Carburettor Issues #2 - This time its Terminal

Or how to save nearly £100 on a £200 part.

The reason there haven't been many posts for a while is that the boat has been laid up due to engine failure, or more specifically, carburettor failure. After years of poor low rev performance and cutting out, I decided to take the carb in to Fox Marine for an ultrasonic clean.

On collection, I received a bag containing my carb in bits, as the housing for the main jet had split as they tried to remove it. It is important to note that this was NOT their fault, as I had been a bit ham-fisted on previous occasions of removing it. I needed a new carb :-(

After a fruitless search on Ebay for either a secondhand engine or carb, I decided to bite the bullet and get a new carb. I asked Fox Marine for a quote...5 times. By phone, voicemail and email. How hard can it be? The lack or response WAS their fault and inexplicable, given that they knew I needed one and these parts cost nearly £200. All I can say is that business must be booming for them.

An internet search to my favourite online UK Honda supplier, Lings showed that the part was going to cost around £170 including shipping.

Then I discovered http://www.boats.net/ who could supply and ship from the US for $123. That's less than £100! Can anbody explain this. Lings couldn't. Honda UK couldn't.

 Reader, I bought it.

Christmas Sail

Just a quick run out today to check the engine after its service last week. All running sweetly. Stuck the jib out for 10 minutes as well but wind picking up, gusty and quite a swell running so not much fun. The dinghy being towed was all over the place. Hopefully lots more to come in 2012.
J

posted from Bloggeroid

The Dinghy has Wanderlust

Today was the day I picked to go sailing this half-term week. On the plus side, it was warmish (10°C) and blowing a nice Force 4 from the south-west. On the minus side, it was drizzly and misty and the tides only permitted a couple of hours out of the harbour.

Because the wooden dinghy (see earlier posts) was at home for a bit of TLC I took the inflatable. I think it has been in the shed too long.....

I left the harbour and  approached my outer mooring buoy where I intended to leave said inflatable, but missed it. Three times (I'm out of practice). On the forth successful attempt, I reached for the dinghy painter to tie it on to the buoy. No dinghy. I looked back to see the dinghy floating free 100m away, between me and the harbour entrance. I recovered it and tied it (securely this time) to the mooring buoy.

The ensuing sail was the closest I have come to being out of sight of land, visibility being down to about 1000m. Just a simple 'round the castle' jaunt, anti-clockwise. The highlight was getting Kamala to sail herself for a little while as I took a break below, out of the rain. Not quick, (2.5kts in 15kn of wind!) but straight.

The dinghy episode then continues...

Approaching St Aubin's fort, I couldn't quite make out the shape of the dinghy on the mooring where I'd left it. Perhaps the mist, or the swell hiding it? Astute readers will not be surprised to learn that the small grey object drifting off towards the gunsite in the freshening breeze was the same wayward inflatable making a second bid for freedom. It was recovered and given a severe talking to.

Some may question my seamanship at this point. All I can say in my defence is that in the first case the painter was securely(!) 'o-x-o'ed around a cleat, and in the second a round turn and two half-hitches should have made it quite secure around the mooring buoy. I will be MUCH more careful next time!

Sailing in the rain isn't so bad with the right clothes on and as ever I learnt a few things today.

Engine: About 1hr

Finsihed the Antifoul

Yesterday I finished the antifouling, and today was the first day that the tide was high enough to lift her off.



I took my son, aged 7, with me today. We managed to get her off the blocks just 20 minutes before high tide, so it was a close thing, and we bumped sideways along the blocks to get free. Good job I had the ship's boy as we could balance up the boat to keep it flat as it came off. It was a fantastic feeling as it floated free and smoothly motored out of the harbour for a brief run out into the bay. Sailing rig not ready yet so it was just motor, but my son enjoyed steering.

Mooring up back in the harbour went more smoothly than ever before, as without several pounds of barnacles underneath, the boat drifts forwards quite a long way once the engine is off. (I did manage to drop the boat hook in the water, but only after catching the pickup bouy).

Cant wait to go sailing, but there is a lot still to do on the inside of the cabin. Yesterday I had a major clearout from inside the boat, and threw out a lot of junk. Found the missing keel shoe, and some spray dodgers with the name 'Bewyched' on them. The boats previous ID I presume. Also found a vast array of cleaning products. Should be able to get the topsides looking nice again quite soon. Still covered in harbour mud at the moment from the painting project.