Apart from filling up with water, my main concern with the boat is the starter motor. Sometimes it just whirrs away but does not turn the engine over. There is a thing called the solenoid that jams up due I think to condensation in the engine compartment.
This has been happening ever since I launched the boat. I asked my friend Nick, very experienced sailor, what to do and , to my delight, he advised me to hit it with a hammer.
In fact the condition normally cures itself but I dread being stuck on some remote island or being driven onto a lee shore and so I order a new starter motor.
I have completely lost my self confidence when it comes to working on engines. Through stupidity and clumsiness, I now make the existing problem worse and usually initiate more problems. Also working bent double, in very cramped conditions, on parts of the engine that you can’t see, is hellish.
Call Kyuna san!
He shows up in 10 minutes and 20 minutes later the new starter motor is up and running. Several adjustments have to be made to get the new starter motor to fit. It has different electrical terminals and the aluminum casing has changed shape a bit during the last 30 years. This sort of problem is nothing for Kiyuna who files, the casing into shape and redesigns the connections. It is a joy to watch him work.
As you can see, the weather is beautiful and I hope to do a lot of sailing before I go to San Francisco.
The Quiet Ripple Defines The Pond 
YOU are both a lucky man with regard to your friends and a deserving man of such good luck! And it is wonderful/uplifting how you seem to enjoy ALL the “ups & downs” you encounter…love how you relate the events. So, as is often said in other parts: DO CARRY ON!! Oh, and if time permits, let me know when you are in SF.
On Mon, Nov 16, 2020 at 10:51 PM The Quiet Ripple Defines The Pond wrote:
> spikekalashnikov posted: ” Apart from filling up with water, my main > concern with the boat is the starter motor. Sometimes it just whirrs away > but does not turn the motor over. There is a thing called the solenoid that > jams up due I think to condensation in the engine compartment” >
Well done Kiyuna – one is in awe. Odysseus would have grabbed him for his crew
In the car I carry a hammer I bought a couple of years ago in France when the starter became dodgy. A quick smack in the right place got me home 1000 miles later. Keep the one in your picture in your boat just in case, Better – take Kiyuna san with you whenever you leave port as who knows what else will suddenly feel ancient.
Wish we had your present weather!
Thanks Alan, The hammer has jolted the starter into obedience several times but this is no way to live. I now have a new motor!