Opinion on Engine Damage

Mark's sent his opinion on the engine damage as a comment in my last blog entry. I like Mark's theory of the salt water ingestion very much - it makes a lot of sense to me.

Old engine or new engine, sailing to Costa Rica is now off the table for me and I expect to remain in the Sea of Cortez until late November, the end of the hurricane season.

I'll amuse myself by fiddling with the SABB engine while I begin negotiations for repowering the boat. If I manage to free up the piston, see no serious damage on the cylinder wall, and there is a suggestion of some compression, I'll send the no. 2 injector out for a checkup and service. It will be amusement only because even if I get the engine running, unless I find a definite problem with the cooling system then the mysterious head cracking problem could reoccur. As Mark suggested, I have a confidence issue with that engine. (I wonder why.)

I would get a buzz out of getting the SABB running again, and it would be of practical use with moving the boat around the La Paz area.

I will now indulge myself with some observations.

The first is one that I sent to friends in Perth two days ago concerning the recent roller coaster turn of events: "... I guess that if I wanted a routine, orderly, and predictable life I would have stayed in Perth watching the days of the calendar peel away." Looking back, this cruise has taken several big unexpected turns: a 2-year endeavor becoming a 3-year one; huge equipment replacement, upgrades, and repairs; 5 great months in Hawaii instead of the 2 weeks or so in version 5.1 of my cruising plan; another 4 great months in Port Townsend with a memorable month-long cruise of the San Juan and Gulf Islands, etc. To be honest, most of the unexpected developments have been for the better, if I disregard the frequent affronts to my bank account.

The second is that I never cease to appreciate the amazing technology of modern times available and affordable to ordinary cruising boats like mine. In this latest engine drama friends and relatives were able to get timely information on what was unfolding and many sent useful observations and advice.

And in this context I must single out Mark for embarrassment (sorry, Mark). It was he who spotted the rust in one of the engine photos that I had posted, paired it with another clue about my having trouble turning the engine over, then made a diagnosis that was pretty well spot on. How lucky was that? ... And for that matter, how many firms track their clients to the ends of the earth to provide post repair advice and support such as Shoreline Marine Diesel of Port Townsend WA has done?