What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been

     Well, I wish the story was better, but such it has not been the case. I ran into a mechanical truism that I should have been better aware of but wasn't. It seems that something mechanical that is old dislikes to be fooled with, even when it needs "fooling."

     Having removed the contaminated fuel and replacing it with 10 gallons of clean fuel, I reinstalled the access plate and gave Eric the Shaman a call. It took a week for him to get the time freed up to come over and work his magic. Try as he might, the engine would not start. There is another old Maine piece of work wisdom, one that follows "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," and that is "When tracing a problem, start at the beginning."

     The beginning was the "dip tube," a tube inserted into the fuel tank that goes all the way to the bottom and draws out the fuel. It will so long as there is a vacuum. But there was no vacuum as Eric discovered as he attached his portable pump to the top of the dip tube and tried to draw out the fuel. No joy there. Obviously there was a problem with the dip tube. But there was also a problem with the access plate which held the dip tube. It was made of 1/8 aluminum, was 40years old, and was corroded around all the screws holding it in place and around all the places the various hose and their fitting went through it. It was particularly corroded around the dip tube (naturally) and Eric was concerned about being able to get it out without ruining the opening for the dip tube rendering the access plate probably worthless. But he is not a Shaman for nothing. With skill and a deft touch and alot of cursing, he got it out without further damage. The dip tube was about 2 feet long, made of very thin bronzed and so corroded that it was surprising that it didn't fall apart  when it was held horizontal after having been vertical for 40 years.

     There was at least one hole or crack or crease that was letting air in and killing the vacuum.  It was somewhere above the 10 gallon mark and below the 30 gallon mark (I never let the fuel get lower than that) and it wasn't something that could be repaired. So Eric the Shaman bult a new one, using the same fittings because they were metric (of course). After he had built the new stainless steel dip tube and attached it to the line that led to the filters, of course it didn't work. Again, no vacuum. what happen was that either when we disconnected the line when Fred and I took out the access panel,or when Eric did so, one of the fitting cracked. It is 40 years after all and because it is metric, Eric had the impossible task of finding a new one. He was unable to do and so replace the entire line with a rubber hose and easily available fittings. After he did so, he was bale to draw fuel through the entire system all the way to the fuel injector pump. We got the engine started, sort of, but could not get it to run more than a few seconds. Eric deduced that the fuel injector pump was the problem. Perhaps, because of the water in the fuel, parts within it had developed a bit of rust. Perhaps, because of the dirt and grit in the fuel from the bottom of the tank, part of the pump were block. Whatever it was, it wasn't delivering the fuel correctly to the injectors and so the engine would not run. 

     The next step, yet to be taken, is to pump fuel, loaded with every lubricant known to man, through the injector pump
to loosen and remove any rust and/or dirt. If that doesn't do it, the pump will have to be rebuilt.

     As of today (10/18), Eric a]has not been able to get out to the boat to try it out. If he is not able to to do so today or tomorrow, it means I will not be going up to Midway in Haddam. I will have to winter at Ferry Slip Marina in New London which is Eric's base of operation. Normally, that would mean paying $45 a foot as opposed to $34 at Midway. However, I worked a deal with Eric who said that he would see to it that I would pay only $35/ft. So now it is the waiting game again.

AH! THE JOY OF BOAT OWNERSHIP!!!!!!!