Envoy is currently in Lefkas marina, Greece and we’re home in New Zealand, heading to Lefkas next month.
Last week I attended a technical training seminar run by noted industry guru Steve D’Antonio.
Steve has owned and managed marine engineering companies, written numerous technical articles and is a marine engineering consultant. The course was held aboard a very impressive near-new Nordhavn 68, Karajas, berthed in the stunning Akuna Bay Marina within the Ku-ring-gai National Park about an hour’s drive north of downtown Sydney, Australia. Attendance was limited to 13, both to maximize interaction and to make full use of Karajas’s impressively large full-headroom engine room for some hands-on instruction.
Nordhavn 68, Karaja is an impressive vessel
Attendees pose on Karaja's wide Portuguese bridge
There was some interesting discussion on why buyers of many brands of new boats seem to suffer an unreasonably long time before “teething problems” are resolved. Although there was no conclusion on this, Steve noted that compared for example with cars, production numbers of each type of boat are very low, no two boats are the same (as owners specify so many different options), and many trades people involved in their building don’t have the knowledge or take the care they should. Add to this the salt water and air environment and Murphy’s Law!
Boat owners in general vary in both their technical aptitude and desire to undertake maintenance work from doing nearly everything themselves to doing nothing at all, but Steve emphasized that as a minimum an owner should understand the function of installed equipment; have all switches, breakers, fuses, and controls clearly labeled; and be able to change primary and secondary fuel filters, vee belts and pump impellers.
The general theme of the seminar was that paying attention to detail will pay huge dividends in reducing operating problems. This not only applies to owners undertaking work themselves but also to ensuring contractors undertake work correctly, something which Steve says is sometimes sadly lacking due to one of or a combination of attitude, lack of knowledge and experience or ingrained poor practice (“what’s wrong … we’ve always done it that way”).
During a very full day we covered topics such as using multimeters for fault finding (particularly engine starting), using infrared pyrometers for bench marking and preventative maintenance, electrical connections, electrical safety, AGM battery security and charging, water and fuel plumbing systems, hydraulic steering systems, filter cartridge changes, prop shaft cooling, engine mounts, engine room fire suppression, aluminium corrosion protection and correct selection and use of fastenings.
Within the context of these broad subjects numerous other interesting points emerged, many of which will be of practical benefit to myself and other attendees. See our next posting for some useful tips.
Last week I attended a technical training seminar run by noted industry guru Steve D’Antonio.
Steve has owned and managed marine engineering companies, written numerous technical articles and is a marine engineering consultant. The course was held aboard a very impressive near-new Nordhavn 68, Karajas, berthed in the stunning Akuna Bay Marina within the Ku-ring-gai National Park about an hour’s drive north of downtown Sydney, Australia. Attendance was limited to 13, both to maximize interaction and to make full use of Karajas’s impressively large full-headroom engine room for some hands-on instruction.
Nordhavn 68, Karaja is an impressive vessel
Attendees pose on Karaja's wide Portuguese bridge
Boat owners in general vary in both their technical aptitude and desire to undertake maintenance work from doing nearly everything themselves to doing nothing at all, but Steve emphasized that as a minimum an owner should understand the function of installed equipment; have all switches, breakers, fuses, and controls clearly labeled; and be able to change primary and secondary fuel filters, vee belts and pump impellers.
The general theme of the seminar was that paying attention to detail will pay huge dividends in reducing operating problems. This not only applies to owners undertaking work themselves but also to ensuring contractors undertake work correctly, something which Steve says is sometimes sadly lacking due to one of or a combination of attitude, lack of knowledge and experience or ingrained poor practice (“what’s wrong … we’ve always done it that way”).
During a very full day we covered topics such as using multimeters for fault finding (particularly engine starting), using infrared pyrometers for bench marking and preventative maintenance, electrical connections, electrical safety, AGM battery security and charging, water and fuel plumbing systems, hydraulic steering systems, filter cartridge changes, prop shaft cooling, engine mounts, engine room fire suppression, aluminium corrosion protection and correct selection and use of fastenings.
Within the context of these broad subjects numerous other interesting points emerged, many of which will be of practical benefit to myself and other attendees. See our next posting for some useful tips.
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