Teun,

Have you tried:

Y-Yacht (UK – EU)- http://www.yyachtinsurance.com/

The Marina Shop (NZ) - https://www.marine-insurance.co.nz/

Top Sail (UK) - https://www.topsailinsurance.com (10% discount for OCC members)

Growrie (USA) - https://gowrie.com/Marine-Insurance/JacklineProgram.aspx

All of these have good reputations and will write a policy for international blue water sailors.  

Bill,

I think that insurance is a very big issue. I have now approached 6 to 7 agents/companies mentioned on our AYOG Forum and get very conflicting reasons of not willing to write insurance, like:

1. You are USA citizen (although I pointed out several times I am NOT – I am a DUTCH citizen).
2. But you do have a USA address (correct but I can give you legal non-USA addresses)
3. You are NOT a USA citizen or resident (I am a LEGAL USA resident since 1986 and just had my green card renewed in February for 10 years) and this policy is specifically for USA citizens and/or residents and/or boats and/or ….
4. You don’t have a USA address (YES I do – pls see the application)
5. We don’t cover your navigational limits (AUSTRALIA etc.)

In talking to agents recommended via our AYOG forum I realize few of them remember/recognize the AMEL specific 6 or 7 watertight compartments so they tell me I need additional pumps on board; our overbuild rigging etc. etc.; and tell me I need to renew my rigging (just surveyed in December 2019 in COOMERA) because it is now 10 years old.

In all honesty: agency on #3 and #4 is now looking at this again after I wrote back I was a USA resident and had a USA address she replied she was going to look into this.

I know I am not the only AMEL owner having this problem – another member mentioned on the forum maybe looking at organizing our own group insurance (maybe via LLOYDS ?? they are used to write unusual policies)

Best Regards Teun

SV AMELIT  A54  #128

COOMERA (near BRISBANE) QLD AUSTRALIA

May 1, 2020 10:02:02

USA cell: +1 832 477 8842

AUSTRALIA cell: +61 5951 8909

You can follow AMELIT via this link: https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/AMELIT

From: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io <main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io> On Behalf Of CW Bill Rouse via groups.io
Sent: Friday, May 1, 2020 08:46
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Subject: [Special] [AmelYachtOwners] Additional ZOOM Meetings #ZOOM

All,

The most common suggestion that I have received regarding the ZOOM meetings is to have expert guest speakers on subjects that are of interest to most of the members. I have contacted people I know, respect, and consider experts. I am awaiting replies from experts on:

Another suggestion I had was to find an "...Insurance Adjuster, whose role it is to be the interpreter of the policy, protecting only the insurance company in order to minimize liability and expenses.  This expert is the one we need to come and talk to us about insurance and how to get the best policy for the most reasonable price." I am aware of public marine insurance adjusters in Florida but have no direct knowledge of any of these.

Comments welcome.

I will keep you informed.
--

All,

The most common suggestion that I have received regarding the ZOOM meetings is to have expert guest speakers on subjects that are of interest to most of the members. I have contacted people I know, respect, and consider experts. I am awaiting replies from experts on:

Another suggestion I had was to find an "...Insurance Adjuster, whose role it is to be the interpreter of the policy, protecting only the insurance company in order to minimize liability and expenses.  This expert is the one we need to come and talk to us about insurance and how to get the best policy for the most reasonable price." I am aware of public marine insurance adjusters in Florida but have no direct knowledge of any of these.

Comments welcome.

I will keep you informed.
--

All,

The most common suggestion that I have received regarding the ZOOM meetings is to have expert guest speakers on subjects that are of interest to most of the members. I have contacted people I know, respect, and consider experts. I am awaiting replies from experts on:

Another suggestion I had was to find an "...Insurance Adjuster, whose role it is to be the interpreter of the policy, protecting only the insurance company in order to minimize liability and expenses.  This expert is the one we need to come and talk to us about insurance and how to get the best policy for the most reasonable price." I am aware of public marine insurance adjusters in Florida but have no direct knowledge of any of these.

Comments welcome.

I will keep you informed.
--

Joel,

Thanks for this advice. About the pressure, he measured 30psi when it should have been 80. I’ll wait for opinion from the other engineer looking into this. He should also be able to change the oil and get an analysis done.

Hello Paul. I had Amel 54 # 14. I did all the maintenance myself and had the workshop manual for the Volvo. I actually read the whole thing to full familiarize myself with this engine as I also previously had a SM 53 with a Volvo diesel. It was plenty of trouble for a brand new engine. Volvo ended up giving me a new replacement. I had been pushing hard for years with Mr. Carteau , Amel’s Chairman and Technical Director, to try Yanmar engines. We  soon did for North America and for Europe a little bit later. Amel went back to Volvo for the Amel 54 as it was a FADAC/computer controlled diesel that met the new and stricter emissions regulations as Yanmar did not quite have an available emissions compliant diesel in the required horsepower range. My Volvo D3 had several sensor failures with the computer control sensors. The first one was with the first potential client on the first sea trial  and I was ignominiously towed back to the dock . Not a good start…

Never had any mechanical problems with it and it didn’t use any oil between 100 hour changes either. The sensor problems did persist though and then vanished never to return. I hate head scratchers like that.

Amel switched to Pathfinder/marinized Volkswagen diesels, not to get away from Volvo as many assume but rather because Volvo decided  suddenly and with scant warning to quit building the D3 with the isolated negative/full earth return electrical system that Amel required. I believe one 54 got a Steyr diesel which, in my opinion,  is one of the best designed and built marine diesel engine with dealers all over the world.

Comments below. See if you can get the details I outlined from the gentleman who took the mechanical gauge oil pressure test.

Many thanks to all who have replied. I’ll try to reply to the feedback.

This problem occurred immediately after an oil and oil filter change. I got the engineer involved after a few days when it started giving the warning whilst still at 1100rpm. The first thing the engineer did was to change the filter again for a genuine Volvo filter. That would tend to eliminate the check valve in the oil filter. Was the fresh oil added 4 hours ago the correct viscosity? Was it quality/branded oil like Shell Rotella or similar?

Re. oil analysis: Joel, as the oil is fresh – probably no more than 4 hours –  I doubt an analysis will yield anything significant – or am I wrong about that? More hours is better until you exceed recommended intervals. However, if the pressure is failing because of the clearances increasing, you will be shedding metal and this will be discernible at 4 hours. If you change the oil save some for a test if it later becomes obvious that it would be the correct thing to do. Take the sample from the last third of the oil extracted for best results.

The fact that the oil pressure is gradually getting worse would make me opt for a spectrographic analysis before any parts come off the engine. It is not expensive.

Re. oil consumption: The engine does not burn or lose any oil. That is encouraging.

Re. hours: engine hours are 1975.Way too young for self-destruction internally unless the engine was severely overheated or overloaded. If it is internal failure it would probably be due to manufacturers defect.

Re. historic maintenance – I have no details but I do know the boat had been extremely well taken care of so I doubt there is an issue here.

Re. pressure: I about the pressure, I didn’t personally take notes, but the engineer did measure the pressure using the external gauge at different rpm, up to about 2500 if I remember correctly. I am away from the boat and have asked them to send me this info. So, the mechanical gauge, for certain, confirmed that oil pressure at idle and up to around 1100RPM was below safe limits? If you can get the fellow who took the measurements to comment  about the following as he ran the RPM higher than 1100RPM it would be quite helpful…

Was the pressure increase linear or was it ‘jerky’ with plateaus and jumps?

As RPMs were increased, did the oil pressure always seem lower than what would be normal at that RPM?

If the oil pressure caught up with what would be considered normal, at what RPM did that happen?

