🐮 Lolcow Doug Jackson / SV Seeker - Boomer hubris personified, an incompetent lunatic's dreams slowly crumbling to dust because of his own poor decisions.

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I found out about the SV Seeker from this video years ago. This is the same channel that introduced me to ChuckE2009, the professional welder/wannabe farmer that published a video of him reading Tarrant's manifesto and got his channel deleted. Stephen here may be a divining rod for internet retards and is probably one himself.
Smoke Manmuscle said:
Better yet buy a motor actually rated for water exposure.
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Small marine diesels are almost universally truck engines with bigger injectors and some upgraded internals to hold the extra power. This because boats are surrounded by water and normally cooling is a non-issue. Unless you're a retard named Doug.

The AT-545 on the other hand, powering a boat is probably the last thing on earth it should be doing. Like Doug found out; they have no lock up, a very deep first gear, and can't hold a lot of power. This transmission has been the death of many a school bus powered project.
Feet Seeking Missile said:
Pretty sure the "lock washers" he chose are for grounding things electrically. You'd want to use a nylock washer for the vibration and load
-"I really don't like lockwashers" oh no
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Those are internal tooth lock washers. Grounding washers have the teeth on the outside and there are far fewer of them. These are better than spring washers (probably the "lockwashers" he doesn't like), but still not as good as jamnuts, nylocks, or the holy grail, nordlocks. I also like how he put anti-sieze on the driveline bolts the first time.
 
1Tonka_Truck said:
I found out about the SV Seeker from this video years ago. This is the same channel that introduced me to ChuckE2009, the professional welder/wannabe farmer that published a video of him reading Tarrant's manifesto and got his channel deleted. Stephen here may be a divining rod for internet retards and is probably one himself.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=DYi83Y7YijA
Small marine diesels are almost universally truck engines with bigger injectors and some upgraded internals to hold the extra power. This because boats are surrounded by water and normally cooling is a non-issue. Unless you're a retard named Doug.

The AT-545 on the other hand, powering a boat is probably the last thing on earth it should be doing. Like Doug found out; they have no lock up, a very deep first gear, and can't hold a lot of power. This transmission has been the death of many a school bus powered project.

Those are internal tooth lock washers. Grounding washers have the teeth on the outside and there are far fewer of them. These are better than spring washers (probably the "lockwashers" he doesn't like), but still not as good as jamnuts, nylocks, or the holy grail, nordlocks. I also like how he put anti-sieze on the driveline bolts the first time.
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Nah. The real holy grail is Belleville washers. Consistent force across the entire diameter. Very pricey though.

I am now morbidly curious to see the video of assembling the prop shaft. I am terrified to see what he used as carrier bearings both in and out of the boat. I am also wondering what he used as for seals on the pass throughs
 
1Tonka_Truck said:
The AT-545 on the other hand, powering a boat is probably the last thing on earth it should be doing. Like Doug found out; they have no lock up, a very deep first gear, and can't hold a lot of power.
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🤔
I wonder why this low speed, low load transmission isn't working quite right.

I wonder if people who use these realize that although a school bus is big, it's actually not carrying very much weight comparatively. Plus they're not designed for acceleration or sustained highway speeds.
 
Here is a long effortpost by someone who took the time to analyze some of the major issues currently hindering the Seeker's progress.

