mjt

Hi everyone, Last season I had a few problems with the dogs slipping in Astern on my Enfield. This seemed to be caused by them not fully engaging because it only happened at low throttle and if I gave the Morse lever a good pull and then backed it off it was ok. While the boat was lifted I decided to check the adjustment so I disconnected the cable at the leg with the intention of selecting Forward and Astern with the leg's lever, whilst rotating the prop by hand, and then seeing how well the cable lined up when I moved the Morse lever. I found the leg lever was very stiff and, having got the dogs engaged in Astern, I had quite a difficult job getting it back to Neutral, by which time it had become almost impossible to move. That was last Thursday. Today (Monday) it appeared to be completely seized. I couldn't move it at all. I considered slipping a piece of tubing over the lever to give a bit more mechanical advantage but decided against because I didn't want to risk breaking anything. It seems that my gear engagement problems last season were probably due to the stiffness in the mechanism. The question is: is this a known problem with Enfields and is there any way to resolve it without stripping the unit? Also could this problem be aggravated by the descaler that I had used on the drive? It was thoroughly rinsed off afterwards.

Thanks for that also, Jim. I had, in fact, looked at the Yachtpaints website before Blakes but didn't notice that product.

Thanks for the reply. Can you point me towards a supplier of those products? I've tried a quick Google for Mercruiser paint but it mostly found threads on this topic in other forums. From what I read it appears that Mercruiser primer and paint are in aerosols but I would prefer something that could be applied by brush. As an alternative I was wondering if Blakes Underwater Primer followed by Blakes Waterline might be the way to go. The datasheet for Waterline says it's designed for aluminium outdrives.

Last season I painted the Enfield with Hammerite on the advice of the marina but it has stood up very poorly to six months immersion in fresh water and is flaking badly in spite of the fact that I had prepared the leg well, including using Hammerite special metals primer on the bare alloy. Can anyone suggest a more robust coating that might last more than one season?

Thanks for the response Steve. I'll probably give the split-charge diode block a try and see how it works out. If I insert the block directly into the alternator output it will continue to sense the engine battery which seems the logical arrangement. My main concern is that even with the existing set-up I find that I have to increase the revs to over 1500 to get the 16RA field relay to pull in and suspect the additional volt-drop might make it even more reluctant. I don't think you are correct in your statement regarding leaving the 'ignition' switch on with the engine stationary or the belt failed. In this condition the field relay should be de-energised and the power to the field winding will then be supplied via, and limited by, the charge warning lamp. Incidentally our boat has a direct raw water system so could continue to run safely without the belt just by turning the switch to 'off'.

I wonder if anyone has experience of fitting a standard (i.e. NOT a zero-drop) diode block to a Lucas 11AC alternator (this has a separate external voltage regulator and field relay). Will the volt-drop of the diodes cause problems with the relay pulling in? Looking at the standard Lucas control circuit it would appear that the external regulator could be connected to the battery side of the diode block, thereby sensing the battery voltage and compensating for the diode drop. Does anyone know if this would cause any problems? I Know that a simple split-charge block is not necessarily the optimum solution to the problem and that there are some quite sophisticated systems for separately controlling the charge to engine and domestic batteries but these are well over my budget. Also, whilst a second alternator would be a nice alternative I don't have the facilities for making up a mount and can't justify the cost of getting it done professionally.

Hi Stranger. Thanks for the link. Jill - were you a Navy Lark fan?

Thanks Jill, I've ordered one.

Does anyone know where I can lay my hands on an instruction manual for a Paloma water heater as there wasn't one with my boat? Alternatively could anyone send me a scanned copy? Unfortunately the label on the Paloma is rather faded (see attached pic) but I can just make out the following :- Type PH-5-3F(Ma.... the rest is illegible.

Ok, well very briefly:- The side window frames are held along the top edge by screws which are hidden under the aluminium gutter. The screws go through the edge of the cabin roof, through the frame flanges and into the wooden battens to which the headlining is attached**. The frame flanges are thus clamped between the battens and the roof. Of these screws the ones nearest the front also go through the top of the external corner cover plates. The front frame flanges are also clamped between the battens and the roof but in this case the screws go through the headlining battens (from the inside), through the frame flange and into the roof structure. Of these screws the two nearest the centre also go through the top of the external centre cover plate. In each front frame there are also two further screws holding it to the roof structure which are hidden beneath the battens. Of these the ones nearest the corners also go through the top of the external corner cover plates. Where the frames meet in the corners there are wooden filler pieces profiled to suit the corner angle. These must go back the same way they come out. The gutters and frames are stuck firmly by a hard grey mastic-like material. Removal is made a lot easier by the application of some heat. Since the headlining battens need to be moved around it is necessary to first remove the curtain rails and the wooden cappings above the windows. Also, because the vertical wooden cappings in the front corners are screwed to the corner filler pieces these must also be removed. Because the roof is supported by the window frames only one frame should be removed at a time. It is also prudent to only remove one of the front frames at a time to preserve the lateral stability of the roof (i.e. to prevent it wobbling from side to side). Note:- ** In my boat the headlining is cloth and has become fragile with age so it was quite difficult to prevent it tearing as the battens were moved.

Hi again. Well, in the end it was left to me to find out how the frames were fitted. No-one at the Seamaster Club had encountered this issue before. I've now had all the frames removed, split, the glass re-bedded and the frames refitted and re-sealed. Not cheap but hopefully a more reliable job than just trying to do it in-situ. If there's anyone else out there who needs to know how it's done I'll be happy to pass on my experience. I think the Seamaster Club will be publishing an article in their magazine in the not too distant future.

That sounds sensible. Actually, one boatyard owner I spoke to commented that "Seamaster pushed their luck with this design". He said that breakdown of the window sealing can be aggravated just by walking along the side decks because they flex due to insufficient support. I hope I can get the leaks problem sorted satisfactorily because this boat seems to have been rather neglected by recent owners and the Missus and I want to give it a bit of TLC and get it back into good shape.

Thanks Mowjo. I was aware of the site but hadn't decided whether to join. I think now that I'll go for it as there are bound to be other issues that I'll need help with, this being my first-ever boat.

Hi, Does anyone know how the cabin windows are fitted on a Seamaster 23? I've been told that the aluminium frames support the roof, that the fixings are concealed uder the headlining and therefore the windows can't easily be removed. If there is anyone who has detailed knowledge of the construction method I'd be very grateful for the info. The windows ideally need to be removed to allow them to be properly resealed.