Re. Pressure relief valve – I know nothing about that and it was not mentioned. Re. pump safety valve – again I have no knowledge about this and it was not mentioned. Oil pumps and associated regulating equipment are usually  carefully engineered and built to exacting standards as if these units fail everything else immediately follows suit. They seldom fail and when they do it is usually an immediate and catastrophic failure and not an incremental one. There are always exceptions…

Unfortunately I am away from the boat now until October. It is being looked after and I have contacted a friend who is an engineer in Grenada to investigate further. My concern is that if there is any bad weather the boat is not mobile – not a good situation.

Latest from the engineer: I would recommend to proceed with the following  after an oil analysis is completed as if the oil analysis tells of a failing engine the rest of this is unnecessary. It is usually not cost effective to rebuild  modern FADEC diesel  engines, particularly one that was in self consumption mode.

We can simply change the oil and filter, using Volvo filter and 15W40 HD oil as recommended, install a new pressure sensor and see what happens. If that isn't effective, there is a valve in the oil pump which could be stuck but because of your poor access we don't think the pump can come out without lifting the engine. The pump is on the crankshaft, behind the timing belt pulley(best replace that belt too) and this needs to be extracted; Stef says he doubts there would be room to get a puller between the engine and the bulkhead. The suction tube has a strainer and this could be blocked. The engine sump must be removed for this so engine definitely needs to come out. The sensor is not expensive, Euro 26.33 + freight. The valve is E 61.33, belt E 207.78, strainer E 61.33, seal E 25.11, gaskets and o-rings not much. Pump is not cheap at E 368.89. You suggested a new pump; I have not seen one give trouble, but I haven't seen this problem on a D3 before.

 So, how would you like us to proceed? The prices I gave are list, exclusive of shipping and brokerage. We can order just the sensor and replace this, the oil and filter and run her up in a couple of hours. If the problem is still there then I think she's gonna need to come out. The freight for just one sensor won't be very efficient and unfortunately I don't have much else to order right now- I try to get a list of parts together and spread the freight costs around, but if you are in a hurry, which with a disabled engine and the boat in the water I guess there must be some sense of urgency...

Paul, a bit more information is needed to give you some help.

How many hours are on the engine now?

How many hours are on the oil in the crankcase now?

Did you get maintenance logs at the purchase that showed good habits regarding regular oil changes? What were the months and hour intervals if so?

Did this problem started immediately after a new oil filter and fresh engine oil were installed? Or was it several hours or days later?

Testing with a mechanical/non-electric oil pressure gauge confirmed that what you were reading from the helm mounted instrumentation was correct ?

Did oil pressure increase with higher engine RPM in a linear pattern, not increase at all or very little, or immediately increase by a great deal? This is very important  

 to know.

Does the engine burn more than a liter of oil  in 50 hours of running time?

Did the Volvo dealer immediately suggest engine removal with out any other testing?

 Did anyone suggest that you have a spectrographic engine oil analysis performed ? Do a web search on this. Not expensive and extremely telling about the engines  

internal mechanical condition.

  I will await and respond to your answers but I would strongly suggest changing the engine oil filter and if nothing changes then obtaining a spectrographic engine oil analysis before the engine  is removed. The oil analysis will, for sure, tell you plenty about the engines’ relative health. Much the same as getting your blood work done before a visit to your medical practitioner.

All The best, Joel

Hi all,

I have a Volvo D3-110i-C with low oil pressure. I’m told by the local Volvo dealer that the engine will have to be taken out in order to replace the oil pump. I’m wondering what other factor may cause low oil pressure. Any opinion on this would be most welcome.

A bit of history on the problem. I changed the oil and oil filter after 188 engine hours which was 3 years. I then started getting low pressure warning after reducing from 1100rpm to idle. I checked the oil level and topped up to the top of the mark. After a couple of days I started getting low pressure warning whilst running at 1100rpm (to heat water). This was confirmed when the engineer attached a pressure gauge.

