Scott Bulger was asking what I thought about hourly engine room
checks last night and here is the gist of what I told him.
I am all for hourly engine room checks. But I think that 15 minute
checks would be better. Come to think of it 5 minute  checks would be
even better. I think you can see where this is leading. If I had my
own way, there would be a monkey in the engine room with a big red
switch that he could push whenever anything looks out of order. None
of the monkeys I ever had were weak minded enough to put up with this
sort of abuse. In coastal cruising where the engine rooms of most
boats are too small to stay in for long or even get into without a
shoehorn, it takes more than a cat of nine tails to keep the crew
checking the engine room on the hour. I hate to think of the mutiny
that would ensue from 15 minute checks.

My personal experience is that the things that will kill you or get
you into real trouble always happen about 15 minutes after the last
engine room check. I do not know why this seems to be the case. In
any event, this argues for 15 minute or less between engine room
checks. This sort of frequent checking is simply not going to happen
if the access to the engine space is difficult or dangerous to get to.

A serious cruising boat, especially one intended for long range blue
water passages, needs an easily accessible engine room. The more
moving around on the boat while underway, the greater the chances for
a fall or becoming injured. Any factors which tend to create a hazard
or discomfort while going to and from the engine room are eventually
going to wear the crew down and decrease the frequency of engine room
checks. This process is aggravated by storm conditions, just when
consistent engine room checks are most vital. One has to weigh the
risks of a fall or head injury while going and coming versus the
chances of discovering something. I estimate the injuries out number
the discoveries.

I am inclined to tailor these checks to the difficulty of doing,
versus the perceived hazard of the particular boat involved and the
conditions prevailing at the time.  I am also inclined to think that
extensive gauges with alarms and perhaps a tv camera in the engine
room are the way to lower the risks.

For instance, I would like to see Murphy gauges with alarms for the
engine oil pressure and temperature. The fuel pressure after the lift
pump, the transmission oil temperature, the engine coolant level and
it's pressure. Fire sensors(heat sensors) in all compartments. I have
seen a lot of medium pressure(15-30 psi) fuel leaks on new and older
boats and I am inclined to think that this sort of leaking is a major
issue. One of the reasons I am enamored of gauges is that they will
detect things which will not be noticed even by a visual engine room
inspection.

I know this is not the definitive clockwork answer some would like to
hear, but it represents the distilled conclusions of nearly 50 years.

Regards,
Mike

Capt. Mike Maurice
Tualatin(Portland), Oregon

The frequency of engine room checks is in direct proportion to
accessibility. On my Krogen and Birchwood, I occasionally would peek in the
hatch, but never enter wile under way. Now I have the supreme luxury of a
stand-up engine room which you enter through a full-size door. I spend a lot
of time in there while everything is noisily humming along. So far I have
found:

1. Three hose failures when they were just a trickle and duct-tape-able.

2. Two very small raw water pump leaks: one oil, one water, which I
   contained and watched until I could fix.

3. Gassing batteries (wow, they are easy to smell!) from an overactive
   voltage regulator, which I unplugged before the batteries were fried.

4. Leaking intake strainer, just needed tightening.

5. Bow thruster hydraulic leak, again, just tightening of hose clamp.

6. Valve cover oil leaks, finally changed to the newer aluminum ones.

I have become a strong believer in hourly engine room checks!

Bob

Robert Calhoun Smith Jr
M/V MARY KATHRYN
Hatteras 58 LRC
The Jib Room
Marsh Harbour, Abaco
BAHAMAS

Bob did a lot better than I.

I blew a Velvet drive off the coast of Georgia.  Went into the engine room
to confirm it was toast, and then 20 minutes later heard all the fire alarms
go off.  I ran down from the bridge to find the saloon full of exhaust
smoke.  The remaining engine blew a hole in the exhaust hose which, in no
time flat, filled the engine room and saloon with smoke.  All this single
handing 50 miles offshore.

You ask yourself "what are the probabilities of having both engines disabled
for different reasons within 20 minutes of each other?"

After a chuckle--and you need a sense of humor to single hand a trawler, I
sucked it up and went into the holy place to replace the blown exhaust hose
from the elbow to the vernalift and limped in to Thunderbolt on one engine.

Bob Smith sent me a new Twin Disk, but my point is hourly checks didn't
catch a thing for me.

                                      Regards....

Phil Rosch
Old Harbor Consulting
M/V "Curmudgeon" MT44 TC
Currently lying Bond Creek, NC