Sandack has recently had a hydraulic failure. The keel was up and pinned whilst we dried out to change anodes etc. When it came time to raise the keel slightly to remove the pin, it wouldn't budge. The motor was running as normal (slightly higher pitched - Hmmm). It was dark but there was no obvious oil slick around us and a torch inspection through the keel box cover holes showed no wetting that might indicate hose or joint failure up there.

After a hideous, skating transit through the marina back to our berth with the keel still pinned up, we discovered and removed 2 litres of hydraulic oil from under the forecabin floor. It appears to have been pushed through the ram breather tube which runs down the tunnel of horror in the fore cabin beneath the mast step and terminates in a repurposed cycling water bottle. This had overflowed and filled the floor void.

Our assumption is that the piston seal in the ram has failed, allowing oil through the breather and we are making plans to have the boat hauled out and have the ram rebuilt. My question though is, does anyone know what the sensible working life of the hydraulic hoses is and has anyone had a failure or replaced them? Particularly the long one from the top of the keel box, down the tunnel of horror and under the floor to the pump.

Ewan

Sandack P325 #30

Ewan

I have a P31 , and whilst I cannot give any advice on life expectancy of the hydraulic, mine were replaced about years ago.

This resulted from a check on a sister P31 , also based in Aldeburgh, where the pipes external coverings were looking in poor condition, theirs was replaced, and mine followed, in both cases the ram was fully serviced.

The boat was built in 1988, although I have no record on whether this had been replaced by previous owners.

Hope this helps.

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I am so sorry to hear about your hydraulic failure. In my opinion the hydraulic hoses will last many years (at least 20) as long as there is no wear on them. However, in the last 6 years I have twice replaced the hose from the lower part of the ram as it can wear against the side of the keel box when the keel is raised and lowered. Also the lower ram connection to that hose gets corroded despite wrapping in Denso tape, and I have changed that once in 6 years.

I am sure that the long hose from the top of the keel box down through your tunnel of horror to the pump has never been changed on my boat in 22 years. It is my plan to change this hose soon as I have noticed some wear on the hose where it is bent when getting it out of the way when removing the ram.

I have no idea how to change this hose. Has anyone tried to do this?

Mike

Shemar 46

Hi Ewan

I have replaced both the piston seals and hoses in Blue Moon, but not the long one (love the 'tunnel of horror'!). Mike Baldwin and I took our pistons to Pirtek in Portsmouth who rebuilt them for us for (in my case) a few hundred quid, well worth the investment given their age. New piston seals, nipples and fittings, also new vertical hose and connections. I check the condition of the long one every winter and it looks OK, now that I have put a grommet round where it passed through a sharp-edged hole in a GRP bulkhead, whereas the one in the keel box is a lot more exposed.

As for the return pipe, mine leads back into the hydraulic cylinder so no oil goes on the floor unless an idiot new owner fills up the tank while the keel is raised. It does sound as if your piston seal might have failed, the oil has got the wrong side of it, and when you raised the keel it pushed the oil through the pipe onto the floor via the bottle. Mine used to do this quite a bit before I serviced it, so the closed loop was very useful.

Good luck!

Peter

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