10 Aleida Scheduled Maintenance Items

10.1 ENGINE

• DAILY CHECKS
  Most engine [see 3.2.1] checks below are performed before or during starting, some during operation as noted.
  Note: we've gathered all daily checks of engine Yanmar Ops Manual page 37 table in one place here; some of the same checks are also defined in an MIT-produced (fall-2003) Aleida ops checklist.
  • crankcase oil lube level
    
  • transmission oil lube level
    [QUESTION: we don't do this now; should we?
    Maybe we should do it ... say ... monthly? ^{[NEW 19Feb]}
    Note that there's no dipstick, only a screw-plug filler hole.] ^{[NEW 19Feb]}
  • cooling fresh water level
  • fuel level [refill and/or log for other skippers to know when to do so]
  • warning lamps: oil pressure low, cooling water high-temp, battery not charging
    [QUESTION: do our lamps work? see next item]
  • oil pressure and water overheating warning buzzer function
    [QUESTION: is Thom right that overtemp is included along with oil pressure? If so, we don't literally check over-temp, do we, when we listen for the buzzer to sound before motor is running?]
  • seawater outlet [during operation] [inlet Kingston valve open (also per MITNA cklist]
  • exhaust gas condition [during operation]
  • check battery charging
    [QUESTION: is the lamp operational?]
    voltmeter on main ckt-brkr panel should show higher voltage running
  • note: no check of battery electrolyte is possible (gel batteries)
  • check for leakage of water and oil (esp. from cylinder head, or anywhere else on engine)

  Below are the usual periodic maintenance items; many are on 150, 300, 600 engine-hour cycles
  Frequencies of maintenance for many items are defined Yanmar OpsManual pages 17-18; the page 37 table of maintenance items forms the basis for most of the subgroupings of maintenance below.

• LUBRICATING SYSTEM
  • (Lube oil and transmission oil levels are checked in "daily" list above)

  • REPLACE Lube Oil -- ENGINE and CRANKCASE
    Recommend: 150 hours, Plan: 150 hours
    [QUESTION: We do NOT currently schedule the crankcase oil replacement; should we?]

  • REPLACE Lube Oil Filter -- ENGINE
    Recommend: 300 hours (OpG p37), Plan: 150 hours (with each oil change>
    [QUESTION: Is this double-frequency replacement schedule unnecessary?]

• COOLING SYSTEM
  • (Cooling freshwater level and seawater outlet checked in "daily" above)

  • ADJUST water pump drive belt tension (aka "generator belt")
    Recommend: 300 hours, Plan: 300 hours

  • REPLACE thermostat
    Recommend: (not on UM-p37), Plan: 300 hours

  • REPLACE cooling seawater pump impeller
    Recommend: 600 hours, Plan: annually (spring) [QUESTION: is this good schedule?]

  • REPLACE cooling fresh water
    Recommend: annual, Plan: every 2 years
    [QUESTION: end-of-2002 we decided to only check protection-level of antifreeze, and that we'd replace it every two years. Is this still a good plan?] (Must be done spring 2004 in any event.)

  • CHECK cooling fresh water antifreeze protection
    Recommend: (annual, implied in replacing water), Plan: every 2 years, in fall layup, if we do NOT relace water per above
    [QUESTION: Is there a way to check the anti-rust quality of the antifreeze?]

• FUEL SYSTEM
  • REPLACE Fuel Filters -- [primary and secondary]
    Recommend: 300 hours, Plan: 300 hours (same)

  • DRAIN Precipitants from Fuel Tank ^{[REWORDED 19Feb]}
    Recommend: 300 hours, Plan: annual
    [QUESTION: we don't schedule this now; isn't it possible we have real slimy biohazard down thare? Yuck!]

  • CHECK injection timing
    Recommend: 600 hours, Plan: annual (spring)

  • CHECK injection spray condition
    Recommend: 600 hours, Plan: annual (spring)

• ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
  • (Charge lamp operation is checked in "daily" section above)
  • (Battery electrolyte can't be checked (ref'd UMan-37))

  • ADJUST alternator belt tension (see "water pump drive belt tension" above)
    Recommended period for alternator belt is same as water pump belt)

  • CHECK wiring connectors
    Recommended: 300 hours, Plan: annual
    [QUESTION: Should we have a subset of charging/starting/engine-controls electrical system that should be inspected more formally than most "house" wiring?]

• AIR INTAKE and EXHAUST SYSTEM
  • (Exhaust gas condition is checked per "daily" section above)

  • CLEAN the following items (they all have same recommended maintenance period):
    Recommended: 300 hours, Plan: 300 hours
    • air intake silencer element
    • exhaust/water mixing elbow
    • breather pipe
  • (There is no turbocharger so no need to clean compressor)

• CYLINDER HEAD, ETC.
  • (Water and oil leakage from engine is checked in "daily" section above)
  • The following actions all have same recommended maintenance period):
    Recommended: 600 hours, Plan: annual
    • RETIGHTEN all major nuts and bolts
    • RETIGHTEN cylinder head bolts
    [QUESTION: to re-torque e.g. cylinder head bolts, do we first back them out a bit? I.e. without removing cylinder heads? [Thom asks this without looking up in the UG just how to do this.]]
    • ADJUST intake/exhaust valve clearance

• MISCELLANEOUS (of ENGINE)
  • CHECK remote control operation
    Recommended: 600 hours, Plan: annual

    ADJUST propeller shaft alignment
    Recommended: 600 hours, Plan: annual

10.2 MISCELLANEOUS MECHANICAL SYSTEMS

The maintenance items below are related to parts of the engine & transmission [see 3.2.1] subsection of Aleida's systems manual, as are the "engine" items above. However, they're separated herein because the ENGINE section above is derived specifically from the Yanmar engine documents, with a few of our own items added.

