melvinmelvin Posted August 29, 2012 Author Share Posted August 29, 2012 These Flex-O-Light fans are great and cheap. This design, the blades flatten out the higher the RPM goes up. I modified one to fit on a stock thermal thingy on my Pontiac. nice one, but where in BKK could that be purchased? there are some space restrictions in the boat, itg is difficult to align the fan and the rad. properly, a bigger fan (larger diameter) also has its downsides will make a last effort to get the tempertature down; bought a set of 2 12V fans yesterday, will be mounted on the non-engine side of the rad. and the thermostat has been taken out. if that doesn't do it I will run the river through the engine, at least for a while. I have concluded that I am stretching it a bit with the mechanics, although they think my ideas are OK , I am asking them to do things they have never done before and also never seen before don't want to strain the relationship to the guys one more try, then the river might look further at it and revisit radiator if my arm ever gets better, can't do anything myself now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvinmelvin Posted August 29, 2012 Author Share Posted August 29, 2012 Millions of inboard ski boats don't run on the Chao Praya where there is so much silt, plant life and plastic bags in the water that can make your day into a nightmare. Besides the silt playing havoc on your pump impellers, how'd you like to making a run up river and then having a plastic bag get sucked up into your intake? You wouldn't notice it until it was too late and your heads were warped. And that's just if your lucky. I was replying to those who said it would not work, nothing to do with actual water conditions but now that you bring the subject how do the other water cooled long tails that run on the Chao Praya go with an open cooling system ? the open cooling system works just fine for the boats, the engines are actually not reaching proper work temperature but chao praya is not good for alloy engines, its too bloody dirty its incredible what is floating around in that river going at speed (dusk time) last year I met a sofa and two chairs coming down the river you have to watch it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvinmelvin Posted August 29, 2012 Author Share Posted August 29, 2012 I have installed an oil cooler, not sure if its needed, if not can just cover it with plastic. (it looks good though) Try and keep you oil temp no hotter than about 250 - 275 F Problems with the oil breaking down start once temp gets around 300 F Below that - no problem. I have never run a long tail boat, but boats in general run a pretty constant RPM and are not subject to long pulls up steep hills as you have in a tractor-trailer. I forsee no problems with excessive oil temp. hmm, my brain is on the Celcius track Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvinmelvin Posted August 29, 2012 Author Share Posted August 29, 2012 You could use river water to cool the engine coolant using a sealed heat exchanger yes, that is certainly feasible but a sizeable operation and also costly I think would also represent a challenge space wise in particular sine I am trying not to add to the height of the installation (in order to scrapae under very low footpath bridges when the water is high Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvinmelvin Posted August 29, 2012 Author Share Posted August 29, 2012 , with his combo the sealed, inhibited system is trouble free and insurance. working a treat so far for him. The lads that run on the same river of poo, how are they cooling their engines ? Honda lawn mower engines. Really, at the very least I would have though some sort of water cooled scooter engine. did not realise lawn mower engines were so prevalent. What do the "speed racer" long tails use and how are they cooled on the river of poo ? there is also a lot of pee in the river, and an awfull lot of other shit most boats come with a 1 inch pipe through the bottom, very close to the transom the pipe extends, say 4 mm, below the bottom and about 3-4 inches inside the hull thats the poo/pee supply that most boats use there is no form of strainer on the intake (unless you fix that yourself, few Thais do) a cheap almost flat strainer in plastic costs less than 100 baht on the inside a few have proper strainers, most have not the pump is engine mounted and run by the engine, don't no if what they use is geared or not this works OK but you have to watch the cooling water outlet frequently to ensure that the system/pipes are not plugged by crap/shrimps/plastic/fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvinmelvin Posted August 29, 2012 Author Share Posted August 29, 2012 btw, the Thais do not call my boat for a longtail boat, (Haeng Yao) my type of boat is referred to as a two-section (soong dtoon) boat in Thai what they call longtail boats are those diesel powered ones you see in central Bangkok that take tourists to croc farm, snake farm, floating market, orchard farm, etc etc on the canals on the Thonburi side of the river Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hedonist44 Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 btw, the Thais do not call my boat for a longtail boat, (Haeng Yao) my type of boat is referred to as a two-section (soong dtoon) boat in Thai what they call longtail boats are those diesel powered ones you see in central Bangkok that take tourists to croc farm, snake farm, floating market, orchard farm, etc etc on the canals on the Thonburi side of the river I think you've done a great job so far in the build of your boat and you should be very pleased with your self, I would be:) Keep up the good work and please keep updating us land