Giles and Paula's Great Retirement Adventure
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The heater bit is not installed yet, all that is done so far is the ducting and vents. I need to wait for the electrician to install the difficult bit. That said, it has been so mild in the UK so far this Autumn, plus I have a dehumidifier and background heating anyway, so the windows have not really misted up yet. I sort of have a horrible feeling that our preventative measures may actually negate the need for the demisting system....
On PILGRIM, the windows constantly misted up, but she was an older boat, so better safe than sorry I guess.
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An update on the fuel issue.
We had Volvo Penta come to SAKURA on Tuesday. The aim was to take fuel out of the port tank so that we could recreate the port engine failure.
We transferred fuel from the tank outlet on the port tank to the starboard tank filler. My expectation was that when we got to about 30%, we would stop pumping diesel and start pumping air. Of course, that did not happen
, but we did start pumping some air. So we bled the engine and cranked her up, she failed once the fuel in the pipes and filters was used up. So the engine management system seems to recognise that there is less fuel than it is expecting, so shuts the engine down. I reasoned that if we had an unknown build issue with the port tank, we may have a similar issue with the starboard tank (but we had never seen it because when the port engine failed we topped up both tanks). So we did the same thing in reverse, and hey presto, the same thing happened with the starboard engine at about 27%.Well, holy fuck that could have given us a whole world of pain if we had lost both engines at any time coming back from Menorca or crossing the channel which we have done a few times.
None of us know what the issue is, loads of theories, but no definitive.
So @Matt , you will be pleased to know I have written to the MD of Sasga outlining my displeasure. We love the boat and have no regrets, and would buy the same again tomorrow, but the after-sales service has been shite, and I'm not sure he knows it - well he does now.....
On a positive note, the delays coming home due to this issue probably cost us between 4 and 5K Euros, as the evidence stacks up that it is a Sasga build issue, I think I am getting much closer to getting this repaid by Sasga
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Sails?
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would this be an engine design issue or just a one off engine issue you reckon?
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So both fuel tanks get to about 1/4 tank (27%) and they’re causing issues with the engines which believe they’re not getting the fuel they need and shut off?
I’m still sticking with the fuel pickups are incorrectly positioned in the tank and causing the issue…
Edit: so you wrote a letter to Sasga, but are you going to have a barrister write a letter?
"I don't give a shit what anyone else is doing, we will do what is best for us and our customers" - Giles P. :)
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It's not an engine issue, it is a tank issue. I suspect it is like this on all the 54's they have sold. It seems that we have pushed the boundaries from day one. Not that taking the fuel level below 30% is pushing a boundary, but I think that most/all the 54s are sold to people who use them as day boats, fill up with Diesel regularly and never take the fuel below 30%.
When the engineers bled the fuel filters, they were appalled at how dirty the filter was and said that I had got severely dirty fuel. I said that that was highly unlikely as the boat is only 5 months old and I am managing the fuel very well. I then told them that we had done 180 hours since the last service, so the filters could just be 180 hours dirty? They were flabbergasted, they have never done a service on a D60-480 with more than 50 hours on it
Anyway, I have decided to do the 400-hour service next week (we have about 370 hours on her), that'll give me amongst other things new filters and a filter turbine service, I can then keep an eye on the new filters.
Once I get some sense out of Sasga, I will install an independent fuel management system that cleans the fuel and removes any water (one of the biggest causes of problems with diesel engines) from the diesel before it even gets to the primary filters.
"OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011
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@goosehd said in Giles and Paula's Great Retirement Adventure:
but are you going to have a barrister write a letter?
No. Not yet. I'll give them a chance to read between the lines of my letter first. I like them I like the boat, I want to stay friends, I just want some fucking focus (and a few grand repaid)
So both fuel tanks get to about 1/4 tank (27%) and they’re causing issues with the engines which believe they’re not getting the fuel they need and shut off?
Correct
I’m still sticking with the fuel pickups are incorrectly positioned in the tank and causing the issue…
I am with you. But we dont even know the configuration of the fucking tanks (I asked for engineering drawings 5 months ag)....
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I have a feeling that all the tanks that they buy-in will have this issue. I think that when the MD understands the issue (I dont think he is being told exactly the issue by the CS team), there will be a massive face-palm and a contrite apology.
We bought a boat that is specced to do about 1,100 miles on full tanks at 10 knots, we are getting less than 900 miles. That is pretty fucking embarrassing for Sasga...
The UK Sasga site, managed by Chris the Broker, says that the 54 (though is now called the 55) will do 1600 miles at 9 knots. I told him that he better change that pronto because it's bollocks
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@Giles from what you've been saying here. it definitely looks like a design flaw. at least with the tanks and where the pumps are located.
almost seems very similar to some motorcycle tank design issue where if the fuel gets too low and the motorcycle is parked on a side stand, it cannot draw fuel into the lines to start the engine.
hopefully that'll knock some sense into them and get on it. on a side note, will we get to see her next week when we're there?
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fingers crossed. the health of the engine comes first. hope she purrs
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Sounds like Sasga doesn’t share IH’s ‘over-engineered is our starting point’ outlook on their products.
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They’ll probably come through and make it right.
Appears that their claim “X miles at Y knots” was measured on their prototype boats, which are never identical to the production ones. Since their customer base doesn’t test the products to their limits, they never heard about the limitations you discovered with Sakura.
If so, beyond covering your expenses to date, you deserve some freebees as a beta-tester for the brand! -
When we installed the FLIR (which is a game-changer), we unintentionally obscured the masthead light. So yesterday Matt (one of my fishing chums who is also a carpenter )and I (well, I was on the boat) raised the mast and thus the lights 120mm. Job done.
Before and after...
