When you live on a boat you always have a todo list. An item I've had on my todo list for a while is "trim siphon break drains". I had done the starboard one on the last 250 hour service but just hadn't gotten around to digging in on the port side.

I was talking to a charter skipper on a Leopard 47 across the yard today and he relayed a story about his boat. It was one of those tales that moves one to immediate action. In particular that part about his engine room bilge getting some water in it one day, whereupon his engine sucked water in the siphon break drain hose (which was under said bilge water at the time), causing his engine to cease and desist permanently. No warrantee provided by Yanmar or Robertson Caine. One of those he said/she said deals that becomes particularly heated when several thousand dollars is involved. Amazing what a 48 cent piece of hose can do to a diesel.

I promptly trimmed the port aux and genset siphon break drain hoses.