locked country hicks as to your progress:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvinmelvin Posted August 29, 2012 Author Share Posted August 29, 2012 btw, the Thais do not call my boat for a longtail boat, (Haeng Yao) my type of boat is referred to as a two-section (soong dtoon) boat in Thai what they call longtail boats are those diesel powered ones you see in central Bangkok that take tourists to croc farm, snake farm, floating market, orchard farm, etc etc on the canals on the Thonburi side of the river I think you've done a great job so far in the build of your boat and you should be very pleased with your self, I would be:) Keep up the good work and please keep updating us land locked country hicks as to your progress:) thanks for that its been a long learning process for me, ain't the same dealing and doing business with Thais as where I come from Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvinmelvin Posted August 29, 2012 Author Share Posted August 29, 2012 when I arrived today the guys had already fitted the 2-fan panel, a bit different from what we agreed yesterday, they had fitted it on the engine side of the radiator, however, the belt driven fan they had taken off in order to get space for the 12V fans of course this is great re the looks of the boat but on the other hand it leaves no backup if the electric fans pack up I think I'd like to install the complete thing for cooling by the river water, so that I can have that as a backup if the plastic fans dies. the guys will of course think I'm totally nuts but I use boats way differently from them, they run 10 minutes 20 minutes 30 minutes trips with their boats. I go 4, 5, 6, 7 hours and I wouldn't fancy the cooling fans packing up when I have gone to eg Nakhon Pathom or LopBuri or Mahachai anyway, the 12V plastic fans seemed to do the trick, they guys were happy with the "temperature" of the engine when I say "temperature" rather than temperature i mean their feel by hand bloody electrician had promised to come at 1 pm, when I came at noon the chap had already been there and left without the instruments working properly, the guy must be somewhat retarded I have an RPM/hour gauge, water temperature gauge, oil temperature gauge and two oil pressure gauges the only piece that seems to work is the hour counter as soon as the engine is started the pressure gauges goes to 100%, pressing the needle to the stopper bloody silly of the chang fai (electrician) to think that is OK the rpm thing is way off, when going at 3000 or 4000 revs the dial is showing something around 1000/1100 revs the temp gauges worry me, they don't really show anything but staying against the stopper to the left, ie 40 celcius I'm not keen on driving this rig at speed without reading water/oil temperatures In Nonthaburi there has been 2-3 accidents with 1UZs exploding due to overheating, ain't keen on adding to the statistics at least I know how to properly test the instruments and the sensors outside of the ECU and the Toyota cables, will do that one of these days am uncertain about the rev meter though, not sure where I can collect the signal for the meter don't really need the rev meter except for testing screws, it is not needed for ordinary usage temperature in particular and pressure I consider essential well well, will see tomorrow is day off and rest the current thinking is that I take over the boat on Saturday, test it for 2-3 days, then pay and get receipt etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvinmelvin Posted August 30, 2012 Author Share Posted August 30, 2012 here is some good stuff; the electrician doesn't manage to get the gauges/instruments working yesterday I had a lady with me when I met up with the mechanics with my lack of Thai the chief mechanic yak yaked to the lady about the electrician's problems today she tells me that the electrician had complained that he doesn't know where to find the rpm signal, since my boat doesn't have wheels like a car he thinks that the rpm thing is a speedo for the boat language barriers language barriers its not always easy to keep one's cool, so far I have managed though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvinmelvin Posted September 6, 2012 Author Share Posted September 6, 2012 took over the boat last Tuesday for 1 week test run before I pay the last installment and get my receipt (which I need for getting the Tabian Ruua) So far have discovered gear oil leakage, will go and see the mechanic tomorrow Temperature of water and oil seems to be under control with the 2 electric fans installed, at least by the feel of the hand it seems OK haven't got the instruments working yet gosh, the boat is fast, very fast, haven't bothered to consult my handheld GPS yet, but will do, with my arm I dont dare go 100%, guess about 60-70% on the spoon then it already actually starts to affect my breathing when its up in full plane at speed the longtail is in fantastic balance, can handle the boat with 2 fingers and no legs, been very lucky with the fin from the longtail down and under the screw, als there is a small fin which assists to keep the screw down in the water the longtail guy certainly had a good hand with my longtail easy to drive slow, idling and a wee bit more, easy to drive in full plane with balanced longtail very hard work to drive at a moderate speed between these also hard work to get the boat up in speed and into full plane, there are 260 horses to be fought with arm and knee/leg when doing that when going at speed the sound isn't too bad (for me), guess it is pretty loud for those behind ordered langka (taurpaulin/bimini) the other day, takes a week to get it ready, needed in this rainy period yes yes, will try get a couple of shots one of these