Cheers,

Paul

S/Y Ya Fohi - Amel 54 #98 - Grenada

--
Cheers
Paul
Ya Fohi - Amel 54 #98

--
Cheers
Paul
Ya Fohi - Amel 54 #98

On 01 May 2020 at 07:57 Arno Luijten <arno.luijten@...> wrote:

You are confronted with the poor design of an otherwise very nice piece of hardware on your boat. To set off frightening you first. The repair of my passarelle was about 14k $.

Still there?

The good news for you is that your rotary actuator is not yet completely seized up as mine was. That means you can probably still take it apart. But to get to that thing is quite the job. First you need to get all the hydraulic hoses off and sensors off. Before you do that make sure the passarelle sticks out 90 degrees. Now you can remove the top part. It's heavy, really heavy. About 100+ kg or so. once that part is off you need to get off the base part. Again not so easy as removing the bolts still leave the chaulking to stick. Once the base is loose you can bring this to a hydraulics shop and the can start rebuilding it.
A new rotary actuator is around 6k$ including transport.

My passarelle was fully overhauled, all seals were replaced all cylinders overhauled, a brand new actuator and the whole thing was repainted.
I made a small change to prevent the ingress of (sea)water into the rotary actuator by putting a cover over it and putting a think layer of lanolin grease under the cover. The problem is that the way the actuator has been designed is that part that rotates sits inside a large cylinder. There is a narrow seam between the moving parts on the top side of the actuator. Opacmare made a poor design choice here to allow seawater to reach this seam and slowy but surely get into the mechanism. Once that happens it starts rusting (it is all mild steel) and at some point it is stuck to the point you will never be able to disassemble it.

If you need more details let me know.

Regards,

Arno Luijten
SV Luna,
A54-121

Many thanks to all who have replied. I’ll try to reply to the feedback.

This problem occurred immediately after an oil and oil filter change. I got the engineer involved after a few days when it started giving the warning whilst still at 1100rpm. The first thing the engineer did was to change the filter again for a genuine Volvo filter. That would tend to eliminate the check valve in the oil filter. Was the fresh oil added 4 hours ago the correct viscosity? Was it quality/branded oil like Shell Rotella or similar?

Re. oil analysis: Joel, as the oil is fresh – probably no more than 4 hours –  I doubt an analysis will yield anything significant – or am I wrong about that? More hours is better until you exceed recommended intervals. However, if the pressure is failing because of the clearances increasing, you will be shedding metal and this will be discernible at 4 hours. If you change the oil save some for a test if it later becomes obvious that it would be the correct thing to do. Take the sample from the last third of the oil extracted for best results.

The fact that the oil pressure is gradually getting worse would make me opt for a spectrographic analysis before any parts come off the engine. It is not expensive.

Re. oil consumption: The engine does not burn or lose any oil. That is encouraging.

Re. hours: engine hours are 1975.Way too young for self-destruction internally unless the engine was severely overheated or overloaded. If it is internal failure it would probably be due to manufacturers defect.

Re. historic maintenance – I have no details but I do know the boat had been extremely well taken care of so I doubt there is an issue here.

Re. pressure: I about the pressure, I didn’t personally take notes, but the engineer did measure the pressure using the external gauge at different rpm, up to about 2500 if I remember correctly. I am away from the boat and have asked them to send me this info. So, the mechanical gauge, for certain, confirmed that oil pressure at idle and up to around 1100RPM was below safe limits? If you can get the fellow who took the measurements to comment  about the following as he ran the RPM higher than 1100RPM it would be quite helpful…

Was the pressure increase linear or was it ‘jerky’ with plateaus and jumps?

As RPMs were increased, did the oil pressure always seem lower than what would be normal at that RPM?

If the oil pressure caught up with what would be considered normal, at what RPM did that happen?

