Fishermen's Journal

A couple miles out we discovered that one of the other boat's radios wasn't sending, only receiving.  That was one good thing about our buddy boat day.  Safety in numbers.  Thankfully, that boat didn't conk out.   But, my time was due.  About a mile off the outside rigs (about halfway towards Catalina for the folks from out of town) the meager CharkBait quit on me. Wouldn't start, dead as a doornail.   Upon trying to restart, finally the warning buzzer went off.  Intakes were just fine, not clogged.  Motor wasn't hot, no smoke.  Popped the cowling, tried to spin the flywheel, sucker stuck.  Starter couldn't spin it, neither could I.   The other boats stopped to check on what happened to the day's "organizer" and were told to get going, I'd be visiting with Vessel Assist.  

I was driving the boat at full throttle, RPM's 4300, boat at full weight capacity (carried a lot of extra fuel, full bait tank).  Okay, so what do you think happened?  What's the damage....and what's the $damage.  Read on for a very sad description.  Remember to have your vomit bags handy.  The pictures are unsettling.

This isn't the view you want to see first hand. My best guess is that there wasn't enough lubrication, I was running at full throttle (conditions were great in the morning) and things froze up.  I've had 620 hours on my motor (a bargain basement Force) with no problems up to this point.  So, I guess my time was due.  I did some fishing out there, for nothing.  On the plus side, not one bait croaked...  Had a very nice troll back to Huntington.  We did see one thresher working bait way inside, by the rigs right outside Hunt.Harbor.  Vessel Assist membership is a good thing to have.   But, I'm not looking forward to hearing the report from the mechanic on Tuesday...

The other guys managed to fish Catalina for fair bass action, a couple barracuda, and a hooked and lost WSB off the East End. Lots of short halibut as well.  They also visited the West End for some great sight seeing.  Lots of divers were out there, it was reported.  And, the pirates were thick at the Isthmus.  On the return leg, the guys reported one mako sighted as well as a huge sunfish estimated at about 200#. 

I went back to see Mike Clark for our second round.  This time he'd take the power head off the boat and have a better look at the problem.  He'd keep the part that needed the work, I'd keep the boat back in the garage... to remind me of fishing.  Yep, right when the marlin finally show, the meager CharkBait sits in the garage...

Talking further with Mike raised another issue.  When I mentioned that the boat was full throatle at only 4300 RPM he said, "The motor should have been spinning at 5500!"  The motor was lugging, something else must be wrong, perhaps the prop also contributed to the failure.   But, the common thread to several motor failures Mike has worked on was the Lubrimatic oil and an engine pushed hard.  In the future, I'll not use the stuff unless it's all I can find.  And, if I ever do use it, I'll be more conservative with the boat.

I left Mike the business end of the motor.  His plan was to take it down some more and let me know the shape of the block.  That's the next consideration.  If the block is good the repair will be considerably less expensive.  If it's a new block, we'll need to replace the whole darn powerhead.  That's going to be like buying a replacement motor, heck it will be a new motor - requiring a break-in period and "new" performance and expectations for service.

More to come....more $ to go....!

dismal indeed.  The picture on the right shows off the crack and gouges on the cylender wall.  The piston didn't look too good either...  Yep, she's toast.  Thank goodness this isn't some $20K motor!  That would be some kind of terminal hurt'n.

I also contacted Lubrimatic.   They suggessted that I send them some of the oil.  I was first told this has never happend.  Then I was told that it's usually gas related.  Then I grew to understand that there's always the possibility of a bad batch, and that this conversation has occured before.  Frankly, I blew off sending out the sample.  Figure if they really wanted to check things out they'd want the mix I fed my engine, so they could check the fuel's effect on the oil.  Since they didn't want the whole ball of wax, I came to the conclusion they were just blowing me off nicely. 

Now that I've been boatless and reflecting for a couple months I've come to some conclusions.  Number one: boat problems are expensive (Duh).  Number two: you've got no way out. A guy can either spend $ fishing/boating or for a shrink.  At least with fishing you get a meal every now and then, and a good reason to go to work in the morning (to help pay for the associated expenses).   Boating expenses should be considered a medical deduction.  Number three:   If I hadn't been pushing my boat so hard, with such a high load - gas, bait tank... - she wouldn't have come undone.  Last conclusion: Oil may make a difference.  But, the manner in which I operated my boat caused the failure and expense, maybe... 

How's the boat now running?  GREAT! It's honestlly running a bit better than before.  Fingers are crossed I get in another 600+ hours.

Here's one of the more educational exchanges: