Marine technicians lament, why we sometimes hate designers and engineers

Ever heard the expression "mechanics hate engineers", well that applies double to marine technicians. It takes time, it does not happen overnight, technicians, mechanics and boatyard staff do not suddenly become jaded and despondent, they simply get fed up dealing with the same problems over and over again, problems brought about by poor design choices making repairs ever more difficult.

It seems some boatbuilders take criticism very seriously, they look at the complaints of their clients & dealers, analyze warranty claims and customer satisfaction indexes and then do something to address the issues, others it would seem just carry on regardless, Marine technicians lament: Who approved that?, a previous post on some of the things that get past the approval process at a boatbuilder.

Flat rates

Ever heard of this? A flat rate is a guide of the time it takes to perform a certain task, so it takes "X" minutes to repair or replace part "Y", these rates are very well known in the automotive industry, they are used to calculate scheduled tasks for servicing and, more importantly calculating how much time gets paid for work carried out under warranty. The better flat rate guides include all steps along the way, from opening job orders, testing, connecting diagnostic computers, but, very unfortunately on boats the rate falls overboard simply because the tech cannot get to the part to change it, one particular example I can think of is starter motors on sterndrive motors.

The starter motor on a sterndrive motor is usually located on the starboard side of the motor, right at the bottom, pinned up against the inner transom of the boat. This can be a difficult job, especially when you have little to no room to move around, enter the boat designer, I know, lets make it impossible to reach, install everything possible right next to it so it takes a morning just to disassemble the boat. I know of so many instances where, it is just easier to pull the whole motor out for starter motor replacement, as you can imagine this does not always go down well with boat owners, who might think the workshop is just trying to run up the billable hours.

The lament is real

Why are you lamenting? I hear you ask, well, there are too many instances where good engineering practices and common sense take a seat on the back of the bus to design, and cramming as much "stuff" into the smallest possible space seems to be the norm, this has so many problems, the main ones are;

• Bilge pumps, critical to boat safety, so why are they fitted in such a way that it makes them difficult or impossible to replace or easily test, one such example is when it appears the pump was installed before the engine, so even if you can reach the pump, there is no way you can remove it from its base, it bangs on the engine oil pan. Please read Bilge pumps, the unsung hero of your boat.

• Seacocks, installed in plain sight, but good luck actually reaching them, especially when the motors are warm.

• Fuses or breakers, installed in places where it is far too difficult to reach them, this makes no sense at all.

Magazine reviews and journalists are cowards

You read that correctly, I would like to use one boat in particular (which at this point will remain nameless, but it was from a very large British yard who ought to know better). As we had never had one of these boats in before we looked it up to find out more, the reviews were all positive, stellar even, it seems this was a once in a generation boat, the model we had all being crying out for, well, I, and my colleagues on board who between us have a combined 150 years of experience, decided that it was bull.

So why do the journalists tell it another way? Well, that is twofold, and, in their defense, it is quite difficult to build something that is truly terrible. Journalists are mostly not technicians, they are not the ones who have to repair the boats, so their focus is not on that aspect, but you would think that certain periodicals who have been in print for decades would know that boats need repairs and maintenance, not to mention basic daily checks. Why cowards? I think they are afraid that if they write too many negative comments, they will possibly get dragged to court and even worse, have the advertising revenue from the big brands and their networks severely reduced or removed completely.

The design of the boat itself was fine, but, the ergonomics were awful, there was a huge step to get to the helm, which more than one of us nearly fell over crossing it, then we get to the engine room, cramped is a mild way of putting it, the port side motor, a V8 gas motor, had the seawater pump impeller cover so close to the generator, it was going to be a mission to get the cover off, no problem, just remove the whole pump for bench service, okay, doing that was going to be equally difficult. As a service writer and someone who has to give estimates all the time, this one was going to be difficult.

I think sometimes I sound like a broken record, same old mistakes made model year after model year, I wonder if the same things would keep happening if the designers had to come and carry out maintenance and repairs? It has been the longest time since I have seen a clean, well organized and relatively straightforward installation on a modern boat.

A funny story

I wish I had photos of it, a French built sport fisher, twin Yanmar 6LP diesel engines, both heat exchangers were beyond servicing, judging by engine room access, it is hardly surprising. The port side exchanger was not too bad, it was on the centerline of the boat, after removing the salon table and all the floor panels, it was "encouraged" to come off. In order to get the starboard exchange off, the sideboard/TV unit was going to have to be fully removed, or so we though, until one of the mechanics removed the bottom drawer, found an access panel screwed into the floor, once removed, he slid backwards through the gap where the drawer was and down the starboard side of the engine room, Jackie Chan would have been proud of the stunt performed, it was funny at the time, but its things like this that stop important engine components from being maintained, the heat exchangers are vital for engine cooling, the owner said he had no knowledge from new of them ever having been serviced, the anodes in them were non existent.

Incidentally, Yanmar seem to have had a problem supplying original heat exchangers (at the time of writing), with none available and no date for availability, I would recommend another company, Mr. Cool. Have bought quite a few coolers of various types from them, fast service and amazing prices and very helpful staff, I would like to remind anybody reading this, I do not endorse or recommend any companies I do not or would not use myself, I am not sponsored or promoted in any way.

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