• LUBRICATE (grease) feathering prop [see 3.2.1]
  Recommended: min of once every 2 years (per Max Prop manual)
  Plan: annually (do during spring haulout, otherwise dive to perform)
  Material: Lubraplate "130 AA" grease (per Max Prop manual)

• INSPECT steering, [see 3.2.2] including steering wheel bearings in binnacle, cables, sheaves, shaft play, corrosion, etc
  Plan: annually

10.3 SAFETY ITEMS

The Safety & Emergency [see 5] section of the system document cross-references this equipment to other sections of that document.

• PFDs
  • STANDARD:
    * inspect and count once/year in spring
  • INFLATABLE
    * inspect inflator and CO2 bottle once/year in spring
    * check for leakage once/year in spring
    - NOTE: inflate with an air pump, not with breath; airpump for alcohol stove is aboard, also has a pointy nozzle will probably fit into PFD's manual inflation tube (spring 04)
    * folks with auto-inflate PFDs should replace the little cookie annually
• MOB Strobe
  • replace battery
    • Plan: bi-annually, in spring
    - NOTE: leave time to find one; hard to find alkaline with screw terms
    - NOTE: Thom believes NON-alkaline was installed when light repaired c.2003
  • test battery
    - Plan: every 3 months, spring commissioning, then approx July and October
• BATTERIES (drycells)
  test batteries in units on "systems list", including
  • spotlight 1/month (battery checker)
  • work flashlight * ship's penlights
  • GPS (Garmin portable) [see 3.4.2] before major or night trips
  • dinghy stick-on lights [see 4]
  • inventory general supply of spare batteries for same devices
• LIFERAFT
  Recertify (get inspected/repacked)
  Recommended: annual, Plan: every 2 years
  [QUESTION :We decided to skip a year 2003, so needs to be done spring 2004, right?]
• FLARES
  Plan: check dates annually (in spring, better before marine store [see 8] sales)
• FIRE EXTINGUISHERS
  Plan: semi-annually
  [QUESTION: does user-guide recommend a period?]
  [QUESTION: is there a maximum time one charge can be trusted to be useful?]
  • inspect gauges to show o.k. charge
  • shake up vertically-mounted dry charge [QUESTION : does this work?]
• FIRST AID KIT
  * survey contents, current dates, replenish
  - Plan: semi-annually

10.4 DOCUMENTS and REFERENCE BOOKS

See the system list's documents [see 7] section for the documents listed below and others.

• DOCUMENTS
  • Aleida Massachusetts registration
    Plan: biannually(?), in ____ (month) NOTE: expires 9/2005
    [QUESTION: how often do we have to renew Aleida & dinghy "licenses"?]
  • Dinghy Massachusetts registration
    Plan: biannually(?), in ____ (month) NOTE: expires 9/2004 (TimH things 9/2005)
  • Winthrop town registration
    Plan: annual, in ______ (month)
    [QUESTION: one MITNA list calls this a "mooring fee" but what is it ACTUALLY called?]
  • SeaTow policy, calling card mounted near VHF
    Plan: annual, in _______ (month) NOTE: Franny probably does this
  • PHRF-NE rating document (applied and paid for by Aleida racers)
    Plan: try to get it in before _______ (approx mid-end-April) to be posted in first listings on PHRF New England website

• REFERENCES
  • "Eldridge"
  • see other possible references in the system list [see 7] document

10.5 SAILING SYSTEMS

TO DO: Break out each of the bullets below into subtasks, enumerating the different equipment involved.

• INSPECT standing rigging [see 3.1]
  [QUESTION: What do we NOT do, or do differently, up the mast (esp. at head and spreaders, when we do NOT pull the mast? E.g., should REALLY check the halyard sheaves when it's pulled, because they're hard to check when you're hanging your bosun's chair on 'em.]
  • INSPECT swages, turnbuckles, chainplates (topside), tangs, spreader/shroud connection, spreader/mast termination, halyard sheaves, spinnaker sheave movement axis [do we lubricate any of these?], [what else . . .]
    [QUESTION: which of these do we do with revealing fluid? magnifying glass inspection? different way when climbing mast?
  • INSPECT and LUBRICATE gooseneck
    [QUESTION: what kind of lube can we recommend for the side-to-side hinge that'll last and not drip on deck? Does it squeak at anchor because it gets salt in it too?]
  • INSPECT for excess seepage of chainplates through deck (belowdeck)
  • [Thom giving up on brainstorming here . . .]

• CLEAN and GREASE winches (oil pawls)
  Plan: annually (4 sheet winches), [see 3.1] biannually (2 halyard winches)
  [QUESTION: I just realize I don't know what "subsystem" the winches are in. Are they standing rigging?]

• CLEAN and LUBE turning blocks (on slides, and fixed blocks) [QUESTION: Just what maintenance is needed on these; perhaps we should stress flushing them clean during end-of-trip deck-washing?]

• INSPECT running rigging [see 3.1]
  Quick-n-dirty brainstorm here: how often clean sails? Inspect for sail tears, cringles and stress straps o.k., sheet wear and whipping, [what else . . .? (Blocks have an item above)]

• INSPECT ground tackle [see 3.1] - anchors, rodes, shackles (screws work freely), markings on rodes
  Plan: every three months, spring, then approx July and October

• INSPECT docklines and fenders -- move positions of docklines for chafe, re-whip lines as needed, blow up fenders
  Plan: monthly

10.6 Things to add in maint list

• CLEAN bilge pump strumbox
• INSPECT and OPERATE thru-hull valves
  [QUESTION: is there lubrication of valve to be done too?]