Adventures in Boat Maintenance

Marfle Fleet Analytics is a Software as a Service that gives you access to your vessels' engine and trip data anywhere with mobile or laptop.

Our system was installed into a Swedish pilot boat Pilot 746 SE made by Kewatec shipyard in Kokkola, Finland and engines by Scania.

There was an immediate observation that we could make after the first trip of the pilot boat. Coolant temperature was too low. Peter Sundberg from Swedish Maritime Administration was alerted and his maintenance team verified that thermostat was failing. Difference between temperature before and after repair can be seen in pictures below.

Pic 1: Before repair
Even on high revs coolant temp stays under 70°C. On idle coolant temp drops to 45°C.

Pic 2: After repair
Now on high revs coolant temp is around 80°C. On idle temp drops only max 5 degrees to 75°C.

Conclusion

Accessing engine data from the comfort of your office has high value. When the engine data is readily available and easily comparable to other boats or previous months, it is easy to find potential problems.

When the maintenance can be performed before the small problem turns into engine breakdown, a lot of pain and money can be saved.