Impractical, difficult, or impossible to fix:
  1. Hull shape: The 3 to 5 degree list to port, probably caused by the admitted twist to the hull on original folding and welding. "Untwisting" the hull is impossible at this point, and fixes such as adding ballast or blisters impractical.
  2. Weight & buoyancy distribution: The 4 to 6 degree settling at the stern due to the deviation from the plans and loss of designed volume at the stern, causing loss of buoyancy aft. Shifting weight, adding blisters aft, and/or removal of structure impractical.
  3. Poor weld quality: Early water tests showed below waterline welds peppered with pin holes. These were "repaired" when found, but the implication is yards of welds which are poor, even if they didn't leak.
  4. Massively over-weight: Planned displacement of the boat was about 35 to 40 tons, but actual weight is between 65 to 72 tons, and possibly more. This is due to the unplanned use of much thicker steel, and ill-advised addition of structure, systems and equipment. The boat sits 9 to 12 inches lower in the water, has used up its cargo, gear, provisions, fuel and crew capacity, and will always be massively overweight. This seems impossible to fix at this point. Removing ballast would lessen the displacement, but further destabilize the boat.
  5. Probable instability: Due to the thicker and heavier materials used in hull construction, and possibly from deviation from the plans causing improper distribution of buoyancy, and use of un-stayed masts weighing several tons up high, the boat seems to be very "tender". It may not be able to handle winds of any useful strength when under sail. The only "solutions" to this problem would be removal of the masts, and that may only be a partial remediation.

Fundamental problems, difficult and/or expensive to fix:
  1. Underpowered: The old school bus engine produces about 165 HP, while a boat of this displacement and length usually has about 250 HP. The engine overheats during operation. The engine should be changed.
  2. Weak transmission: The transmission from the school bus has a designed minimum 2400 RPM requirement in order to allow the clutches to fully engage, meaning extended operation is either fuel inefficient, or will burn out the clutches. The transmission should be replace with an appropriate marine or marine conversion.
  3. Prop feathering system: The complex hydraulic system to alter the angle of the propeller blades does not operate properly using the bus power steering pump, although the pressure from that pump seems to be almost twice the stated 860 PSI pressure required from the unit. Seals have blown out of both the pump, and possibly the unit itself. Despite or because of this high pressure, and the addition of an electric Volvo pump, it will not work. There is something fundamentally wrong with one or more of the plumbing routing, valves, choice of pumps, the feathering unit, the size of the propellers, the condition of the units, parts or shaft, are all of the above. The system should be replaced, overhauled, or converted to manual operation.
  4. Materials and parts: All systems of the boat are built of subpar and inappropriate materials for the use and marine environment, such as PVC, single strand un-tinned wire, wire nuts, cedar wood, type of bilge pumps; inappropriate use of materials such as epoxy, foam, glues, paints, and much more. All these add an almost infinite number of failure points, and will demand constant repairs and replacements on almost all systems.
  5. (re) Design and layout: The boat has insufficient storage for provisions for extended use, no gray water tanks, and limited black water tanks. Water and fuel tank size are unknown, but some fuel volume has been used to add lead ballast. As stated, it is very overweight, so many of these needed supplies can't be carried, and the waste products will need to be pumped frequently, when they can be stored at all.
  6. Danger by design: The boat has intentional and unintentionally full of dangerous injury points, with limited hand holds. The "mermaid" decorations above the bunks is admittedly, by the builder, very dangerous, and the only "solution" suggested it to NOT sleep in those bunks. Other sharp decorations are on the interior doors. The interior of the boat has many sharp edges and corners, and limited places to hold onto when the boat is rocking, making a very dangerous situation for the crew.

Basic errors, difficult to fix, or refusal to fix:
  1. High complexity: All systems, electrical, waste and fresh water plumbing, fuel delivery, hydraulics, power generation, are all far more complex than necessary, often laid out and assembled incorrectly (such as a weak toilet valve being under sea pressure if a seacock is left open, and the seacock valve is difficult to access), and the purpose of the great many valves and switches is now lost to memory, as they are most often unlabeled.
  2. Crew and "officers" quarters: Insufficient quality of life provisions, as there is no A/C, poor ventilation, and no heating system. Officer's cabin is behind the "machine" shop, and said shop will produce much additional heat through operation of the drive engine and tools.
  3. Heavy and impractical inclusion of tools and systems, such as a plumbed and powered domestic dishwasher, a freezer, a CNC machine, poor choices such as a combination generator/welder/hydraulic pump insufficient for its intended purposes, and much more.
  4. Little to no mooring provisions, such as deck cleats.
  5. Poor overall safety standards: Personal safety gear, such as goggles, gloves, hard hats, personal flotation devices, hoisting gear for work on the rigging and lifting parts and tools, and far more, are either ignored, not provided, or discouraged. Highly dangerous explosive propane is stored below deck, and in an under built rack. Fuel is transferred by hand, using portable tanks and improper hoses and valves. There do not seem to be any fire, C0 or gas alarms below deck nor in the pilot house.