Re. Pressure relief valve – I know nothing about that and it was not mentioned. Re. pump safety valve – again I have no knowledge about this and it was not mentioned. Oil pumps and associated regulating equipment are usually  carefully engineered and built to exacting standards as if these units fail everything else immediately follows suit. They seldom fail and when they do it is usually an immediate and catastrophic failure and not an incremental one. There are always exceptions…

Unfortunately I am away from the boat now until October. It is being looked after and I have contacted a friend who is an engineer in Grenada to investigate further. My concern is that if there is any bad weather the boat is not mobile – not a good situation.

Latest from the engineer: I would recommend to proceed with the following  after an oil analysis is completed as if the oil analysis tells of a failing engine the rest of this is unnecessary. It is usually not cost effective to rebuild  modern FADEC diesel  engines, particularly one that was in self consumption mode.

We can simply change the oil and filter, using Volvo filter and 15W40 HD oil as recommended, install a new pressure sensor and see what happens. If that isn't effective, there is a valve in the oil pump which could be stuck but because of your poor access we don't think the pump can come out without lifting the engine. The pump is on the crankshaft, behind the timing belt pulley(best replace that belt too) and this needs to be extracted; Stef says he doubts there would be room to get a puller between the engine and the bulkhead. The suction tube has a strainer and this could be blocked. The engine sump must be removed for this so engine definitely needs to come out. The sensor is not expensive, Euro 26.33 + freight. The valve is E 61.33, belt E 207.78, strainer E 61.33, seal E 25.11, gaskets and o-rings not much. Pump is not cheap at E 368.89. You suggested a new pump; I have not seen one give trouble, but I haven't seen this problem on a D3 before.

 So, how would you like us to proceed? The prices I gave are list, exclusive of shipping and brokerage. We can order just the sensor and replace this, the oil and filter and run her up in a couple of hours. If the problem is still there then I think she's gonna need to come out. The freight for just one sensor won't be very efficient and unfortunately I don't have much else to order right now- I try to get a list of parts together and spread the freight costs around, but if you are in a hurry, which with a disabled engine and the boat in the water I guess there must be some sense of urgency...

Paul, a bit more information is needed to give you some help.

How many hours are on the engine now?

How many hours are on the oil in the crankcase now?

Did you get maintenance logs at the purchase that showed good habits regarding regular oil changes? What were the months and hour intervals if so?

Did this problem started immediately after a new oil filter and fresh engine oil were installed? Or was it several hours or days later?

Testing with a mechanical/non-electric oil pressure gauge confirmed that what you were reading from the helm mounted instrumentation was correct ?

Did oil pressure increase with higher engine RPM in a linear pattern, not increase at all or very little, or immediately increase by a great deal? This is very important  

 to know.

Does the engine burn more than a liter of oil  in 50 hours of running time?

Did the Volvo dealer immediately suggest engine removal with out any other testing?

 Did anyone suggest that you have a spectrographic engine oil analysis performed ? Do a web search on this. Not expensive and extremely telling about the engines  

internal mechanical condition.

  I will await and respond to your answers but I would strongly suggest changing the engine oil filter and if nothing changes then obtaining a spectrographic engine oil analysis before the engine  is removed. The oil analysis will, for sure, tell you plenty about the engines’ relative health. Much the same as getting your blood work done before a visit to your medical practitioner.

All The best, Joel

Hi all,

I have a Volvo D3-110i-C with low oil pressure. I’m told by the local Volvo dealer that the engine will have to be taken out in order to replace the oil pump. I’m wondering what other factor may cause low oil pressure. Any opinion on this would be most welcome.

A bit of history on the problem. I changed the oil and oil filter after 188 engine hours which was 3 years. I then started getting low pressure warning after reducing from 1100rpm to idle. I checked the oil level and topped up to the top of the mark. After a couple of days I started getting low pressure warning whilst running at 1100rpm (to heat water). This was confirmed when the engineer attached a pressure gauge.

Cheers,

Paul

S/Y Ya Fohi - Amel 54 #98 - Grenada

--
Cheers
Paul
Ya Fohi - Amel 54 #98

--
Cheers
Paul
Ya Fohi - Amel 54 #98