Lugger Bob saved the day - 7 years later though

We've mentioned before about how good the support is for our John Deere based "Lugger" main engine. The technical training man, "Lugger Bob" from the factory used to work for Deere and is a great source of help for the community of Nordhavn owners, responding to emails, calls etc from people with odd questions in odd parts of the world. Try getting that from a Volvo Penta person (or most dealers come to think of it!)

Anyway, when we first bought the boat, we emailed Lugger Bob to ask about common faults on the 1066T engine and any installation issues he has seen on Nordhavn 47s. We got a very comprehensive reply and made a couple of changes to pipework and cable routing based on that.

He also suggested carrying two spare parts that we would not have considered. Firstly a spare solenoid for the starter motor as some owners manage to cruise at an engine rpm that seems to shake them to pieces (we have not managed that yet but have the spare 24v solenoid on board).  He also recommended carrying a spare oil hose that runs from the hydraulic pump to the oil filter. Apparently the material on it was changed as the original black hose tended to harden and go brittle over time.

Well, after a trip back from the Isle of Wight, the captain noticed a smear of oil near the top of the oil filter housing.  Sure enough, the hose to the hydraulic pump had started to weep at the fitting. So, we were able to dig out the replacement (modified) hose that had been in the spares stock for 7 years and smugly fit it with the assistance of John (dad to Archie the Lakeland terrier to keep you orientated) who happened to be staying with us. 15 minutes work, a little thread sealer and job done:

The new hose is the one running from the top of the oil filter housing.

For those of you with poor memories, here is John, photographing Irene his significantly better half whilst underway:

Patrick looks a litte hunched up - such poor posture for such a young penguin. We will not post another picture of Archie the Lakeland terrier as anyone that has seen him will remember him!

Most satisfying to have the right spares on board. Had this failure happened on a long trip, it would have been hard to resolve or "patch up" without the spare hose on board. With the part, you could simply run the wing engine for the 15 mins needed to get the work done then carry on. Thanks again to Lugger Bob and his encyclopaedic knowledge / willingness to help.