Finally got an R5 and have a couple of questions

[RalphP]

Hi all! I posted some time ago that I was looking for an R5 and it finally happened. I found the boat for sale by private owner in Sarasota, about 35 miles from my Florida place. It's a 2014 Volvo Penta 380 nicely optioned out. Current owner has had it since 2019, it has 277 hours and the same mechanic has cared for it during that time. So I am having him do a few things on it before I move it south to its new home. I spent 3 hours with him during the checkout and sea trial and I believe he is very competent and knows this boat well.

One thing I definitely don't like is that the cable throttle/shift is very stiff and there is hysteresis in the position of neutral whether you are coming from forward vs reverse or going into forward vs reverse. My last boat had Mercury DTS and I know cable is never going to be the same but I think this should work way better than it does. Can you offer any advice? The mechanic wants a lot of money to lube the cable and lots more to replace it.

Everything works on the boat except for the ready light on the fireboy, one speaker and one interior LED light. Those I can diagnose myself hopefully without alerting the marina cops (not allowed to work on your own boat...).

My other question is regarding the anchor windlass. It works but I'm wondering what service I should perform to keep it working.

Thanks!
RalphP

[bruceb58]

If the boat was used in salt water, just replace the cable. Done a few of these before but not on an R5.

Obviously, to see if the throttle cable is sticky, just operate the control so it gives throttle only.

If you want to adjust for now, take the back cover off the drive, remove the cable from the shifting mechanism...make sure the control is in neutral...adjust the square pivot nut so it drops perfectly into the linkage. It's a very easy thing to do,

[billk2632]

I also have a 2014 R5, mine also has a windlass. Can’t offer much on the throttle / shifting - I can say mine has a definite clunk when shifting and does feel stiff compared to the newer electronic shift models.
Regarding the windlass, I would go download the manual from Lewmar. Lewmar calls for annual lubrication of the gypsy shaft. And routine freshwater rinse.

Nice looking boat - I really like mine. I bet it is something with the 380, mine has the 300 and performs very well.

[RalphP]

Thank you both for your replies. Yes it was and is a saltwater boat. But the good news is i didn't pay anything close to freshwater price and I'm prepared to invest what's necessary to get it right. I am going to follow both of your guidance! This boat sat in saltwater at some point in its life and there's still some marine growth around the exhaust bellows that I'm having removed as well as the anodes replaced. Thanks again and I'm delighted to finally be a Cobalt owner.

[AsLan7]

Very nice photo RP...classic Cobalt look with the docking lights and flag.

[RalphP]

AsLan7, Thank-You!

[Kate]

"I would go download the manual from Lewmar."

Echo that.

The manual includes operation and maintenance. Be sure you have the windlass wrench and keep it handy. I'd unspool the entire rode and inspect it carefully. I assume it's chain and rope. Check carefully that connection. At that connection, the rope can shrink around a chain link and cause the windlass to not function properly. Check the rope for fraying, and chain for corrosion. While it's spooled out, mark every 10' or so. Make sure the end of the rode is anchored to the locker and that there's a working quick release.

Congratulations on the new purchase!

[RalphP]

Kate, Thank-you! I'll add that to my list.

[RalphP]

Thanks to all of you who replied to my earlier post. I wish this update could be upbeat but not so much. After buying the boat I contracted with the local mechanic in Sarasota where I purchased the boat to clean some marine growth around the drive and transom plate. While he was doing that he found some problems that kept multiplying and as of a week ago today, that work was finally complete, we were very much poorer and we went for a sea trial. That went OK so on Tuesday I collected the boat and brought it by water 2.5 hours down to Cape Haze. There's a lot more wrong with it that I have to deal with and nobody local to work on it so I'm planning to do it myself whenever possible. We took it out for a couple of hours on Saturday and after returning and putting it on a rack to flush it the fuel pump was whining like a banshee as in really loud. It was also hard starting on the rack after having been run and heated up. I've been doing some research and it looks like the fuel pump is cooled by sea water and not the closed cooling system so I bet that's all rusted out/clogged and getting too hot. Anyway I'm going to have a look at pulling the assembly myself to diagnose and repair or replace. But we're headed back to our other home for a while so it it'll have to wait and meanwhile I still don't have a boat that I want to use... Having said all that it is (or will be) a terrific boat. Very comfortable, rides the chop great and a total kick of a hole shot! So I know I'll be very happy with it albeit with ongoing projects well into the future.

[jhnmdahl]

Sorry to hear about your growing list of projects - hoe you can get them sorted out, and the group here can help with pointers to make them a little smoother,

John

[bruceb58]

The fuel pump is 10 years old. Probably just worn out and not due to the cooling. You are probably going to have a heart attack when you see the price but you will have a new fuel pump that will last for awhile and not have to worry about it.

[RalphP]

Thanks John and Bruce. My neighbor has a VP 320 and he recently paid 2500 to have his replaced only to get a bad unit.... I'm going over this morning to have a close look at what the job entails on my boat.

[billk2632]

Sorry you are having problems with your new boat -- but it sounds like these are maintenance type issues as a result of salt water use. It is a 10yr old boat -- hopefully they get resolved and you are in good shape for a long time.
Regarding the fuel pump - this is a known issue for VP and is a result of paint chipping away from inside the fuel pump reservoir (why they painted it who knows!) ethanol fuel contributes to the issue. The loud noise is the high pressure pump struggling due to paint chips starting to restrict the fuel pressure regulator - could be a matter of just cleaning it out. I am no expert on this, but there is a guy (Man Cave Mechanic - https://mancavemechanic.com/) who knows everything about these fuel pumps and the problems - he also refurbishes and sells new pumps without the paint in the reservoir. I would go check him out - he also has videos on how to diagnose the fuel pump problems. I followed his videos to check my pump out - it seems ok, plus I know my boat has never had ethanol fuel.

[RalphP]

billk2632 thank you I'll check him out. The mechanic who worked on this boat told my my boat didn't have the painted fuel pump internals and that was discontinued prior to my model year so huh...

[billk2632]

I don't know, I pulled my pressure regulator off and checked it, it looked fine. Also you can look around the fuel filter housing and check for paint there. Mine looked clean and I'm not having any issues, but honestly did not disassemble the whole pump to check. This was in May 2023 that I checked all this out - I asked Man Cave about the paint at that time and got this:

"Volvo Penta has not corrected the paint issue. They changed the fuel pump design slightly in 2015-2016 to an inverted LP pump where the connection is at the top instead of the bottom. They also changed the Fuel Pressure Regulator which is mounted on the fuel pump. Basic changes but the paint is still in the fuel chambers. I hope that helps."

I would at least follow his videos and inspect -- if you have paint and it's peeling it will be obvious. There seems to be varying information about what is fixed or not on these fuel pumps. Same deal with Mercruiser and the dreaded Cool Fuel modules -- another paint and corrosion nightmare - I do they think have resolved their issues in new models.