On Wed, 07 Jun 2006 20:29:53 -0400, jeff wrote:

wrote:

The boating types
realize it's no real big deal as far as returning to port is concerned,
while the non-boater types start looking for life jackets and have
visions of a CG rescue...I, on the other hand, have visions of my ass
crawling around under the engine to remedy things...



g ...while i'm not a life-jacket paranoid, if ever i was crawling
about any engine, i'd recommend everyone on board immediately don a
lifejacket as i'd undoubtedly pull the wrong shuttlecock or plug in such
a misguided adventure. when my sal****er boat broke down, i looked at
the engine solely for the purpose of assuring there wasn't a flame,
smoke, or spewing liquids that might require an abandon ship response. i
had no idea what was wrong...figured i was simply once again victimized
and ****upon by yet another movement of the cosmic mechanical
sphincters. when i got back to the dock, mel the mechanic got on the
boat, put his hand on something that looked like the rest of the
indistinguishable engine landscape to me, and pronounced the problem as
a bad high pressure fuel pump. mel is an "engine whisperer" and i
consider him worthy of hero worship.

jeff

My (totally unasked-for) advice would be to study up on the basic
workings of your motor(s). A whole lot of what goes wrong can be fixed
or patched on the water if one has some basic info, a few spare parts,
and a relative few well-chosen tools (and no, a "Crescent"/Polish speed
wrench, pump pliers, two screwdrivers, and a Leatherman does not a tool
kit make). Marine drive systems, be the inboard, I/O, or outboard are
not all that complicated, and most problems are either fuel, spark, or
adjustment(s)/cleaning (with the exceptions of things like dip****s
ringing out outdrive cases on I/Os if a cable gets a little hinky).

Obviously, major problems aren't readily fixable on the water, but in my
experience, catastrophic failures don't usually happen too far from
splash/leaving port with reasonably well-maintained engines. I'd
suspect that you take reasonable care of your engines and that you're
more than capable of handling a fair amount of the minor stuff.

And another suggestion - a good (used, older, simpler, IMO) kicker
setup, and if possible, one that can function on more than one boat. I
like something along the lines of a 15-20 hp, and if the boat is
gasoline-powered, the kicker's fuel tank can serve as an emergency
supply for the main(s). If you take that advice, please take this as
well - exercise the kicker regularly.

TC,
R