Saturday, April 18, 2009

Doug

The life of a marine diesel mechanic may be lonely at times, but it
helps to be witty and have a lifetime of stories. I don't think there
was a diesel mechanic in the village I was raised in, but if there
were, he (surely would have been a man) would have been like Doug. I
would have thought the Doug was old. Now, of course, he's young. My
age. Doug has an easy way. Knows his stuff. Owned a boat. Knows all
the sailors that I know and knows their engines even better.

Doug went to work, ask a question, told a story, and repeated the
drill. In the end I was charged for 2 hours including the stories,
which were worth more. I also know how to change a filter, check the
fuel bowl, and bleed the low pressure system. Not bad.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Blew

Speakeasy's yard neighbor is names Blew--a fitting name for a
sailboat. Blews skipper, Bruce, is a clever man and a good person for
a novice boat owner to know. I was having difficulty finding the fuel
shutoff valve and watched Bruce hunt it down like a hound on the scent
of a great prize.

The fuel line appears to vanish just aft of the primary filter. At
first I thought the tank should be where the water tank is. Bruce
discovered this too, but didn't throw up his hands and quit as I did. Instead,
he deduced that the line must go aft even further. He went on deck and jump in the port quarter lazzerette, which is very deep. At the bottom, he found the fuel tank and nearby he found the shutoff.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Uncovered

Beth and I met Sterling of Sterling Sails at the yard so he could instruct us in the art of taking down the Winter cover. In the process we got to see Sterling's workmanship and care. Beth captured the seminar on video so that we might have a chance of getting the cover back on in the Fall.

I was impressed with the cover during the cold windy days of Winter. I could see why the cover held up. The superstructure was made of conduit twice the diameter I have seen on other boats. The cover had enough canvass to reach to the water line, protecting our waterboard from UV. Nicely done.