Sunrise
I didn’t start singing the “Fuel Transfer Blues” in the key of E until after a full day work. My first video call was at 6AM (corresponding to 11AM in mainland Europe). Several online meetings and remote sessions later I took my first break.
The main fuel tank is 2/3 to 3/4 full and the backup tank is completely full. I wanted to transfer old fuel from the reserve tank before departing. No luck, the display didn’t light up at all. Without the electronics in the panel, I had no easy way of accessing my 310 liters of secondary fuel. My one remaining multimeter wouldn’t turn on. The 2 AAA batteries had leaked a bit and corroded the contacts. I have lots of spare batteries, but none chambered in AAA. I cleaned the contacts and planned on purchasing batteries during my lunch break.
Lunch
Ashore I didn’t eat, I just acquired my 4 AAA batteries and made the mistake of looking into the local Duty-Free Liquor store. I was surprised to see some quality Islay Bunnahabhain single malt on sale and also got 2 bottles of Rioja and didn’t pay all that much more those purchases than for the case of Heineken a couple of days ago.
After completing my first part of the workday, I put the batteries into the multimeter and proceeded to attempt debugging the fuel system. The connections do not make it clear which are the power source wire, but none of them had power. I traced the wires to the instrument panel (unmarked on the breaker), but the resettable switch was set. Checked with the multimeter showed that no power was going over the breaker. I removed it and despite looking in order and clicking on and off, it wouldn’t conduct power. I put in another switch and the panel lit up.
Unfortunately, it didn’t do much more than that. It wouldn’t transfer fuel as it showed both tanks as full. I found a manual for the panel online and managed to find the menu system. A quick change to limit the target tank capacity to 100% and not 90% got the pump going, but not for long before it read full again. I’ll give it another try when my main empties a bit more.
Afternoon
More office drudgery before I called it quits for the day. Fortified with a snack, I’m going to go out and get my outboard put on in preparation for tomorrow.
I got everything set up for the transfer from the aft platform into the dinghy. Padding put in place. Dinghy deflated so it goes partially under the platform. Line attached to the outboard in case it inadvertently drops while I’m putting it on. Just as I was about to lift the 42Kg unwieldy object a pirogue came by and it was Malakai, my Rasta friend from last year. We chatted for a while about his business and life in general, but I wanted to finish before sunset, so I said I needed to go. We parted ways, but when he saw me approaching the outboard, he came back and insisted on helping me. It took just a minute for the two us to get the work done and I’m so happy he helped me!
Fuel Woes
I got the fuel tank, added oil and shook the 24l container to mix everything together. As I was disposing of the small oil bottle, I saw that they had sold me 20W-40 Engine oil rather than 2-Stroke oil! Panic – what to do? A search on the internet showed lots of opinions ranging from “It’s OK, I’ve done it for years” to “The end of your engine is guaranteed after a couple of strokes!”.
What to do?
- Dump the 25 liters at the local boatyard (for a fee, of course)
- Use as is. Expect smoky exhaust and some sparkplug fouling
- Add good 2-stroke oil to make a 25:1 ratio, and expect the same as (2)
Dinner
After posting the fuel question to a sailing forum I decided to wait until tomorrow to see what answers would come. Ashore I took a long shower and shaved, then went to La Mesa for dinner. I was pleasantly surprised to be told that the menu wasn’t fully available as it was “Taco Tuesday” and since I’ve wanted tacos for a long time it was serendipitous indeed. The tacos were excellent and not too pricey, so I returned to the boat both sated and happy.