Hi there, I am a new member. Bought P31/#29 'Slide Rule' from a broker in Chichester at the end of 2019 and she has been laid up at my club, Island Yacht Club, Canvey since then, partly due to Covid restrictions (we actually live near Ipswich an hours drive away), partly because my previous boat still hadn't sold and was available when we were allowed out to go sailing, and partly due to lack of time to do all the jobs I wanted on both of them.
The other boat has gone, and P31/29 is now renamed 'thundachild' and booked in at our club for launching over the weekend of 19th-20th Feb.
One job I still have to finish is a check over the hydraulics. The keel lifted OK when I sailed her back in November 2019 but has been 'dormant' since. I have had the floorboards up and checked hoses which look reasonably new though I found a little oil in bilge under the ram and a little oil under the Fuel Tank in the Cockpit locker. Wires and Sheaves look OK and well greased. I will also check the hose through the cockpit bulkhead having read the topic on this forum.
What I am not too sure about is how to check the oil levels and if there is any checks that need doing to the motor/pump/ram.
Also not too sure about Hydraulic Oil to use. I found 5ltr's of 'Triple QX Hydraulic Oil 32' in a locker and I am assuming this is suitable for the system but old receipts kept by John Harburn, the original owner, for hydraulic oil were for 'CL32 Hydraulic Oil' and 'Shell T15'.
All The Best to you all and hopefully will be meeting some of you this year.
Peter

Hi Peter, I have Hunca Munca No10.
I’m in ipswich myself and keep my boat at Pinmill.
I have done a lot of work on my hydraulic system/boat.

Sounds like you have checked the obvious.
My boat suffered from a rotten hydraulic reservoir on the hydraulic pack.
Luckily I had a tank “in stock” I had the new tank galvanised and powder coated.

The emergency hydraulic pump handle needed replacement. The steel handle had rotted away. It got replaced with a piece of thick wall stainless tube (25 x 20 x 800 long, from memory) with a little bit of machining, it was perfect.

The wiring might be worth checking.
The 12v feed for the pump was linked from the engine (it wasn’t pretty)
I fitted new cables from the domestic battery’s, with its own isolator and fuse.

I use HL32 in my system. Any 32 grade oil would be fine.

Regarding hydraulic oil level - with the keel up, the tank should be 1/3 - 1/2 full? If there’s too much in the it will “spit it out” of the vent when the keel is lowered.
I have to dip the tank on mine, through the filler/ vent to check the level.

Hope this makes sense.

Regards Ben.

Hi Ben,
Thanks for advice.
I decided to top up with the 32 hydraulic oil that was with the boat.. But reading your response I think I may have overfilled it as its out of the water with the keel up. I have a vacuum oil pump so will suck a bit out at a time till I have the keel right down.
Also discovered that the wiring in the hydraulic enclosure is a bit fickle. In line fuse holder probably needs replacing, weak spring I think.
We now live in Sproughton near Chantry Park off the old Hadleigh Road. Will have to meet up some time.
All The Best,
Peter