Remember the old Honda commercial: "Get yourself a Honda. It's built like a watch that was meant to last a hundred years!"? Yeah, that's kind of obscure, but I had a Honda at the time. Or maybe I just wanted a Honda at the time... it was a long time ago.
Wild Blue is powered by a Honda. This is as long as she has been in storage, without being used since we have owned her. She was scheduled for her engine service today, and I was at the boatyard at 7:52, in anticipation of them starting on the boat at 8:00. I asked the service manager if I could get a hose so I could get the engine warmed up for her oil change... the mechanic was about 30 seconds behind me. He hooked up the hose to our engine muff and started the water, I pumped the fuel bulb and went to the helm to start her up... she fired up immediately! Fuel injection really makes a difference. And, she was stored with ethanol-free gas, with Marine Sta-Bil added. I was very pleased that Wild Blue is anxious to get back to the water, too. She peed like a champ... no, that is not gross - outboard engines are cooled by the water they sit in. That water is pumped around the engine to cool it, then "pissed" out... a good strong pee stream is an important indicator that all is good with the water pump.
Her Honda is pretty much an Accord engine turned on its side and set up for a marine environment...
We are scheduled for an oil change, fresh oil filter, gear oil change, fresh spark plugs, fuel filter, and a fresh impeller; the impeller is essentially the "water pump". Even though she has a good pee stream, she is due (by hours) for a new impeller.
I worked with Joe the mechanic to get through my list. As expected, the impeller is what takes the longest, since the lower unit of the motor has to be removed...
This is what's missing...
The old impeller looks fine, but the new one goes on. Everything seems to take longer than I think it should; but item by item, we got through the tasks. Time to button everything up and fire it up again. This is the part where I hold my breath... it was all working fine just a few hours ago, and you'd like it to be the same with all the fresh parts and fluids in there. It fired right up, peed good, no leaks. Goes in and out of gear like it should. My work here is done, and tomorrow we'll start the loading process.
I feel like I have been "in a holding pattern," waiting to get the service work done. Since you don't know what you'll run into, even with routine maintenance, you don't want to schedule things too tight. In all likelihood, my "helping" the mechanic slows the process; but, I like to be right there to stay on top of what is being done.
Oh, about that 10 million dollars? You may have seen on the news (it made national news) about the yacht that was launched here in Anacortes and tipped onto its side. After a late lunch, Joan and I drove by that marina to see how things were going with that yacht...
You can see there is a crane keeping it upright. There wasn't anything on the news about why the yacht tipped, but this is a small town and word gets around. The national media made it sound like the yacht just "tipped over." What I heard is they launched it in too shallow of water and it went aground. While trying to move it, the bottom was damaged enough that the boat took on water and tipped. A horrifying thought with a brand spankin' new 10 million dollar yacht!
I've heard that the hull/structure can be salvaged, but everything inside the boat is toast. I have no idea who is going to eat that 10 million dollar loss, but it is just a sad situation.
Wild Blue is very modest compared to this fabulous yacht, but I hold my breath when she is hauled up with the travel-lift. We are scheduled for a Thursday morning launch... I will be watching close. We won't go far 'till we have a chance to check out all her systems.
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