NORDHAVN 47 RANGER ENGINE ROOM

Often the focus on the engines neglects a couple of important items - the engine room environment, engine exhaust system, shaft and stuffing box. Ranger’s engines are in excellent condition. Visual inspection, logs, oil analysis history and a current oil analysis will prove this out. We have glowing oil analysis reports.

When it comes to marine engines, I am all about reliability. I believe that our John Deere was one of the last to be installed with mechanical fuel injection. I am not a fan of a wire harness and connectors keeping my engine turning over. The only wires going to Ranger’s engine are for gauges and the start and stop solenoids. We had dinner with a couple who had returned from Turkey on their N55 when after two days offshore, the engine stopped. No hydraulics for the stabilizers and a 4-day trip in front of them. The very nice lady who had lived about while cruising for over ten years left the boat union arrival and announced a “never to return” policy. We are so belt and suspenders that in addition to the normal spares like an injector, we have a replacement (new) injection pump ready to go.  

As much as I love Nordhavn and all things Nordhavn, there were a couple of misses that we have corrected. First, the drive shaft was Aquamet 18. We replaced this with an Aquamet 22 with a split coupling after observing some corrosion around the stuffing box. Second, we replaced the steel muffler with a stainless steel muffler and a new and better cover. Neither of these was inexpensive. Finally, the engine room was way too hot when running. We had Yacht Tech install their world famous blower system and brought the temps down by 80 degrees. 

An often overlooked issue is the stuffing box. Ranger’s main and wing are traditional packing glands. I’ve had the fancy new technology and had problems I’m willing to share at dinner. A gland failure that can be fixed with a torn up T shirt beats all the lip seals (and other tech) hands down. Call me old fashioned and tried and true! I met the mechanic in Savannah who maintained the pilot boats for the Savannah River. He told me about their many different stuffing box material they had used and settled on Duramax. A fantastic recommendation! I recently pulled two of the stuffing rings after five years and they look brand new. I have the remainder of a box of Duramax that will most likely never get used.  

In the engine room you will find many, many “make life easy enhancements” including a work bench with a vise and John Deere specific tools.