Will it start?

[rgano]

I see youtube videos with this title depicting some old rusted and/or forgotten piece of machinery that people with a bit of luck actually get up and running. I am encountering a somewhat less extreme case of this with a neighbor's long neglected twin-engine (Ford Lehman 4-cylinder engines) Taiwan trawler. He was a very intelligent electrical engineer in his day but has been challenged for a few years now with dimentia, and his family members have come to the realization that the boat must go. Lacking in even fundamental boat knowledge, they have asked me to lend a hand. Having sold my own twin-engine trawler years ago to avoid the ongoing issues of an old boat, I was a bit reluctant to get involved, but the calls for assistance kept coming. Today, at my encouragement they got the bottom scrubbed clean of four or more years' worth of biofouling, and the stepson and I and the now-dimented owner climbed around the boat, long disconnected from shore power, checking to see what would be required for getting it running so it can be listed for sale. A couple of decades ago I assisted this man in replacing the leaking fuel tanks. We lifted out each engine one at a time and placed them on balks over the other engine before cutting away the old tank and installing the new ones. He then designed an excellent fuel delivery system out of mostly stainless components. Today as we looked around the boat hunting for why we could get no power to the battery chargers once we plugged it into shore power. With the owner trying to help but unable to form words he needed to describe why he had done some rather inexplicable things to the system, assuming he even knew, it was like trying to assemble a jigsaw puzzle from the back side - he had been left to his own devices on the boat for too long. The start batteries are so dead they will have to be renewed, and the stepson is on that one. He knows little about boats, but is willing to help where he can. Then we will have to sort out the various disconnected starter battery cables to the mains and the near-new generator. The house bank of four 6-Volt batteries is finally on charge, but I have little hope for them. The only reason this boat was not full of water and on the bottom is that it does not leak anywhere and lives in a covered slip. The engine fluids all look ok, and we had good water flow when we opened the sea strainers; so we are hopeful of engine start tomorrow. Then the decision they have to make is whether to take it to the yard for a bottom job or try to sell it as is in its very sad cosmetic condition. Tomorrw we will also check steering. Luckily, the owner of the hull cleaning company came by while I was crawling around, and he turned out to be the broker through whom I bought my current boat nine years ago. Maybe we can get the ball rolling toward a quick sale..... I always tell my wife she has six months to sell from the time I cannot tend to the boat anymore, for what ever reason. I think she is taking notes on this one.

 

[Delta Riverat]

I think it will start.

 

[O C Diver]

If it's been four years, I would consider barring the motors over versus just pressing the starters. It would be helpful to know approximately how long it's been since they were last running. If it's truly been 4 or more years, it might be worth pulling the injectors and spraying some penetratng oil to in the cylinders before trying to bar the engine over. Easier to dispose of a boat with running engines as opposed to ones needing a rebuild.

Ted