Getting Back Into It
- June 28th - May 3rd -
After 6 months back home, it was time to hop on a plane and get back to working on my own boat :). I spent most of the winter catching up with friends and family, sailing and trying to earn as many pennies as possible repairing boats.
In idle moments and during several insomniatic nights I found myself going through the remaining work, and dreaming up new solutions. I maintained an active work & order list, that way I could hit the ground running on arrival.
I arrived late on the 29th and was re-united with my truck at about 5am the next morning. She started right up. Feeling a bit brain dead and exhausted I spent the day orgainizing my storage unit & bolting down the remaining deck gear (winches, cleats & chocks).
It was then time to address the elephant in the boat, the overheating engine AKA the “atomic bomb.” For such a simple engine, it has come with some not so simple challenges. Dealing with the rusted & seized bolts has been an excersize in patience. Having spent its life on a lake, its remarkably rust free, apart from the cooling jacket. 8 bolts needed drilling out…. The rest of the jobs were fairly straight forward, especially with the extensive & thorough support network that exists for these engines.
Other jobs:
Cleaning the carburetor
Cleaning the distributor contacts
Checking Ignition Timing
Repairing the exhaust
Checking the thermostat
Replacing hoses
Setting up gear & throttle cables
Insulating engine box
After this was done I was able to test run her. She ticks over fine, but the temperature fluctuates more than I’d like (from about 170 - 220 F), the oil pressure seems high to me @ 80 PSI and it stalls if you move the throttle too quickly. So I don’t think I’m out of the woods yet.
