Log XXIX - Artemis 1 (Mercruiser Last Cruise)

After making the arrangements with the shipyard in Malaysia and all the necessary paperwork for port clearance, I started my longest cruise to Malaysia with not so reliable engines.

The initial part of the cruise was very refreshing. We started early when the air was fresh and the temperature was cooling. Both engines were working well and we were travelling at good speed. This was one of the enjoyable moments that would stay with me for a long time as we cruised passed Sentosa, along East Coast Park and towards Changi Immigration Checkpoint Zone.

While we were waiting for the immigration vessel to do our clearance, one of the idling engines went dead and it could not be started anymore. I had spent about $1k to replace the fuel pump to prevent this from happening though knowing that these engines were going to be replaced. Yet shit still happened. No matter how frustrated I was, we still had to continue our journey, because the way back was not any shorter than the remaining distance.

After the port clearance, we had to travel with only the starboard engine at snail speed. It was not long before I realised that the engine oil pressure became very low. We opened up the engine room hatch to discover that engine oil was squirting out! It was a mess in the engine compartment.

Basically I could summarise my situation then to something like this: port engine could not start, starboard engine kept squirting engine oil out, and we had already crossed Singapore waters but not yet done with Malaysian customs, meaning in the middle of nowhere. When things like this happen, there is only one solution - keep calm and keep going.

We managed to reach the Malaysia customs. I did not even dare to open the engine hatch. The only worry I had was, would I be able to switch on the engine again after I switched it off? Whatever the case, I had to switch off the engine to proceed to process the Malaysian immigration clearance.

Artemis berthed alongside the jetty at Malaysia customs

Looking at Artemis berthed peacefully in the calm waters

After the clearance, we began the last part of our journey to the shipyard. Despite the dreadful situation, I still managed to take a snapshot of this Desaru bridge.

After 4 hours of travelling, at last we caught sight of the entrance to the shipyard. If anything happened now, I should be able to seek for some assistance.

But we were unable to go up slip yet because the tide was too low. Is this ship yard kind of primitive to be dependent on tides? I started to wonder what kind of method would they be using to bring my boat up. This kind of thought add on to my worries, but there was a consolation.

There is a nearby restaurant by the sea with a small jetty just nice for my boat to berth. We decided to have our lunch while waiting for the tide to rise.

This is the restaurant by the sea. Quite a cool place to relax. And by the way, that was my first time driving a boat to a restaurant.

We shall see what is their method to go up slip in my next post. A process which usually takes 5 minutes but took us 30 minutes instead.

Log XXVIII - Artemis 1 (Last Days of My Engines) - Part 3

What to consider when choosing a suitable diesel engine to replace your current petrol engines?

1. Engine Power

Of course when you change your engines, you will want your boat to go as fast if not faster than your current cruising speed. Therefore it is important for you to know what is the required horsepower to power your boat. Take note that petrol engine produces less torque than diesel engine. Therefore you need not find the same horsepower diesel engine to replace the current petrol one. However modifications to the propellers have to be done to utilise the higher torque produced in diesel engines.

2. Engine Room Size

Diesel engine generally takes up more room than petrol ones. So if your current engine compartment is a just nice fit, it is very likely that you have to choose a lower horsepower diesel engine to fit in. But as mentioned above, lower horsepower does not mean less torque which does not mean slower cruising speed. Also take note that you cannot use up every inch of space in the engine compartment as you will need access to do the usual servicing of the engine, such as changing of engine oil/ fuel filter, impeller, belts, etc.

3. Gear Box

Photo: Gear box for cars but similar concept as boats except that for boats, there are only forward and reverse gears.

You can use back the same gear box when you change the engine. But you may require an adapter so that the new engine can be bolted onto the existing gear box. The position of the gear box is actually the benchmark of where your new engine should be seated. Measurements of the new engine positions are all taken reference from the connecting point between the gearbox and the engine body.

4. Propellers

As mentioned earlier in item 1, propellers have to be modified to utilise the higher torque from diesel engines. There are two ways of increasing the torque of a propeller. One is to increase the diameter, and the other is to increase the pitch. Increasing the diameter is limited to the clearance of the prop to the soffit of the hull. Too little clearance will result in excessive turbulence which reduces the efficiency. I will suggest modifying the pitch of the props instead. With a deeper pitch, more water is being pushed out in one rotation hence more power in one rpm. However do not rush into this modification until everything is completed and the speed of the boat is clocked with various rpm. Only with sufficient data can you or your mechanic make a decision of how many pitches to be adjusted.

