Publish Date: Thursday, January 28, 2010
Today I had the privilege of attending Northern Lights’ famed Captain’s Class at their factory in Seattle. This one-day course is available for only a few days once per year, and it is open to, and complimentary for owners of Northern Lights/Lugger products. We own two of these products aboard Three@Sea: our main engine is a Lugger 668D and our generator is a Northern Lights 10 kilowatt genset.
The class is worthwhile both because you get to learn from the experts about how to maintain and troubleshoot your engines, and you also get to meet other Nordhavn owners who have come to the class for same reason. I sat next to a delightful gentleman from Kansas who is building a Nordhavn 76, and I met a nice couple from Montana who are commissioning a Nordhavn 43. Like us, the couple from Montana had never owned a boat before (other than a kayak), and they are currently “sipping from the firehose” to learn as much as they can before delivery. The camaraderie of Nordhavn owners was alive and well in this class — everybody is ready and willing to help everybody else.
Bob Senter from Northern Lights teaches the class, and he is a wealth of knowledge and anecdotes. His casual style and engaging dialogue takes the mystery out of these mechanical marvels. I came to the class thinking that I probably knew about 10% of what I need to know. I leave the class with the realization that the 10% I knew really represents about 40% of what I can do something about: that is, even though there is a great deal more I could learn about diesel engine mechanics, it wouldn’t necessarily help me maintain or service our engines better because there are some things that I should leave to the experts. Even better, now that I’ve taken the class I feel like I know about 60-70% of what I need to know. That’s a major improvement over what I knew when we started, and I’m actually starting to feel comfortable about the care and feeding of these engines.
One of the most interesting parts of the day was when we took a tour of the factory. Northern Lights began as a company that supplied generators to the Alaskan frontier, and propulsion engines to Alaskan fishing fleets. These are both extremely demanding target markets, and Northern Lights has built a niche by “hardening” engines from other manufacturers so they can stand the rigors of these extreme environments. Our engine is a 668D, which began as a standard six cylinder John Deere diesel engine. Northern Lights strips most of the components from the outside of the engine, and replaces them with components that work better in a marine environment and also have a longer expected life. In other words, they toughen and marinize an engine that already began as a well-respected diesel engine. You should have seen the pile of spare parts that they ship back to John Deere for use in future John Deere engines. The reason most people haven’t heard of Lugger engines is because they’re too expensive to be practical for most applications, and now I understand why.
I took pages of notes during the class, and I marked items that I need to address immediately on our main engine and generator. For example, I have never serviced the anti-siphon valve that prevents seawater from backing up through the seawater cooling system of the generator, but it should have been checked during every oil change (I wasn’t the only student in the class who’s eyes were wide with surprise during this discussion). I think I’ll be busy for several weekends addressing the items on my list, but unlike when we started our adventure, rather than being intimidated by the tasks on the list, I almost feel like I might know what I’m doing. I’ll let you know how it goes — I’m sure I’ll get slapped down by some stubborn bolt that is nearly impossible to reach. 🙂
Hi david,
Good to hear from you again & hope all is well for you guys! Are the things that you learned such as that anti-siphon covered in the book provided by Nordhavn?
Oh great! Just when I think it’s safe to stop worrying about the pencil zinc, you tell me I have to check my anti siphon valve. So now that you’ve brought it up, how do you check the anti siphon valve?
Hi Dan,
The Nordhavn owner’s manual does include most of the maintenance items that are covered in the Captain’s Class. However, the Captain’s Class provides more detail about those items, and also covers things that aren’t strictly maintenance items (e.g., fuel management and additives). The Nordhavn manual has to cover every system on the boat, while the Captain’s Class is focussed on the engines only, so it can get very detailed on a narrower topic.
With regard to the anti-siphon valve, I don’t think it is indicated as a maintenance item in the Nordhavn owner’s manual. Further, there are apparently several anti-siphon valves on the boat, and their locations are not all indicated in the manuals. How do I know this? There was a gentleman from Nordhavn (PAE) attending the class, and one of his goals was to see how they could improve their owner’s manual. The absence of the location of the siphon valves in the manual was brought up as a perfect example of this. 🙂 I love the fact that PAE continues to work on improving their product.
