Run baby, run...

Pilot jet

So per my update of the 7th, time for a catch up on the job list I left myself, specifically...

1. Halyard swaps, then ..
2. Sails/boom on..
3. Sort the engine out...

Halyard swaps were all done weekend before last, along with the boom, which only left the genoa and engine to do.. 

I'd had a text message from one of my mooring neighbours, to say that it looked like my engine cover was missing, but as the weather was glorious, and we finally had a workable high tide (neither of which has coincided in the intervening period) it seemed opportune to strike while the iron was hot and go out and check. This would also give me an opportunity to see if the drain plug I'd fitted to the new (to me) tender was not leaking..

Quick launch and row to the boat and I was on board by an hour before HT, pleased to find that the soft engine cover I use was still there, it had just blown off to the side in the recent wind we've had. First order of the day then was to get the genoa on.  

I'd been reading up on rigging tips over the winter, and it would appear that last season, by a process of elimination (sheer luck to be honest.. an infinite number of typewriters in front of an infinite number of monkeys, etcetc 😏) I had managed to twig that the success to easy roller furler adjustment is nothing other than not overtightening the luff once it's in the track... the foil holds the luff, so you really don't need to tighten anything else - the line at the bottom of the luff is used only to hold the foot from sliding up the foil under wind pressure, not to tighten it..  that way the swivels at top and bottom of the foil are not under pressure/stress so rotate more easily. Fed the genoa in to the track, good pull when it gets to the top to get the maximum sideways angle from the halyard diverter at the top of the mast, lashed it off finger tight at the bottom, and it rolled away sweet as a nut. 👍

One other thing I am experimenting with this year is the genoa sheets...  I am always having to manually feed the sheets through the blocks when I tack, and I think that basically that is because the sheets are too "heavy"..  with the replacement of the halyards though, I had one (the old jib halyard) that was the right length so I have swapped over to that...  the halyards were 6mm so is more than strong enough, the only question will be whether they hurt the hands when it's blowing...  time will tell..

That done it was time to move on to the engine which to be honest I really wasn't looking forward to, but if I'm to go sailing then a fix was required..

My angle of attack today was three-fold, and in the first traditions of bodge'ry...  as a reminder though symptom was running at high revs in idle, unable to drop the revs at the throttle...  first then I fired up the engine and confirmed the same issue was still present.

Plenty of people had mentioned that the idle jet might need cleaning - there are two jets in most carburettors, the main jet is within the body of the carburettor itself and only accessible really by removing the whole carb and disassembling, but there is also an idling or pilot jet, which (thanks Mr Google) "controls the fuel level when you're at idle to roughly 20% throttle. The jet [main] needle controls the fuel level when you're between 20% and 80% throttle". I've read various articles and watched various YouTube "how to" video's that indicate my symptom can be attributed to a blocked needle..

More importantly though, the pilot jet is a damn sight easier to get to..  this is it...

..and this is it in my actual engine.. the one circled at bottom in the following... before I touched that though, I first had a play with the throttle cable (ringed at top in the following) as I'd noticed that by manually adjusting it I could get the revs to drop slightly. Undoing the small grub screw allowed me to ease the throttle cable, but no significant difference in the revs, so on to the next step, the pilot jet...

You'll notice it has a simple flathead screwdriver slot, and a hole in the middle....  I unscrewed it, pulled it out, and it looked like that one top left except mine was not as shiny, and on mine, the central pilot hole looked to be blocked. I say "looked" as it's difficult to tell as the hole is very very fine. |Everything I have read/watched indicates it is NOT a good idea to force anything in to clear obstructions as these things are made to fine tolerances, but I have an aerosol carburettor cleaner on board, so gave it a good spray with that. I was missing the fine nozzle I think I need to actually direct the stuff direct into the jet, but, I persevered and then reattached and fired her up and results were very promising - it certainly wasn't idling like that that before the clean.. 

The jury is out, we'll see whether this is a permanent fix, but I am happy with the results at this stage. When I go out next time I'll take the fine nozzle for the aerosol and give it a spray through with that - other people have also suggested soaking in acetone for a few hours first.

The good news then is that I think I may have completed those start of season jobs, but time will tell on #3... and the drain plug?? Not a 100% success but I'm putting it down to not screwing in the plug hard enough.. 😁

Sailing with the Jolly Boys Friday - beer, banter and pork pies will almost certainly feature..