For starters here’s a must read article on marine fuel that both scares me shitless as well as pisses me off…
I’m not a huge fan of internal combustion engines and, given a choice, I’d much rather be engine-less or use just a small outboard as we did with So It Goes. The fact that the Islander 36 with a displacement of 13,450 pounds (compared to 9,500 pound displacement of the CAL 34) and already has a 27HP Yanmar engine, it only makes sense to go with the flow and use the sucker. That being the case, I’m still very averse to the general nastiness, mess, and costs involved in having such a beast aboard.
On the other hand, it makes doing the Panama canal a whole lot easier, so there’s that advantage.
Yesterday I sorted out the space for the new batteries which involved a bit of Sawzall deconstruction. The engine panel is now sorted out and today’s plan is to go through the boat removing all wire that is not earning its keep and get into the rewiring with a vengeance.
Next on the agenda has to do with water tankage as it seems two of the three water tanks have serious leak issues so we’ll have to see what the problem is. Truth be told, it appears to be on a long-standing issue as the amount of Sikaflex applied to the tops of the tanks suggests that the cure was just to slather more sticky white gunk on top. Surprised there was no duct tape in the mix…
Thats shocking, more so its not being widely shown. Colour me surprised. Disposable government assets that we are.