Why Does the Boat Smell Like Diesel Fuel??? 

This is usually where you find me when things go wrong... but meet Hanzel, it's his turn.

     This year, as I may have mentioned, was decreed to be the year of maintenance for Faith.  The water tank project, the battery systems’ rebuild, the life lines’ replacement, the Cetoling of all things wood outside, the replacing of various lines (both needed and forgotten) and in general the attention to be given to various things long since forgotten has zapped this season of cruising as surely as if we had not come to Mexico.  Well, not entirely.

     We ARE in the warmth and sunshine of the Sea of Cortez and even though the wind has been way up over the norm we are happy and healthy.  Sandy has been doing exceptionally well in studying Spanish and I have learned much on the periphery of that experience.  I watch the weather but, at this point, am not entirely sure why.  Usually we are far from here and south… it’s warmer there and there is a day to day need to watch what the weather is doing.  Here we are at the dock and unless we are released to wander about there isn’t much that the weather means to us that we can’t find out by looking outside.

     So, why are we still here?  ¿Why ask why?  We must be here because we are supposed to be here.  A couple of days ago I changed the fuel filters in anticipation of setting out on a tiny bit of cruising (oh please, let this happen sometime) and was going to then change the oil (it’s easier to do when the motor is a little warm)… after the filter change the engine started but only ran reluctantly.  No problem, or so I thought, I will run it for a few minutes then shut down and do this all tomorrow.  The theory was that I could start it the next day then change the oil (it was, after all, nearly wine o’clock and time for a shower and out to dinner).  The following day the motor would not start.  I tried the usual stuff to bleed the system of any air… still no start.  I went to the office that had the number for a mechanic and thought he would be by in a bit.  Well, we waited all day… nothing.  Okay, the next day we had put out feelers for a mechanic with a sense of time and found one.  In the meantime several people tried to assist me in further bleeding the system of air to no avail.  The mechanic came to the boat a few minutes after I called him and proceeded to take apart a bunch of stuff after doing some diagnostic starting attempts.  You see, there is not enough pressure coming from the fuel pump to start, much less maintain the motor’s speed.  Hmmm, well, as I write this, two fellows are laboring away at trying to fix the problem.

The offending fuel injector pump

   It normally falls to me to fix this sort of thing BUT sometimes you just have to give in to what the universe is telling you.  In this case the universe is telling me it is the maintenance year of maximum proportions and I just need to go with the flow.  I do not tire of working on the boat, at least not so far, but I do know when I really, really don’t want to screw up a job and need the expertise of someone who has done a job before.  I can watch and so far it is clear this was a wise choice… a very wise choice.

     While all this is going on the boat pretty much smells as if we are living IN the fuel tank.  We had planned for dinner guest this evening but that needs to be changed to maintain an appetite and excitement that a good dinner, well prepared, deserves.  Did I mention, I guess I did, that the wind has been screaming through the marina’s venturi entrance to make for a noisy, slightly rolly experience even at the dock??  Ah yes, it is a very enjoyable day but the fringes are a bit frayed!!