These are the things I can think of... I'm sure there are many I've fogotten, or didn't know about. So while the builders and minions may JOKE about such concerns, there is actually no joke at all. This is real, no matter how flippantly they want to dismiss them.

The combination of all these flaws is, in my opinion, fatal to the proper operation of the boat for the intentions claimed, or even on any reasonable safe level for any boat for any expected boating purpose. It will wallow and not handle seas; it will be too slow to avoid weather, tides, shoals, currents; it will have frequent breakdowns in operation; it will probably not handle waves and winds to any reasonable degree; the hull and welds are vulnerable to failure from actions in operation; the crew is in danger of injury; it cannot carry any cargo, and only limited crew and provisions; and its many confusing and complex systems will be never work properly, be identifiable, and have many breakdowns.

And a chart with progress:

ObsQFfe.jpg
 
TurdFondler said:
I wonder if people who use these realize that although a school bus is big, it's actually not carrying very much weight comparatively. Plus they're not designed for acceleration or sustained highway speeds.
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AT-545 is probably the worst transmission Allison ever made. It was put in more than school buses, but they were the only application in which it sorta worked. As lomg as fuel millage is non-issue
  1. Underpowered: The old school bus engine produces about 165 HP, while a boat of this displacement and length usually has about 250 HP. The engine overheats during operation. The engine should be changed.
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The 165 HP 6BTA could easily be bumped to 250hp. A purpose built marine 6BTA tops out around 350hp. More power won't fix the lack of cooling while surrounded by water. It will only make it worse.
 
I'm waiting for the inevitable moment Doug tries to cool the motor with seawater but instead of doing anything the right way he instead decides to build a desalination system.
 
Anybody know what the current cooling system is? If there isn't an air to water charge cooler, that's problem the first.
 
1Tonka_Truck said:
Anybody know what the current cooling system is? If there isn't an air to water charge cooler, that's problem the first.
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Is there a turbo on the motor to necessitate it? I thought school buses were naturally aspirated. Or do you cool the air regardless in marine applications?

Based on just a hunch, I think he's running whatever the stock cooling system was, just with the rad placed remotely. I don't think he's dumb enough to run a raw water system.
 
Smoke Manmuscle said:
Whether he does an enclosed system or raw water cooling the entertainment will be hilarious.
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If he wasn't retarded there would be a water to water heat exchanger somewhere, but that's probably asking too much.
TurdFondler said:
Is there a turbo on the motor to necessitate it?
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I may be wrong, but I don't think Cummins sold P-pump 6Bs without a turbo. It may not have come with a charge air cooler, but those engines need one badly. Especially in continuous load applications, like a boat.
 
1Tonka_Truck said:
If he wasn't retarded there would be a water to water heat exchanger somewhere, but that's probably asking too much.
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That’s an enclosed cooling system. In marine use all cooling systems use the outside water (raw water) to cool things. A raw water system takes the raw water in through a seacock pumps that through the device being cooled (engine, transmission, etc.). An enclosed system uses traditional coolant like your car but instead of the radiator having air blown over it by a fan it has raw water pumped over it. Other systems just put the radiator in an enclosed compartment on the outside of the ship to let the raw water flow over it.
 
Dear god I hope you're right. I hope that ancient shitty motor and all of its gaskets are now being water cooled. Don't marine motors have stainless coolant passages or something like that?
 
I know shit about building boats and even I know looking at this monstrosity this is like that idiot who built a rocket chair to prove the earth was flat. It’s like he had a stroke and his brain got stuck on ‘I am always right‘ mode
 
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