One Great Thing About A Sailboat Is . . .

SHIP'S LOG:

When last I left you, was facing "a relatively simple problem" concerning the engine on ABISHAG and its failure to start. Now three days later, the engine still won't start and while the answer to it maybe something "relatively simple," neither Chuck nor Cliff nor I have found out what it is. The filters are clean, there is flow to the injectors, there is fuel in the tank, there is juice in the battery and the engine cranks over just fine . . . . it just won't start. Hmmmmm?

The latest idea . . . well there are two actually, is there somewhere in the fuel line, probably in a bend somewhere there is a pile of sludge, gunk or whatever you want to call the remains of the micro-organisms that live in the barrier between water and diesel fuel, which have been killed off by the bio-cide. This allows some fuel to pass through the lines and to the injectors but not enough, nor under enough pressure, to induce a good spray pattern in the cylinders and so they won't and don't fire. This petroleum phlegm has to be sucked, blown or flushed out of the fuel lines so the fuel pump gets all the fuel to the injectors they need.

The second, and more expensive idea . . .and why so I think this will be the "right answer," has to do with the injectors themselves. Either a.) they are partially clogged and need to be cleaned and reset . . . . which means taking them out of the engine to a shop that does such work, have them clean and repair (if needed) and reset them and then take them back to the boat and reinstall them in the engine . . . . a $50 an injector; or b.) the injector(s) are damaged and need to be replaced at $100-150 and injector. Either a.) or b.) is not an option I want to deal with and hopefully more fooling around with the engine will lead to a less expense option.

That one great thing about sailboat is, by the way, that it has sails and as long as there is wind blowing, there is sailing happening! And there is sailing happening! ! ! ! ! !

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

I think that I am beginning to get a small glimmer into God's plan. God is allowing each of the systems on ABISHAG to breakdown so that I have to deal with fixing them. I get to watch and work with people who know what they are doing, or at least no more about such things than do I, and so learn how to deal with the problems that are sure to come up again in the course of time. It is an interesting and effective approach that can also be extremely frustrating, but it will go a long way to making me more independent, which is a part of this whole process. If I ever find the manual fuel pump on the engine, I will consider it a very good day.