[Public-List] A new engine adventure...

[Gordon Laco via Public-List]

Hello gang...

Last night being Wednesday, SURPRISE sortied from the club to do battle as
usual.  The air was very light and uncharactistically from the east, so that
put the start at the far end of our end of Severn Sound.  We motored all the
way out, shut down and began the usual prestart jousting.   I¹ll gloss over
the great start we had, how MAID MARION, our arch rival, tried doing a tack
just before and never really got moving again in the very light air...

So there we were gliding along with 0.7 knots showing on the knotmeter and
laying the windward mark due to a huge lift right at the start.  I was
chuckling to myself when one of my crewmembers called to me Œhey Gord, the
floorboards are floating¹.

Sure enough, the bilges were completely flooded.  We quickly pumped the
water out and marveled at how strong the batteries were despite the fact
that they may have spent days under water (assuming a slow trickle leak)
Nothing more was coming in, so I reckoned I¹d worry about the leak later.

We completed the race, the bilges were still clear (we¹d left the
floorboards up to help the battery tops dry).  We sparked up the engine and
motored for home.  

Partway back to the club, the bilges were full again.  As we reversed to
stop at our jetty, the engine died.  I never like to let it end an
engagement on it¹s own terms, so I tried to start it again, and it wouldn¹t
fire although it spun well on the starter.

Off came the motor compartment cover.  The liner pan beneath the engine was
full of water and overflowing into the bilge, but no new water seemed to be
coming in.    I said to Clint ³hit the starter for me please ... Uh I mean
Œdamn you¹² (we have a running gag going in the boat over how I used to be
admonished in Officer¹s Basic in the RCN about being too polite when giving
orders)

The engine cranked, and immedeatly a shower of water sprayed from the engine
block to the starter housing, and from that all over the compartment.  A
drain plug had come out.    I put in a new one from my parts kit.  Went and
had a beer at the club house... 30 minutes later, figureing the engine had
dried out tried the starter.  The engine ran sweetly as usual and there was
no leak.

That was a new one...

Gord #426 Surprise