Engine Saga Done and Dusted

I know I shouldn’t title a blog post like that, but it really feels true. Perhaps I should have added “For Now”, but that seems a bit defeatist.

I neglected to mention in my last post(s) that our return from Guadeloupe was marred by a small incident as we raised anchor. WW started up the refurbished, repaired, vibrant and shiny port engine, then went through the starting procedure for starboard.

Silence.

Nothing.

Eventually, after a couple more tries and bit of prayer, it started up, but WW was concerned that the same thing was happening starboard as had happened port. He said we were extremely lucky to have had the engine start up at all. He has explained to me, on several occasions, what exactly the problem is is. Here is my understanding:

Take the words “cylinder”, “sea water”, “exhaust manifold”, “piston”, “siphon”, “heat exchanger” and “corrosion”, create a scenario that has a bad outcome in terms of engine functionality, and there you are.

The key word is “siphon”. Sea water is being siphoned somewhere it shouldn’t be. The solution, then, is what is called a siphon break. 

After our safe return to Freeman’s Bay, WW decided to install siphon breaks on both engines. For the starboard side, this involved taking the engine apart, something he hadn't done before. Much breakfast-time consultation ensued with our knowledgeable HotHotHot friends.The he took the plunge.

Two days later, both engines had siphon breaks. Three days later, both engines had had an oil change. To this day, both engines purr when asked to do so. So the engine sage is done and dusted.

For now.