Thanks,
David
Hi Marianne,
Yes, there’s always more to surprise us on these boats, isn’t there? Here’s what I learned about anti-siphon valves:
Anywhere on your boat that has a hose exiting the boat below the waterline, and the other end of that hose inside the boat is also below the water line, there is the potential to flood the boat if the hose becomes detached or punctured. This is true even if the hose loops above the water line: because it eventually ends up below the water line there is potential to siphon water into the boat. Enter the “anti-siphon” valve.
For all of these hoses on a Nordhavn, immediately after the hose enters the boat from below the water line it is routed above the water line, and at the top of that “detour” loop a small valve is installed on the hose that releases pressure. As long as this valve remains operational, it is impossible for water to be siphoned into the boat. Also, because the hose is routed above the water line, it is also impossible for water to enter the boat strictly by gravity. However, if the anti-siphon valve stops working (perhaps because it is clogged by something), this safety feature is negated.
I know we have siphon valves on our generator exhaust, our marine toilets, and our gray and black water tanks. I’ll have to investigate to see if we have others. The class (which was focussed on the engines) suggested that we check the operation of the anti-siphon valve on the generator exhaust each time we change the oil in the generator. Sounds good to me.
Coincidentally, there was just a discussion about anti-siphon valves on the Nordhavn owner’s bulletin board, but I hadn’t had a chance to read the thread yet. I don’t think this is coincidence: I won’t be surprised if at least one of our anti-siphon valves is inoperable. The answers are usually around us in plain sight if we open our eyes and ears. I realize that sounds a little metaphysical, but what did you expect from me? 🙂
I hope all is well in Argentina!
David
Hello David, Wow, what a lucky guy you are to be a part of that class. Most of us, as you know, find out things by expermenting or by an equipment failure. You could probably teach the class now that you have had a year plus on the boat. You have left me way behnd.
Dad
Hi David, Did the subject of fuel mileage come up and if it did did you tell them about your procedure and what did they think of it?
Art
Hi Dave,
Great to here you had a great learning experiance at captain’s class.Im a motor mechanic by trade and i would of loved that class,hope i get to go when we get our nordhavn,i love leanering new mechanical stuff.We are still a good 12 months off buying a boat yet,but we are excited beyone belief at what our life style will be like when were sailing the seas,we constantly talk about it and were forever day dreaming about our future life. Hope you guys are doing well say hi to Kathryn and Ayla ,keep up the great blogs we enjoy the reading them and appreciate the info,Cheers Mate Ped, & Mel Pt Cartwright Mooloolaba Queensland Australia.
Hi David,
My complements on your dedication to continually develop your nautical knowhow.
Did the class cover items like having multiple sized bungs at the ready inside the engine compartment plus some type of knife so you can do any needed emergency modifications to the bungs?
Is lugger equipped with crash valves? If so, was the operation of these covered in the class?
We have a planing vessel, a Sundancer and at clubsearay, a Sea Ray brand specific online forum, the topic of being prepared for thru-hull failure comes up during safety discussions.
Hi,
I’m sure you don’t remember, but I kayaked by your boat in Marina Jack just after Christmas. Used to keep my boat a couple slips down and was paddling by reminiscing, and I’m always drawn in when I see a Nordhavn.
I’ve been a fan of the boats ever since the 46, and am a naval architect / marine engineer by profession. I also own an old Lugger that I’m converting from a NL genset to a propulsion engine. I’m tinkering now, and get to install it just as soon as the recession subsides (the one at my house).
I can’t claim to be a hands-on expert with thousands and thousands of sea miles, but if you ever want moral support and / or an educated opinion as you work on your boat, I’d be more than happy to help out in any way I can. I work about 2 blocks from MJ, and only live a few miles away. Please feel free to shoot me an email anytime.
I hope to some day be able to semi retire and be able to spend some serious time on a boat, and would appreciate learning by osmosis from you and your family, as well.
All the best in your endeavours and travels, and enjoy your stay in Sarasota. It’s not a bad place to be stuck for a while – stuck here for 20 years myself. Oh, and watch out for that Cynthia girl that responded to Kathryn’s blog. She’s an old friend, and a nutcase in the best sense of the word.
-c3
David,
I found your web site while surfing u-tube. I want to thank you and your family. You guys have inspired me to embark on my on adventure. I currently own a 33 Cruiser but plan on moving up to a Nordhavn. Again thanks for the inspiration enjoy your site.
Regard,
Jiame