122: What is Hydrolock? + Step by Step Instructions to Prevent by Installing an Anti-Siphon Loop

Welcome to another entertaining and informative video from the Blown Away channel where we discuss the costly engine condition hydrolock.

There is almost nothing on YouTube that addresses this issue and if you or a friend of yours owns a sailboat, you must watch this entire video to learn how to perform the inexpensive do it yourself preventative measures detailed in this video. Perhaps more importantly, by installing our do it yourself system, you can also prevent a boating disaster that might arise from having one or both engines unexpectedly disabled while you’re cruising.

Hydrolock is an abnormal condition of any device which is designed to compress a gas by mechanically restraining it; most commonly the reciprocating internal combustion engine.

Whooooaaa, don’t let this happen to your boat’s diesel engine like it has to several of our friends! Watch this video to the end to learn what it is and how to prevent it

Fortunate for us, we have friends, Franchesco and Yuka, owners of a Leopard 40 catamaran called Oroboro, who warned us of this situation. They had it happen to them twice before they researched and installed an anti-siphon loop. Find their blog at sailingoroboro.com.

While having upgrades done at FKG, Eileen and I mentioned hydrolock to owner Gregory Timot of Sint Maarten Marine Engineering Consultants the official Yanmar dealer on the Dutch side and he taught us how to avoid it by preventing sea water from entering the engine through the engine exhaust hose by installing an anti-siphon loop. If you have a catamaran, you have to install two, one for each engine and in this video he installs one to my port engine and then he explains the condition and how the solution works. Next, using his expert work as a guide I installed the anti-siphon loop in the starboard engine compartment and he checked my work. Stay tuned for my workmanship grade and the end of the video where I detail the installation, step by step for you to follow.

Now for a little background . . . what is hydrolock?

An offshore passage in rough conditions with large waves rushing past the boat such as sailing on a beam reach set up hydrostatic pressure that causes water to siphon into the engine. The anti-siphon loop system we are installed blocks the water siphon, thus preventing hydrolock.

For obvious corrosion issues, sea water in your diesel engine is bad news; however, worse yet it can also suffer the mechanically fatal combination of higher starting torque and compression  and non-compressible water in the cylinder preventing the piston from completing its travel; either the engine must stop rotating or a mechanical failure such as bent or broken connecting rods, a fractured crank, a fractured head, a fractured block, crankcase damage, damaged bearings, or any combination of these would occur.

Now watch carefully while we show you how to prevent this from happening to your boat.



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We are Eileen and Brown Councill. Welcome to our channel and a glimpse into our NEW life adventure! 2020 was a year of uncertainty and change (for all of us, right?), but we overcame the challenges and decided it was time to chase our dream, to sail around the world! Did I mention that we have very little sailing experience? Before leaving Qingdao, China, our home of 4 years, we sold almost all of our earthly possessions and started our international search to find the right sailboat that we would call "home." After 5 months of unanticipated twists and turns, we found what we were looking for, a used Leopard 44' Catamaran located in St. Lucia.

So, here begins our journey, filled with unmatched excitement and honestly, a bit of trepidation as well. We have much to learn as we travel the world on our floating home and we intend to document that journey and share it with you. We are so glad you have decided to join us, and we hope that you will find our story so compelling that it will inspire you to chase your dreams too!

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