[C38] Heat Exchanger

[Charles]

I had a new, larger heat exchanger installed on Mighty Quinn this 
spring.  The boat yard that did the work did not bother to make a new 
bracket that would fit the larger diameter and just clamped it in the 
old bracket.  The wear on the exchanger due to the bad fit put a hole in 
it that started as a slow coolant leak and finally failed when I was in 
a canal lock.  The hole looks just like the ones we used to put in beer 
cans before "poptops."   This all happened as I was sailing back east 
through the Great Lakes this summer (about 2500 miles) when most of the 
time I had no access to repair facilities.  Right now, the patched 
exchanger is lying on a towel on top of the bracket in my motor.  The 
boat yard which is 800 miles away has agreed to buy a new exchanger and 
to waive the last $135 bill I owe them (they charged $700 for the clown 
mechanic to do this (heat exchanger was another $400)). 
So for some good news.  I am 6' 5", 230 lbs, with two knee replacements 
that don't let me get near the heat exchanger even though I have cut out 
the walls of the port lazzarette.  Turns out you can reach three of the 
four hoses as well as the clamps through the starboard access in the 
pilot's berth.  There is enough room to get the hose clamps off and you 
can then pull the exchanger close enough to remove the hoses.  The 
fourth hose runs to the front of the motor on the port side, below the 
generator, which is a pretty easy position to get at.  It took me less 
than an hour to remove the exchanger and maybe 1.5 hours to put it back  
(the patch was another matter, but it has worked will over the last 100 
miles of motoring with the mast on the deck through the canals to Lake 
Champlain). 
So now I have to make a bracket for the replacement exchanger.  I am 
thinking of using 3"  pipe hangers and suspending it from the engine 
compartment ceiling.   Any ideas?

Thanks,
Charles Finn
Mighty Quinn #114
Great Lakes

>  Hi Steve,
>
>  Yes when I bought my 38 a few years ago I had the same problem, the 
> previous owner said it had broken off a  year or so before he sold it 
> and it did rest on the tranny area. After a few years of bouncing 
> around it developed a crack where the bracket broke off and I had to 
> replace the heat exchanger all together. I tried everything to fix the 
> bracket before the crack was noticed. The only thing I did not do was 
> pull it and have a weld shop tack a new bracket on. Good luck
>
> Brett Cureton
>
> Jazz #313
>
> Annapolis, MD
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Steve Smolinske" <SSmolinske at rainierrubber.com>
> To: "Catalina 38 Listserve" <listserve at catalina38.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, August 19, 2009 1:40:07 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
> Subject: [C38] Heat Exchanger
>
> Our heat exchanger bracket broke and the unit now rest on top of the 
> transmission, I have tried using hose clamps unsuccessfully to hold it 
> up.  Has anyone else had this problem?  How did you fix it? Thanks.
>  
> Steve
>  
>
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