Question to owners about your 32' FB Sedan

[bcassedy]

I'm going to go out on a limb here.. ("walk the plank" may be a better term... ) And ANYONE with technical knowledge, please chime in/correct me...

Re: running on one engine, other engine's tranny in neutral (prop then 'free spinning')
1. With the non-running engine (#2) out of gear, there's no resistance against the gearing within the tranny. And those parts that do move aren't
under an "engine running / tranny engaged scenario" so heat buildup, if any, is negligible.
--> Lubrication a concern????
2. The free spinning prop/shaft will still allow for the normal amount of water to lubricate the log housing/packing so there's no danger of shaft
damage there.
3. While a free spinning prop on #2 WILL incur a certain amount of drag, it will be much less than a locked in gear prop.
Think of a kid's pin wheel toy. If it's able to free spin in low wind, it'll put much less 'push back' than if the wheel was glued in position (lots of
push back, even in low wind.)
4. A non-running/locked in gear prop would put the tranny under a good amount of strain and I don't see that as advisable.
--> Thinking here of running in this condition, hitting a significant wake of a passing boat/barge that could rock your boat and the action/stress
of that rocking be transferred to the non-running prop.

Bill

[shade2u2]

Bill,
Thank you for "walking the plank" for us and clearly listing these options. Very well done. I definitely am not qualified to correct your well described options, but added one that I stated in post above.

Re: running on one engine, other engine's tranny in neutral (prop then 'free spinning')
1. With the non-running engine (#2) out of gear, there's no resistance against the gearing within the tranny. And those parts that do move aren't
under an "engine running / tranny engaged scenario" so heat buildup, if any, is negligible.
--> Lubrication a concern???? = MAYBE...
2. The free spinning prop/shaft will still allow for the normal amount of water to lubricate the log housing/packing so there's no danger of shaft
damage there.
3. While a free spinning prop on #2 WILL incur a certain amount of drag, it will be much less than a locked in gear prop.
Think of a kid's pin wheel toy. If it's able to free spin in low wind, it'll put much less 'push back' than if the wheel was glued in position (lots of
push back, even in low wind.)
4. A non-running/locked in gear prop would put the tranny under a good amount of strain and I don't see that as advisable.
--> Thinking here of running in this condition, hitting a significant wake of a passing boat/barge that could rock your boat and the action/stress
of that rocking be transferred to the non-running prop.
Bill

5. (shade2u2) Some opinions are to secure the shaft with a clamp and blocking so that the transmission is not left in gear AND the prop does not exert pressure against the transmission. I've seen vice grips and custom blocking used to do this and I think there may be gizmos on the market for this also. It could eliminate free spinning and lock the prop without the strain on the transmission.

Additionally, I might be concerned about shaft seal lubrication on a dripless system like my Lasdrop shaft seals that I have. I will contact them to see what the company might recommends.

This is interesting discussion. I know a few people that run diesels on one engine regularly.
John

[wschneid]

Just a quick question. I have an 86 32' Sedan Flybridge with the 318 chrysler engines. I want to have replacement belts for the alternator and for the raw water pump. My old belts are faded. Does anyone know what belts are used. Any brand will do.

Bill Schneider

[GB49]

Check this link from the parts page. These are for a 1986 32' sedan with Chrysler 360ci. I'm guessing they are the same but you could take those numbers to Napa or maybe any parts store and have them reference them for a 318ci? They will probably be different size from the 318ci automotive belts due to lack of power steering and AC compressor.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... x9Z2m08jUX

[MeanTobE]

We traveled the Great Loop for 6500 miles over 3 years in our 1989 32' Sedan Flybridge. Most of our cruising was between 8-10 mph. Lots of slow 5 mph in ICW and populated areas. We got 1 -1.4 mpg. There were several sounds where we cruised at 15-20 mg such outrunning storms or big fast boats to prevent severe wakes. Spainhours

[Fastjeff]

"...My old belts are faded. Does anyone know what belts are used. Any brand will do."

Take them to NAPA and match them up. They have this measuring gage that tells which one you need.

Jeff

[Jeepmanking]

We purchased our 1987 Marinette 32 FB with 318 in Evansville, IN and traveled to our home port in Kenlake Marina located on Kentucky Lake in 2022. I used Navionics and phone gps to compare speed the whole trip. We average 8.5 mph 1600-1700 rpm on 174 mile trip and got 1.67 miles per gallon. I too looked at a Willard 30 on Barkley Lake with diesel but was just to small for me. The M had more room inside and outside on decks to walk on and no fiberglass to repair. So my choice was the M and no regrets here. I’ll leave a link below to my YouTube Channel Jeepmanking with the trip we took to bring her home and many more videos of updates that I’m doing currently on our 32.

https://youtube.com/@jeepmanking3577

[BlueSkye]

I cruise at 10 mph on the Erie and consistently get 1.3 mpg. This includes occasional idle time around locks. Running both engines. Made some intake modifications that should improve mileage but haven't done any measurements yet.

I'd personally never clamp a prop shaft. If I want that sucker to go, I want it ready.

I've only run on one engine when there was a problem with the other. You do have to turn the wheel to keep going straight so I imagine keel and rudders going at an angle to direction of travel is an efficiency killer.

I have measure the fuel usage going no wake. This is at 5 mph at best. I got 5 mpg. I can't cruise at this speed without getting antsy for very long, so it's a get me home on the jerry can emergency strategy.

[Tracy]

On my 77 32 with 318s, I cruise at 3000 rpm. That yields 17-19 mph SOG. For the last 200 hours, that comes in at 1.4 mpg average.
Exactly half the mpg of my 28.