Changing the hard stuff - engine & rigging - how often

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Dan Corcoran
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Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2017 4:32 pm

Changing the hard stuff - engine & rigging - how often

Post by Dan Corcoran »

As my 2006 J/109 reaches 15 years old next year, I wonder what i should be thinking about for maintenance beyond the basics.

Has anyone changed things like engine mounts (4 yrs / 1000 hrs says yanmar), mixing elbows (mine does not look original), prop shaft seals, or rod rigging during the life of their 109?

What have you not changed, which you hope you can continue to get away with?

dan
TSweather
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Joined: Thu Aug 03, 2017 9:24 pm

Re: Changing the hard stuff - engine & rigging - how often

Post by TSweather »

Hi Dan,
Been going through all these systems on our 2003 since we got it a couple years back. I had the saildrive seals changed last season and ended up needing to replace the lower unit due to pretty bad pitting along the seal seat thanks to electrolysis. While I won't likely touch those seals for another 15yrs in fresh water and with proper anode replacement (unlike previous owner who didn't have the yard change the upper one), I would highly suggest changing lower unit oil at least every other year. That way you will know if the prop shaft seal is going bad. When you drain it, any water or froth would exit first, which is a sign of water intrusion from a bad seal or running over fishing line, etc.

If you do saildrive seals, this is the easiest time to do motor mounts, otherwise, just re-torque them.

Check keel bolt torque, one of mine was only slightly beyond hand tight :o

Mixing elbow is always worth checking at that age and I'll likely pull mine this winter as it looks original.

Inspect steering cable by using some oil on a tissue to see if it snags on any broken strands.

Rebed stanchion bases and any original deck hardware as this is a Jboat after all and soggy deck core can be prevented. In ours they did use some impervious material for core where the bolts pass through, but a couple were starting to leak. Rebed with Sika 291 or equivalent. I found soggy core in the aft cover behind the steering pedestal from water freezing in that groove each winter and causing cracks there. That was removed and remedied from underneath, so topside nonskid was left intact.

Rod rigging can be dye tested for cracks, but as long as your turnbuckles are in good order, that rigging is built to last a lot longer than 15yrs under normal usage, especially those that have the terminal ends peened on.

I changed my primary winches over to Harken Performa this past year as the drums were smooth and Harken turnaround on re-surfacing is currently around 12 months. I sold my original ones on eBay for $1k. Performa drums can easily grip with only 3 wraps, even in big breeze, which was a huge upgrade for my mostly short handed sailing.

Inspect roller furler carefully as the screws holding the track sections together on mine fell out about 20ft off the deck, which was a big headache during a sail change when the track separated and the sail jammed. Those should be installed with locktite red.

Check/ replace all sheaves in the mast and boom. Links to the proper ones are on this site via search. The plastic gets brittle in the sun over time.

Pretty sure I could find others, but that is the list I have been chipping away at as I hope to keep this boat for a long time.

Todd
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Vento Solare
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Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 8:00 pm
Location: Newport, RI

Re: Changing the hard stuff - engine & rigging - how often

Post by Vento Solare »

Dan,

Bengt turned me on to a stainless replacement in 2016 for the Exhaust Elbow that you can read about at this link. Mine was significantly restricted and impacted engine performance.

I haven't done the sail drive upper seals and will probably tackle that next year. I have been verifying the leak sensor works by removing it and wetting the electrodes.

I had a full rig inspection done by Rigpro at the end of 2016 that resulted in replacement of the Nitronic 50 on the shrouds because Harken peened the swaged ends and they couldn't be removed without cutting.

Like Todd I replace upper and lower zincs every year. I dive on my own boat and can monitor any degradation. I'm at a dock on shore power and use an extra "grouper" clip on zinc that attaches to the push pit. I verified with a meter when the boat was hauled a good electrical connection from there to the bottom of the sail drive. This provides additional surface area for cathodic protection.

Other things less common - changed all engine and heater hoses, rebuilt head and Y-Valve

My project list which also serves as a maintenance log is a Google sheet available at this link for more ideas. There are multiple tabs that are self explanatory.
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