Loss Of Power; Low Oil Pressure - Camano 31 Owner's Handbook Manual

something in the hose. You can haul the boat and check it from the outside or take off the hose right
where it attaches to the pump and see if you can probe for foreign objects. Keep in mind that the pump
is just about at sea level and that lowering the hose will cause sea water to come flooding in once you
have removed the blockage. In areas of active marine growth such as barnacles or Zebra mussels, it is
possible for enough of these invaders to grow inside the thru-hull, seacock or the hose to cause reduced
water flow. Sometimes, the reduction is severe enough to cause an overheating situation. If this
happens while underway, and you are sure that this is the cause, you can generally operate the boat at
lower RPMs in order to make it to shelter. After that, it is either a diving session for you or to may
prefer to hire the services of a local diver to sort things out. If you are still having problems, it might be
best at this point to call your favorite mechanic.

Loss of Power

?
Plugged Racor fuel filter
?
Plugged engine fuel filter
?
Air in fuel lines
?
Dirty fuel
?
Poor fuel quality
?
Plugged air filter
?
Overloaded engine (i.e. rope around the prop)
Surprisingly, there are some mechanics out there that are not aware that the Volvo engine has an
engine fuel filter located close to the lift pump. It is important that this filter is changed at least every
200 hours and you should make sure that it is done. In addition, it is important that you carry spare
elements for these filters and that you know how to change them yourself. If you have a mechanic do
the servicing it's a good idea to watch him change the filters at least once. The fact is you could easily
take on bad fuel and not know it until too late. If this should happen, your first indication will be when
the engine RPM begins to drop while underway or where the RPM keeps rising and falling without the
throttle lever being moved. If this should happen to you while you are out cruising, you should be able
to make it to an anchorage or dock at reduced speed where you can safely make the necessary changes.
Obviously, if this happens to you, it will be necessary to change the filter much more frequently than
the recommended 200 hours. In order to avoid tainted fuel, always try to fuel at known stations or at
least busy ones that don't have fuel stored over long periods of time.

Low Oil Pressure

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Low oil level
?
Wrong viscosity oil
?
Diesel dilution of oil
?
Defective pressure gauge
If the low oil pressure alarm is activated or the pressure gauge shows nothing, shut the engine down
immediately. There is only one reason for ignoring this advice -- you are in the middle of Heart Attack
Narrows and at immediate risk of dying. Don't ever assume that there is something wrong with the
alarm -- the damage you can do to the engine is massive. The most common cause for the loss of oil
pressure is a lack of oil. (You did check the oil before leaving, right?) Another cause could result from
fuel somehow finding its way into the oil and diluting it. This not only results in the dilution of the oil
but the oil level can visibly rise when checked on the dipstick. If the problem is not immediately
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