Re: Turbo/Non Statistics
Paul, I think I agree with you. Perhaps I did not state my question very
well. As with most of us, I have limited money. My list of spares include
more than I can afford-- such things as spare starter moter, spare
injectors, ... I just wonderd if you would put a spare turbo high on the
list. I am still trying to figure the type and cost of a "get home" device.
I probably will not go to Gambia, but Mexico ,Guatemala, Columbia and the
Med are hopeful destinations.
Thanks for the input.
Robert & Deborah Huddleston Owners of Krogen 39 #2
909 Marina Village Pkwy #160 "The Deborah C."
Alameda, Ca. 94501 AB6NI KC6SKY
-----Original Message-----
From: Paul Kruse plkruse@iu.net
To: trawler-world-list@samurai.com trawler-world-list@samurai.com
Date: Tuesday, May 12, 1998 2:44 PM
Subject: Re: Turbo/Non Statistics
I said:
Thanks for the information. For people going to remote places with
turbos,
they should have one of them in their spares locker. If they are going
to
be gone a long time, they should consider two spares. If I were going to
remote places with only one engine, then I could not have a turbo at all.
It simply would not be worth the risk.
To which the Huddlestons replied:
Do you have any data to support your conclusion? I have not heard of any
problems.
I'm still a Boy Scout at heart, one who is always prepared for anything.
My
boat will have three engines that are able of getting me home before I will
take it to very remote areas. (I am talking about places like The Gambia
or
Mozambique, and not places like northern California.) Keep this in mind as
you read what I recommend on anything.
Anything mechanical or electrical can fail, and will eventually fail if you
use it long enough and hard enough. Sometimes it will fail sooner, and
sometimes later. Turbocharger failures are relatively rare compared to
other types of failures; but they do happen. We replace about a dozen of
them per year on our fleet of equipment; tough I have no doubt that the
failure rate would be much lower if our operators actually owned the
equipment.
For your turbocharger, or for every other component on your boat, you need
to ask yourself a few questions:
-
What would be the effect of a failure?
-
What can I do to minimize the probability of a failure?
-
What will I do if a failure happens anyway?
Perhaps your plan is to try to limp home on a sick turbocharger, or to call
for a tow if that does not work. In many cases, this would be a perfectly
alternative to carrying a spare and replacing it yourself. If this is not
acceptable to you, then you need another plan.
Turbochargers do not normally die suddenly. I am willing to assume that I
will have sufficient warning of an impending failure to find a safe place
to
change it out. Even if I am planning to pay someone to change it out, in
really remote places, it would pay you to have a spare on hand.
Boatless, but building M/V Doulos
Paul Kruse
plkruse@iu.net
Port Canaveral, FL, USA