days when the trial period is over and the langka in place and the Tabian Ruua in my name, then starts a long period of fixing up a long list of things I would like to do with the boat at least, this will definitely keep me out of the bars 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hedonist44 Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 took over the boat last Tuesday for 1 week test run before I pay the last installment and get my receipt (which I need for getting the Tabian Ruua) So far have discovered gear oil leakage, will go and see the mechanic tomorrow Temperature of water and oil seems to be under control with the 2 electric fans installed, at least by the feel of the hand it seems OK haven't got the instruments working yet gosh, the boat is fast, very fast, haven't bothered to consult my handheld GPS yet, but will do, with my arm I dont dare go 100%, guess about 60-70% on the spoon then it already actually starts to affect my breathing when its up in full plane at speed the longtail is in fantastic balance, can handle the boat with 2 fingers and no legs, been very lucky with the fin from the longtail down and under the screw, als there is a small fin which assists to keep the screw down in the water the longtail guy certainly had a good hand with my longtail easy to drive slow, idling and a wee bit more, easy to drive in full plane with balanced longtail very hard work to drive at a moderate speed between these also hard work to get the boat up in speed and into full plane, there are 260 horses to be fought with arm and knee/leg when doing that when going at speed the sound isn't too bad (for me), guess it is pretty loud for those behind ordered langka (taurpaulin/bimini) the other day, takes a week to get it ready, needed in this rainy period yes yes, will try get a couple of shots one of these days when the trial period is over and the langka in place and the Tabian Ruua in my name, then starts a long period of fixing up a long list of things I would like to do with the boat at least, this will definitely keep me out of the bars Sounds like good progress has been made. Just continue keeping your temper in check as much as possible and your adventure in boat building will soon be over for the most part. Congratulations on a job well done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvinmelvin Posted September 7, 2012 Author Share Posted September 7, 2012 well done, thanks, some is already undone the following sight met me when I arrived this morning; I wasn't totally unprepared, my Thai chummy was on the phone early morning, rather worked up, talking to rapidly for me to make any sense, apart from fon tok mak mak and sorry sorry anyway, we will try and get it up tomorrow morning, have gathered some remedies to be used today and then bring it back to the mechanic at Koh Kred, shouldn't be too much of a problem to clean the thing if we can get it up tomorrow we will see some things take more time than expected first thing I did when I got the boat last Tuesday was to head ove to a chap on Klong Om that makes tarpaulin/biminis etc, takes about a week, well well, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funcat Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 ...is this your new boat? ...mannnn!!...dam_n!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvinmelvin Posted September 9, 2012 Author Share Posted September 9, 2012 ...is this your new boat? ...mannnn!!...dam_n!!! ...is this your new boat? ...mannnn!!...dam_n!!! yep, my boat, got it up with a combination of a pulley on stilts and 8 men lifting off to the mechanic early yesterday morning lifted out longtail and the engine again I was amazed how easy and quick it was to un-hook the engine end the longtail mechanic thinks it will be fully OK and up and running within a week and a half that is if the ECU and the electronics is still OK all the inventory was saved, except my driver's seat, which is just a 14" tall wooden box, in which the tools are kept might spot the box though when water is down in the klong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilDrSomkid Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Oh noooooooo. I really hope the ECU and other electrics are OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvinmelvin Posted September 9, 2012 Author Share Posted September 9, 2012 Oh noooooooo. I really hope the ECU and other electrics are OK. so do I, that stuff is my "only" worrry the cabling and the ECU is "dressed" up for heavy rain but not really for underwater swimming anyway, Friday this week I am getting the bimini/tarpaulin stuff, a tad late but look forward to that without really knowing I have the feeling that the screw is a bit small, have taken it off, will visit a prop factory in Dao Kanong this week and buy a 13 inch screw (the current is 12") will also have a look at what they have re 3 bladed screws, saw some nice 3-bladed/cupped screws last time I was there looked at my screw yesterday, with less than 10 hours running you can already see signs of cavitation the cause might be a mix of size and the fact that it is not cupped at all and not progressiv pitch at all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilDrSomkid Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Before you restart the engine, after making sure the ECU is OK, take out the spark plugs and let the combustion chambers air, in case any water got in. You don't want a hydrolock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvinmelvin Posted September 11, 2012 Author Share Posted September 11, 2012 Before you restart the engine, after making sure the ECU is OK, take out the spark plugs and let the combustion chambers air, in case any water got in. You