I was out Friday to do some late-season hunting for deer in Prince William Sound and has two (mis) adventures. Within five minutes of running the engine flagged a fault code that read something like there was insufficient fuel delivery and to shut the engine down. The engine was fully warmed up to 185F and it was just getting up to 3200rpms. I acknowledged the code, shut down the engine, changed the Racor filter, repressurized the fueling system and got back underway. About fifteen minutes later it felt like the boat was not performing correctly. Couldn't quantify it, really, just didn't feel right. I went back and lifted the engine bay doors and was able to see about a foot of water in the engine compartment. That got my full attention, to be certain. I started looking for the hole or fitting where a hose had allowed water entry. At the same time my girlfriend pulled out the PFDs, fire extinguisher and handheld VHF. I told my buddy to stand-by getting the 10ft dinghy off the top of the boat while my girlfriend started heading us for shore. I was going to put us in the shallowest water possible and await recovery in a worst-case scenario.
After determining that the thru-hull fittings were undamaged and that there were no new holes in the visible hull I hollered over the engine noise to carry us towards the shore. As the engine began to wind up the problem became all too apparent--the seawater strainer lid wasn't tight enough. This big #10-can-sized filter lets in a ton of water!!! A simple twist of the lid and the problem was corrected. We stopped the forward progress and let the bilge pump do its job over the next ten minutes or so. My solution to this problem is going to be to paint a witness-mark on the body of the strainer so that the lid is always closed to the correct degree. No more excitement!!!
Changing the Racor did not prevent more alarms due to fuel delivery over the next day. This happened predictably when the fuel flow rates were high. no problems at idle/low throttle settings. I'll change the engine fuel filter next and keep everyone posted!
After determining that the thru-hull fittings were undamaged and that there were no new holes in the visible hull I hollered over the engine noise to carry us towards the shore. As the engine began to wind up the problem became all too apparent--the seawater strainer lid wasn't tight enough. This big #10-can-sized filter lets in a ton of water!!! A simple twist of the lid and the problem was corrected. We stopped the forward progress and let the bilge pump do its job over the next ten minutes or so. My solution to this problem is going to be to paint a witness-mark on the body of the strainer so that the lid is always closed to the correct degree. No more excitement!!!
Changing the Racor did not prevent more alarms due to fuel delivery over the next day. This happened predictably when the fuel flow rates were high. no problems at idle/low throttle settings. I'll change the engine fuel filter next and keep everyone posted!