Starting

  1. Turn on batteries – turn the main battery switch to #1 position. Need more info here about the three keys and battery switch.
  2. Ventilate engine bay – flip the blower switch should hear the fan blowing and feel air being blown out vent on stern. You may want to turn this off before starting to provide more battery power for glow plugs and starter.
  3. Open water thru-hull – check that engine water intake valve is open, located at rear of engine bay. Can be accessed through panel under bed in rear berth.
  4. Set engine cut out lever and throttle lever – ensure cut out is pushed all the way down. Press in throttle lever to apply throttle in neutral. Move lever forward approx one-third.
  5. Insert key – insert key and turn on. You should hear fuel pump starting to tic.
  6. Pre-warm engine – if engine is cold, use glow plugs. Depending on air temperature, press button for 30-60 seconds. You should see amperage gauge drop.
  7. Start engine – press start button.
  8. Check oil pressure – the oil pressure gauge should register (50-70 psi). If no oil pressure is registered, shut down engine immediately.
  9. Check exhaust – check the exhaust port for water discharge of engine coolant. If water is not being discharged, shut down engine immediately.
  10. Set throttle – engine may start to rev up after a few seconds, throttle back to idle (approx 800-1,000 rpm).

When ready to engage engine

  1. Check near the prop and around the boat for any obstructions, dangers or lines in the water.
  2. Engage gear. When it is safe to do so, and with engine idling smoothly you can now shift to forward or reverse.
  3. Warm up. It is advisable to let the engine warm-up to full operating temperature before applying full engine power to avoid excessive engine corrosion.

Stopping engine

  1. Place throttle in idle position and neutral gear.
  2. Let engine cool down for 1-2 minutes.
  3. Pull up the engine cut-off lever to stop engine.
  4. Turn key to off position.
  5. Turn off battery.

Other interesting things to consider

  1. With folding propellers, excessive vibration may occur when the engine is put in forward gear. This is usually caused by one blade of the propeller not opening. When this occurs, slow down the engine, shift gear into reverse and accelerate engine. This usually opens the propeller. Slow the engine down to idle and shift into forward gear.
  2. When sailing, after shutting down engine, put into reverse gear to stop the prop from spinning in neutral and this will aid in folding your prop (if it’s supposed to fold).
  3. Fuel line and fuel filter should be checked periodically. Also watch out for a shut off valve for the fuel line.
  4. Our batteries are setup as #1 – engine, #2 – house, #3 – fridge.
  5. When selecting the battery, do not use the “BOTH” position unless both sets of batteries are low. When the batteries are unevenly charged, selecting “BOTH” will result in the more highly charged battery discharging into the lower 16 one. When engine is not running switch to ONE or TWO for DC services and keep one battery fully charged for starting the engine.
  6. If engine doesn’t start, do not attempt to keep holding the start button. Each time you do so the water pump is filling up exhaust. With no place to go it may eventually be forced back into cylinders. If you all of a sudden hear the engine thump and it doesn’t turn at all. Good chance it’s too late, you have water in there. Time to start pulling engine apart to relieve pressure and drain water.
  7. When sailing, it is always wise to start the engine before lowering the sails. Should the engine not start one is still able to manoeuvre the yacht safely.
  8. Check your cooling system. Intake should be clear of debris, and water filter cleaned regularly. Your water pump should be serviced regularly as well, don’t want rubber vanes from your pump to be distributed throughout your engine.

Need opinion on blower. I understand it could be used to clear fumes from engine bay before starting. Not sure how much of a concern this is with a diesel engine. And also used to keep engine bay cooler and potentially provides fresher air? Not sure because isn’t the engine almost like an air pump anyways? Again, not sure, maybe you want to leave it off until engine warms up?