Winterize with ValvTech

Important winterizing information from ValvTect:

As we move from summer to fall, properly preparing your vessel for winter storage is very important to protect your investment and have a trouble free start-up in the spring.

The heart of your vessel is its engine….regardless if you own a sailboat or power boat. Improper winterization of the engine and its fuel can cause unnecessary expense or even engine failure.  The introduction of ethanol blended gasoline, ultra low sulfur diesel and biodiesel have created a significant problems for boat owners that require special attention. 

Ed. note: Here at CYY we have removed hard crystalline deposits from several fuel systems this summer. In all of the cases, the boat owners were using biodiesel blends from land-based stations.

Gasoline Engines

All gasoline in our area is blended with up to 10% ethanol (E10). In some cases 15% (E15) and 85% (E85) may be available. Under no circumstances should you use ethanol blended gasoline with more than 10% ethanol. Since ethanol is very corrosive, can separate from the gasoline and degrade quickly. It is essential E10 always be treated with an ethanol gasoline treatment such as ValvTect Ethanol Gasoline Treatment.  This is especially important when storing your vessel over the winter. When storing your boat the gasoline tank should be 7/8 full.  This will prevent condensation from developing in the tank that can lead to phase separation of the ethanol and reduce harmful vapors from escaping.

Additional items that need to be addressed are:

(1) run fogging oil through the carburetor (if so equipped) and cylinders by spraying fogging oil in the spark plug holes

(2) for higher horsepower outboards use ValvTect Marine Motor De-Carbonizer to remove hard carbon deposits on the piston head which can cause powerhead failure.

(3) Be sure to run the engine dry of fuel by disconnecting the fuel line while the engine is running. (4) Change all filters.

Diesel Engines

All diesel fuel is now ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) and contains less than 15ppm sulfur.  Almost all USLD available at service stations in our area contain 10% or more biodiesel. While both of these fuels are environmentally friendly they are very “problematic” for use in marine engines. We recommend you DO NOT use a diesel fuel that contains biodiesel.  Biodiesel, and USLD present some of the same problems as ethanol for marine engines. In addition, they are very susceptible to bacteria growth.  Non-biodiesel blended diesel fuel may only be available at marinas. It is more expensive but worth the additional cost.  We recommend all USLD be treated with ValvTect BioGuard Plus 6 to prevent bacteria growth and corrosion, lubricate injectors and fuel pumps and stabilize the fuel.  Change all filters. Fill the fuel tank to 7/8 full.  Do not run the engine dry.

Some of ValvTect's popular products for winterizing are available in our ship's store. ValvTect makes many products to solve many fuel related problems on your engine. If we don't carry the ValvTech product that you want, we can special order it for you. For more information regarding ValvTech products please browse their website, click here.

Tall Ships Chicago 2013

That is a lot of rigging!

Match Racing Up Close!

By Andrew Spaulding

Last Saturday, I had the privilege to watch some of the Chicago Match Cup racing from the Chicago Match Race Center’s (CMRC) VIP tent at the end of Navy Pier. The Chicago Match Race Cup is one of 6 events on the Alpari World Match Race Championship Tour that takes the best match racing skippers and their crews around the world.

To see world class match racing from a few feet away from the starting line was a great experience. As a lifelong amateur racing sailor, I know the opportunities to actually watch a race in person are few and far in between. Sure, I’ve been out there watching the mark roundings of some events over the years, but at the Match Cup this weekend, we were close enough to watch the sails get trimmed. I did notice that going upwind the sails were trimmed flat. Flatter than I would have expected for the amount of wind, although I guess that is a function of the driver’s skill. The better the driver, the narrower the slot, the flatter the sails can be which will reduce the drag that belly in the sail causes. Experts out there, feel free to chime in my observations.

Anyway, it was a fantastic day, and I wish the Verve Cup wasn’t going on at the same time so that more of you could have attended the Match Cup. Definitely put it on your calendar for next year if the World Match Race circuit comes back to Chicago. I don’t see why they wouldn’t, from the dock talk I heard, the sailors liked the venue and certainly the spectators were enjoying the show. There were quite a few passers-by headed for the Tall Ships that stopped to watch for a while. The sailors present had to answer lots of simple questions about match racing and sailing in general, but everyone seemed to be enjoying the process.

So, one of the best parts of the day was sitting at the table next to Taylor Canfield’s mother. On Saturday, Taylor was ranked number 2 in the world; he also is the sailing director at the Chicago Match Race Center which made him the local favorite. Every start, every tack, gybe, and mark rounding was a moment for Taylor’s mom to worry about. The good news is that all the worrying paid off, Taylor won the event catapulting him to the top of the world rankings.

For more information about the Alpari World Match Racing Tour, click here. For more information about the Chicago Match Race Center, click here.

Impeller Blades Found!

We found this pile of impeller blades while changing a cracked cooling water hose. The boat was new to Crowley's last winter. We changed the impeller in the spring and while the old one had cracked blades they were all still attached to the impeller. So, these blades have been floating around in this engine's cooling system for some time. We are amazed it ran without overheating. The lesson is to be sure that you get all of the blades out of the cooling system if you change an impeller that is missing any of them.

Make sure your bowline won't reach your propeller!

Grounding Hurts!

The Chicago NOODs

The first time I told someone I was sailing in the NOOD (National Offshore One-Design), I didn’t get why they laughed. Now that I do, I laugh every, single, time. So let’s start the article off with a big thank you to whoever gave us the NOOD Regatta name and for all the great laughs that come with it. Now, if you aren’t sure what the regatta is all about, here’s a bit of info for you.

This year’s NOOD Regatta will have more than 150 boats racing in 17 sections. There are boats from 19’ to 70’ and sections with as few as 4 boats and as many as 30!  If I were a spectator, I’d be out there watching the T10 fleet start with 30 boats on the line. Talk about fiberglass carnage. Anyone have a long range microphone? How many, “starboard!” shouts will there be? It should be quite the event.

There are sections for those racing PHRF, PHRF long distance, ORR, ORR long distance, and more than a handful of one design classes include the J111, J109, Beneteau 36.7, and more. I am also pretty excited by the Belmont Station racing. Oh, didn’t I mention there are multiple venues for this event?

Up at the Belmont Station of the Chicago Yacht Club there will be a circle just for the Rhodes 19 and the Viper 640 crews. Have you ever seen a sailboat get up on plane like a power boat?  No? Well get on up to Belmont and watch the Vipers. They can get up on plane with a chute up and it’s pretty spectacular.

We also need to thank Sperry Top-Sider for sponsoring the regatta and being a big part of making it happen. Of course the Chicago Yacht Club and their race committee needs props for being ever so awesome in their participation. Last but not least, we would like to thank, ourselves! Crowley’s will be there as the vendor for Sperry shoe sales. Yes, yes, we want your money, again.

Want to follow along with the daily results? Check it out here (here is http://www.yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=756