So, I had lunch at this Mexican joint the other day, and later that night... Wait. This post isn't about that, it's about the bad gas my boat had today. But let's start from the beginning.
I left Portsmouth early. The beginning of the icw is very tight and industrial. I was followed very closely by a police boat while passing some navy ships. I had to pass through a few drawbridges. One of them opened without any radio contact from me. It was as if I had said "open sesame" as I approached. Moments later I heard a call on the radio to "South bound catamaran" at such and such bridge. I answered back. It was a North bound tugboat captain. He wanted to make sure I stayed clear of him and the barge he was pushing, as we passed each other going through the bridge.
It was the thrill of my day. I got to talk to a tugboat captain! When I grow up, I want to be a tugboat captain. Anyway, make sure you closely monitor channel 13 on your radio while at the beginning of the icw.
Later, I approached the "Steel Bridge" which only opens on the hour. I had about a half hour to wait, so I dropped anchor and had some lunch. I checked the gas tank, and it was a little light, so I switched to a new tank. When it was time for the bridge to open, I started up the engine and waited. There were about six of us in line to pass through. When I got through the bridge, and about a hundred yards past, the engine died. Thank God it did not die while I was under the bridge. I put my kayak in the water, and pulled the catamaran out of the channel. I was pretty sure that the problem was the gas, seeing as how I just switched to a new tank. Sure enough, the gas in the tank was opaque and milky. I have several theories about how the gas could have gotten this way, but have not come to any conclusions.
Anyway, I drained all the gas from the fuel line, carburetor and such. It still would not start. Finally, I removed, disassembled and cleaned the carburetor. This is the third time I've done that since I've had the boat, so I'm getting pretty good at it. If anyone needs a carb rebuilt on a 40 hp Tohatsu, I'm your man.
I then said a prayer and started pulling the starting cord. After a few pulls, the engine started and ran fine. Off we went.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Bad Gas
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5 comments:
ack. Every time I try to stop worrying...
Amy, why are you worrying? He has the motor and two backups. The sail so he can fishtail and the kayak so he can pull it by muscle power. An Eagle Scout is always prepared!
You forgot the three anchors I have. The most important safety features on a car are it's steering and brakes. On a boat, the analogous systems are the rudders and anchors. If worst come to worst, and as long as I am not in a shipping channel, I can just drop anchor and wait for the problem to be fixed, or call for a tow boat.
Gosh - I feel all reassured now.
By the time I meet up with Scott in January, I imagine that the two hulls are going to be held together by duct tape, and he'll have rigged up his bicycle to motor the boat, paddle-boat style.
I do have a plan for that. I want to build an amphibious vehicle with my kayak and bicycle, so that I can bicycle to shore and then to the grocery store.
At the rate things are breaking, plans for new things are going to have to wait. The swim ladder partially ripped from the hull today. This boat is just not a bullet proof construction. I will get to Florida though, unless she sinks. Your right though, it might just be two hulls, me and a bunch of duct tape.
The temporary fix of the rudders only involves a single bungie cord. It's been working pretty well. I was afraid that I've become the laughing stock of the icw, but everyone I ask seems not to have noticed the sorry state of the boat.
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