudder post and on the propellor shaft. Don Casey has a great writeup about boat zincs at the Boat U.S. website.
Last week I changed the zincs on Astraea. The standard ZHC-6 rectangular zincs don’t properly fit the rudder post and needed to be cut down.

image

The day before, I used an electric hacksaw at a local machine shop to cut the excess zinc away. Then I put on my dive gear and dove under the boat. I used a 1/2 inch socket to remove the old zinc. Astraea has had the same zincs installed since she was launched here in San Diego last spring. Nine months in the water and the old zinc didn’t look too corroded. I estimate that 90% remained.

image

I inspected the “Electro Guard D” round zinc on the propeller shaft and found it was still tight and in very good condition so I didn’t replace it. After New Years I’ll dive the boat again and inspect the zincs again.

December 9, 2012
by Nate

Preheat Solenoid Replacement

Las weekend when we were anchored in Glorietta Bay the engine was hard to start. When you start our engine first you turn the key on, then an alarm sounds. Next push the preheat button and the alarm turns off, the glow plugs heat up and the fuel pump comes on. In Glorietta the alarm never turned off and the fuel pump didn’t come on. Solenoids are easy to troubleshoot. There’s a 12VDC input at two places, one is the high current input on the left copper post, and the activation is the bottom left small post labeled “S.” When 12VDC is applied to the “S” post it activates the internal mechanism completing the circuit, essentially electrically closing the switch and allowing electricity to flow from the left side to the right.

image

During troubleshooting I verified that the 12VDc was available on the input. On the output side the large post was 0VDC and the small post was 3.96VDC. I individually disconnected each load on the right side to verify. That they weren’t loading the solenoid down and found the 12VDC never goes all the way through. I looked the part number up in the Westerbeke manual (part number 024639) and found it online for $42 plus shipping and handling. Fortunately, the solenoid is the same as for a 1967 Ford Mustang so I bought it at O’Reilly’s Auto Parts for $24! Thanks to my buddy Vince for knowing that solenoid off the top of his head. I installed the new solenoid last night and it works perfectly now!