February 21st, 2022
At this time of year the mechanical engineers at Berthon Spain are flat out servicing just about every brand and size of marine engine and generator out there. Towards the end of last year, we completed a major service on a 50-metre motorboat carrying twin CAT 3512’s, twelve-cylinder monsters delivering a massive 1,500hp each.
Carrying out a major service involves a lot more than changing the oil, oil filters and fuel filters. Our engineers go through the whole cooling system, including the heat exchangers, to ensure that everything is spotlessly clean with no corrosion. All the seals must be checked and where appropriate replaced with new. All the individual cooling plates inside the heat exchangers must be cleaned thoroughly and checked. The valve lash timings must also be checked and adjusted as necessary. Finally all the electrics must be checked including the starter motors and alternators.
No sooner had we finished on the two CAT 3512s, we moved straight on to servicing all the Volvo Penta, Onan and Yanmar engines and generators in our guardiennage fleet – it total, 50 separate units. Berthon Spain’s brilliant engineers are never blinkered when they carry out servicing. As a matter of course, they always thoroughly check the whole engine room including all the ancillary equipment.
One of our guardiennage yachts has a Yanmar engine that is having a major rebuild from top to bottom, having been somewhat neglected in the past. It is now having an incredibly detailed service and all the corroded engine parts are being brought back to Berthon’s shed for painting. Very soon it will look and work like new!
We also have another big CAT service on a 54-foot Apreamare motor yacht that is in our shed. These engines were not serviced according to manufacturing guidelines in the past so we are carrying out more servicing work than perhaps would be normal to put them back into a reliable condition. The propeller shafts are also out of alignment so once the engine works are complete, we will laser align the shafts.
At the moment, our Big Blue Shed is full of tenders and chase boats. They all need their outboards to be serviced and other systems inspected. Our marine engineers are fully trained to work on both petrol and diesel engines, and we have diagnostic tools to deal with the electricals too. At the moment we are serving a series of Yamaha, Mercury, Honda and Suzuki outboards.
Now is the time to arrange the servicing for all your yacht’s systems in good time for the new season. Please don’t leave it to the last minute, as this will delay your plans, with the marine industry always at its peak in the spring and availability of parts and labour limited, extending turnaround times.
If we can help with any of your yacht engineering requirements, please get in touch.
Managing Director – andrew.fairbrass@berthonspain.com
Tel: +34 971 415 441
https://www.berthonspain.com/
