Time is at a premium now (lift out is in 6 weeks..) Sunday had been absolutely gorgeous but I had put the time aside to get the outboard fixed (you may remember it was suffering on the Nip to the Nab trip [clicky])
Armed with carburetor cleaner, I had departed for the boat expecting a long and fruitless afternoon with me having to bring the outboard back for more serious investigation - in the end though, it was something completely different to what I expected....
Anyway - on to the boat, old engine taken off (as well as Fulton outboard lock which I am going to sell on eBay as it didn't seem fair to return it to the seller), Tohatsu put on (and it really does seem as easy to manhandle as the Suzuki), and started it...
Armed with carburetor cleaner, I had departed for the boat expecting a long and fruitless afternoon with me having to bring the outboard back for more serious investigation - in the end though, it was something completely different to what I expected....
Anyway - on to the boat, old engine taken off (as well as Fulton outboard lock which I am going to sell on eBay as it didn't seem fair to return it to the seller), Tohatsu put on (and it really does seem as easy to manhandle as the Suzuki), and started it...
- first, I wanted to check I still had the same issue. After four or five minutes at fairly high revs (in neutral), the engine coughed and spluttered - check, still have the same issue....
- start engine again, and this time deployed the spray carb cleaner to the air intake (and I know that the better thing would have been to take it off and clean it thoroughly - but I wasn't keen to do that on board as it would be the first time I have ever stripped and cleaned a carb). As per the advice from my engineer bro-in-law, engine really didn't like it, but I blipped the power, kept the engine going, and kept spraying....once finished, four or five minutes at fairly high revs again and the engine coughed and spluttered - gah, still have the same issue.... buggery....
- at this stage I was thinking I needed to do a proper strip and clean, but one last possibility was to change the spark plug - I always carry a spare, and in fact bought one when I got the engine - no harm in changing it... old plug whipped out, hmmm.... brown and cruddy base (as in carbonized)... new one put it, revved up, and this time she kept going...
So it was that on Tuesday after work I headed for the boat - we've hit a warm patch and the weather was superb... bit of breeze, clear skies, and the opportunity to test the outboard....
Not much to report to be honest - I had a couple of hours of the most perfect weather, reclined and lolled in the cockpit with a beer and a cigar - could have done with a little more wind (which died to nothing by half seven) - but the engine performed a treat...
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| Bit of breeze at the beginning of the session - was trying to get a picture of the keels as she was heeled over..! |
One of the primary differences I've noticed with this engine is that while at cruising revs the engine performs fairly similarly to the smaller Suzuki, and the cruising speed is about the same (3.5 to 4 knots depending on tide) the Tohatsu has far more grunt in reserve... on the Suzuki, opening the throttle more has little direct benefit, but on the Tohatsu the boat goes considerably faster (and I'd only opened it to half revs).... the other difference of course is the physical size - the power head is considerably bigger, and while it fits the outboard scoop on my 1960's boat, vectoring the engine is far more limited as the turning angles are much reduced due to the width...
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| ...whooooohoooooo.... |
So just a short run out - took the opportunity to practice some heaving to, wanted to see if there was a difference with main sheeted in, or left loose - marginal I would say, noisier with the main not sheeted in though...
Also played around with the genoa sheets - it's a huge sail, and because I was mostly beating I took the opportunity to roll a few rolls away - she points better as the belly of the sail moves forward... I need to add the cam cleats to the winter job list, as the sheets continue to slip in a most irritating manner - the jaws are not clamping the sheet, I suspect because the springs are tired (they are tufnol and probably original, so I can't complain)...
..anyway - back to the mooring, tidied up, said hello to some fellow club members, jumped in to the tender and decided to check the waterline... she's getting a little weedy, not surprising give the amount of time she's been in I suppose (been in since mid-April), but this weekend I'll bring the brush out and we'll have a go at shifting some of it....
..already thinking "I must do that again soon"!
Log:
Distance: 4.55 miles (cumulative total in the 2014 mileage tab at the top of the page)
Wind: Southerly, and about a F1 to F2
Sail Plan: Full main and reefed/full genoa - engine for manoeuvring....
Speed: GPS track says max speed was 3.9 knots (that was probably under motor) - average speed 2.2 knots
Also played around with the genoa sheets - it's a huge sail, and because I was mostly beating I took the opportunity to roll a few rolls away - she points better as the belly of the sail moves forward... I need to add the cam cleats to the winter job list, as the sheets continue to slip in a most irritating manner - the jaws are not clamping the sheet, I suspect because the springs are tired (they are tufnol and probably original, so I can't complain)...
..anyway - back to the mooring, tidied up, said hello to some fellow club members, jumped in to the tender and decided to check the waterline... she's getting a little weedy, not surprising give the amount of time she's been in I suppose (been in since mid-April), but this weekend I'll bring the brush out and we'll have a go at shifting some of it....
..already thinking "I must do that again soon"!
Log:
Distance: 4.55 miles (cumulative total in the 2014 mileage tab at the top of the page)
Wind: Southerly, and about a F1 to F2
Sail Plan: Full main and reefed/full genoa - engine for manoeuvring....
Speed: GPS track says max speed was 3.9 knots (that was probably under motor) - average speed 2.2 knots
The old new plug trick....well done ;)
ReplyDeleteAmazed me.. ! :o)
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