Compass Rose

With the 2008 season fast approaching, and with the engine just run in at the end of last season it was time to service the engine and check all the oil levels etc. This was the first engine service that I had ever done on a boat. The things that had to be done were:

• Change the engine oil
• Change the engine oil filter
• Change the water separating fuel filter
• Check & top up the power steering oil
• Check & top up the drive oil
• Check & top up the trim oil
• General lubrication of linkages
• General clean up

I had read (both in the manual and on the internet) that changing the engine oil was extremely messy. In the end it turned out to be the cleanest oil change that I had ever done. The vacuum pump extracted the oil into its own reservoir and didn't spill a single drop.
Extracting the 4 litres of oil took about 50 minutes. With hindsight I should have warmed the engine up a bit more (I only warmed the engine to the minimum mark of the operating temperature range.
When all the oil had been extracted it was time to change the oil filter. The filter was quite tight and there wasn't enough room to use a filter wrench. In the end I had to punch a screwdriver through the old filter and use that as a lever.
A tip in the manual said to half fill the filter with new oil so as not to starve the engine when it's first fired up. With the new filter on and the engine topped up I fired her up and got oil pressure after about 2 seconds.

We topped up the power steering oil and drive oil. The trim oil was OK.

We didn't want to risk changing the fuel filter as the tank was full. It's quite easy to access so we'll change this after a few hours of use.

The linkages were oiled with 3-in-1 oil and checked for wear.

All the covers and panels were then replaced.