don't want a hydrolock. yes, will be done, looked inside the ECU in detail yesterday, looks pretty good, to me at least Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilDrSomkid Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Before you restart the engine, after making sure the ECU is OK, take out the spark plugs and let the combustion chambers air, in case any water got in. You don't want a hydrolock. yes, will be done, looked inside the ECU in detail yesterday, looks pretty good, to me at least Are you in the section of river where the water is not salty? If so, you might be OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topcroc Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Would be a good idea to turn the engine over, this will expel most water then spray WD40 or similar into the bores. Also hose down your alternator and starter and let dry before doing the above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topcroc Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Change engine oil also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvinmelvin Posted September 12, 2012 Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 Would be a good idea to turn the engine over, this will expel most water then spray WD40 or similar into the bores. Also hose down your alternator and starter and let dry before doing the above. yep, already done and of course oil and oilfilter the boat is in the fresh water section of the river, so I guess it should be OK btw, took of the screw and visited a prop factory in Dao Kanong yesterday, disappointing, didn't really have anything I wanted to try different last time I was there (around Chinese new year) then there were several interesting screws in "my" size also some cupped 3 blade screws for racing but sold out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvinmelvin Posted September 12, 2012 Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 had the cylinders aired and oiled today, and turned it around on the starter so far everything looks good need buy more wd40 will have a go at firing it up on Friday, if that works out the way it should the engine goes back into the boat next week (need to buy a couple of spare props first, it is so easy to damage a prop so should always have one or 2 spare ones in the boat) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funcat Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 ...what was the actual reason that caused the boat to sink ?..if I may ask.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogandave Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 ...what was the actual reason that caused the boat to sink ?..if I may ask.. Gravity? JK! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvinmelvin Posted September 13, 2012 Author Share Posted September 13, 2012 ...what was the actual reason that caused the boat to sink ?..if I may ask.. extremely heavy rains in Nonthaburi that night, my Thai chummy miscalculated the time the boat could be left between emptying the "bilges" the rain gathering surface of the boat is quite large since it doesn't yet have a tarpaulin/canopy, it fills quickly first thing I did when I took the boat over for trials was to go order a canopy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funcat Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 ...what was the actual reason that caused the boat to sink ?..if I may ask.. extremely heavy rains in Nonthaburi that night, my Thai chummy miscalculated the time the boat could be left between emptying the "bilges" the rain gathering surface of the boat is quite large since it doesn't yet have a tarpaulin/canopy, it fills quickly first thing I did when I took the boat over for trials was to go order a canopy In this case you should also add the automatic bilge pump... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvinmelvin Posted September 13, 2012 Author Share Posted September 13, 2012 ...what was the actual reason that caused the boat to sink ?..if I may ask.. extremely heavy rains in Nonthaburi that night, my Thai chummy miscalculated the time the boat could be left between emptying the "bilges" the rain gathering surface of the boat is quite large since it doesn't yet have a tarpaulin/canopy, it fills quickly first thing I did when I took the boat over for trials was to go order a canopy In this case you should also add the automatic bilge pump... yes, I already have 2 of them (one for each section of the soong dtoon, not yet installed though) want to have a 2 battery installation, 1 battery for the engine and 1 for consumption, have some difficulty finding a suitable place for the 2nd battery have an automatic switch which directs charging between 2 batteries but would like to keep the cables between switch/alternator/starter down to a minimum in length the most physically suited place for the 2nd battery would result in LOOONG cables but for sure, with my recent mishap in mind it will not take long before I sort out the battery/pump thing (the bloody boat is not suited for cabling at all) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvinmelvin Posted September 14, 2012 Author Share Posted September 14, 2012 hmmm, seems my ECU has packed up, no ignition sign when trying to start borrowed a ECU, the engine started very easily runs very smoothly when idling and up to maybe 3000/3500 revs or so when gunning it it does not run smoothly anymore also sounds like the revs varies a bit when the accelerator is kept steady at high speed the mechanic will go over the fuel lines/injectors and the sparkplugs and associated cabling engine not happy, same same me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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