5. Condition of the Diesel Engine

Needless to say, this is one of the most important thing to consider. You will not want to install a chunk of problems into your boat, for which I did. So there will be a lot more posts on engines in the future than I wish for. Anyway, a few key things to check on the re-conditioned engine - condition of the pistons and cylinders, heat exchanger (is there any leakage?) and gaskets/ seals (make sure every gasket and seal is replaced). There are of course many more stuff to check and you will find out along the way.

Log XXVII - Artemis 1 (Last Days of My Engines) - Part 2

Reasons for you to change your engines from petrol to diesel

1) Cost and efficiency of fuel

Though this is an obvious reason, you also have to take into consideration the huge amount of money and time you have to invest in the engine change operation. After you do the maths, if you are a leisure boater who only goes out once or twice a month, and only short trips to the nearby islands, then the savings in the fuel is not justified. It may take 6-7 years to recover your investment. By then you maybe planning to change your boat already.

But if you intend to make long trips to other countries such as Malaysia or Indonesia, and you will go out boating at least once or twice a week, even if those are short trips. Then it is worth the change. I have calculated that the savings in fuel should be able to write off the initial engine changing costs in about 2-3 years.

Hence your boating style will affect this factor quite significantly.

2) Maintenance and parts

The cost of an engine is not just the engine itself, you will also have to consider the costs of the engine parts and whether they are easily available. If you add up the costs of the parts replacement over the years, it is a heart breaking amount. The availability of the parts is also important as you will not want to be stuck in the marina for weeks just waiting for the engine part to be shipped in from overseas.

The parts for my engine were falling apart due to corrosion. The metal alloy used for petrol engines are generally less sturdy than diesel ones and when it corrodes, it becomes flaky and falls off eventually. Unlike the alloy for diesel engines, when it corrodes, it forms a layer of rust wrapped around the engine block. That is the reason why diesel engines can be used for decades with timely overhaul, and the lifespan of petrol engines are much shorter. I believe my Mercruiser days are numbered.

3) Safety

Diesel is definitely a much safer fuel than petrol. Other than the highly combustible property of petrol, petrol engines also emit much higher amount of carbon monoxide. Because of the above two factors, we have to be more concerned of the safety features on board such as suitable fire extinguisher in the engine room, blowers for ventilation of the engine compartment and carbon monoxide detector in the cabin.

And so that is it, my Mercruisers' fate is sealed.

In my next post, I will share with you what are the critical items that we have to consider when choosing what diesel engines to change.

Log XXVI - Artemis 1 (Last Days of My Engines) - Part 1

My current engines are Mercruiser 454 Horizon inboard petrol engines. They were taking turns to give me problems. First it was the port engine which had a chipped exhaust manifold.

Exhaust was leaking out from the manifold and making a lot of noise. So I ordered a new one with new gaskets. Remember to always change the gaskets whenever you replace an engine part. I learn this lesson through the hard way and you will find out in my later posts.

However this did not solve the problem yet because the exhaust holes on the engine body were badly corroded too.

You notice that the walls are getting very thin. Even with a new manifold and gasket, it will not completely prevent the exhaust from leaking out. To change the engine block is a huge operation. It is almost as good as overhaul the whole engine, so I decided to live with this flaw.

Next problem was more irritating. This same engine started to stop running randomly. At first we thought it might be the same problem as the previous time when there was debris stuck in the fuel intake pipes. But this time the fuel feeding to the engine was intermittent. We decided to change the fuel pump.

This existing fuel pump looks old and corroded and needed a change. After changing the fuel pump, the engine was running normally but only just for a while. I only managed to find out what was the problem many months later. Anyway I was also contemplating to change my engines to diesel ones mainly because the cost of diesel is only a quarter of the price of petrol.

After talking to several mechanics and boaters, who all offered very different views, I decided to change them. In my next post, I will explain why I wanted to change my engines. Not because the current ones were giving lots of problems, as all marine engines will have their own sets of problems anyway.