Engine problems on the way from Menorca to Mallorca
We have solved our engine problem after it was overheating. It was a good mixture of not knowing and tricky. But let's start from the beginning. We leave our first anchorage in Menorca, a very narrow bay with a steep rocky cliffs and lots of boats. Shortly before leaving, a motorboat anchors almost above our anchor. In the end, everything turns out well and we get out of the bay. We motor comfortably as there is very little wind and we only want to go to a bay 10 nautical miles (2 hours) away, which is a little closer for our planned trip to Mallorca. On departure, we check properly whether water is coming out of the exhaust, as you learn in engine course 1.0. Our engine has an internal closed cooling system, which is additionally cooled with salt water via an external cooling circuit. The water for the external cooling circuit is sucked in at the saildrive (gearbox to which the propeller is attached) and is expelled again via the exhaust. In our case, water comes out of the exhaust, so the external cooling circuit works. As soon as we leave the bay, our engine starts to beep loudly. We reduce the throttle to zero. Julia and Ines go down to see what's going on. Julia thinks it smells strange and when we open the lid it smokes. We switch off the engine immediately and fortunately see relatively quickly that it is just steam and not smoke. We put the sails up and at a speed of 0.5 knots we are able to move away from the cliffs. As there is black liquid under the engine, our first assumption is oil. On closer inspection, however, we discover that a cooling hose of the internal cooling circuit has burst and it is a mixture of coolant, water and oil residue. We shorten the hose and notice that it is disintegrating on the inside. After a cool-down period for the engine and laborious progress under sail, we try our luck again. After 10 minutes under engine, this time with a direct view of the problem area, the hose bursts again and all the water spurts out of the hose, steaming. So for today it's sailing only. The wind is kind and thanks to the short distance, we arrive in a slightly closer bay after 4 hours instead of the planned 2, where we could anchor without the engine. We shortened and fastened the tube once again, knowing well that it would burst again at any time under load. As there is only one boat in the bay, we anchor under sail - a maneuver that we don't try very often, but which works excellently in these conditions.
For the next day, we look for a large, sandy bay on Mallorca where we can anchor under sail and decide to attempt the crossing despite engine problems. Casting off under sail in the morning was uncomfortable, and it was only thanks to the Swiss crew on the neighboring boat, which had positioned itself very awkwardly above our anchor, and the last bursts of the engine that we managed to weigh anchor without any damage. We have the best wind conditions for the rest of the crossing, even overtake a catamaran and reach our destination bay in Mallorca in 12 hours and after almost 70 nautical miles without our engine - just in time for sunset.
The next day we try to get a replacement tube from the mechanics at the marina in Sa Rapitá. Difficult task, nobody has such a hose in stock. Whenseeing the video, one of the mechanics says that it's probably not just the hose but a problem with the cooling system because of the steam build-up. We could come to the marina on Monday morning and a mechanic will take a look at everything. We spend the weekend in the bay in good spirits - eating tapas again with our friends and drinking sangria before we have to say goodbye to Julia and Gugi with a heavy heart on Saturday after two weeks and 470 nautical miles. Now we are suddenly alone on board.
On Monday morning, as agreed, we contact the mechanic in question. We don't get an answer until the early afternoon. As we were meeting a friend in Palma anyway, we asked again on the spot. We receive a cryptic answer and are told to try the mechanics next door. This attempt at least results in us knowing where to get the burst hose from - a store in Palma. However, a mechanic appointment is only possible at the end of the week at best.
In the meantime, we clean the seawater inlet on the saildrive, although we are still not sure exactly where the water is sucked in (there are 3 holes on each side and one at the bottom). As the lower hole is completely covered by a shell, we suspect that it could have been the blocked hole. It just doesn't fit with the fact that we (two people) saw water coming out of the exhaust. We get the hose from Palma and set about tackling the problem systematically. We top up the coolant for the internal circuit and replace the broken hose. We also manage to get the temperature display, which has never worked, up and running. On closer inspection, the external cooling circuit also looks dry. We also fill it with salt water. After starting the engine, it initially sounds like everything is working. I take a look at the exhaust from the dinghy and notice that no water is coming out. What sounds like water splashing is the exhaust air blowing into the water because our exhaust is temporarily under water due to the load. Engine off. After a few tests, only the impeller (small rubber wheel that serves as a pump for the external cooling circuit) remains as the source of the problem. Probably we have destroyed it by letting it run dry. We open the housing and of course, the impeller is broken. We spend another 2 hours pointlessly searching for the broken 7th impeller blade until, after checking all the hoses and looking at the new one, we realize that there are only 6 blades. Well, at least all the hoses are now completely clean. We then replace the impeller and try again. Finally, water comes out of the exhaust. After 1 hour at a good speed, our thermostat shows 80°C, the perfect temperature. We have learned a lot and enjoy the rest of the evening.
Our lessons learned:
The Saildrive water intake must be cleaned and the bottom hole is the main intake for cooling.
The engine thermostat is an essential instrument.
When installing spare parts, it is better to take a look at the intact new spare part rather than the old broken one.
Last but not least: with logical thinking, you can often find the problem area faster than expected, even if, like us, you are not an expert at all.
