Monday, November 1, 2017
1 mile 1.1 Engine Hours
Underway 12:12 PM
Docked 12:36PM Church St Dock ( Swansboro Parks & Recreation )
Underway 12:50PM
Docked 12:55PM Casper’s Marina face dock

What the heck? I try to start the engine yesterday and it turns over fine, but doesn’t fire on any cylinder. Very strange. Engine ran for almost 9 hours yesterday without a hiccup. And, now it will not start at all. When a diesel will not start it’s usually a fuel flow problem - clogged fuel filter - air leak? That sort of thing. But it was running fine when I turned it off yesterday. My trouble shooting processes bypass the fuel filter or air leak because the engine was running fine when I cut it off. I check the fuel cut off switch and it seems to be working fine. I try priming the system but there is no air to be purged from the system. I’m really at a loss for why the engine will not start and then I glance at the bowl of the port Racor fuel filter that the engine is using and it is filled with brown liquid. Diesel fueI is dyed red and the bowls are alway red when I look that them. I switch the Racor to the starboard filter and the engine starts right up. Wow, where did all that sludge and water come from? I was very lucky the engine didn’t die on me yesterday. I’m still perplexed that it did not. When we planned on crossing the Gulf Stream / Atlantic to the Bahamas in 2011 I had decided to put in the dual Racor fuel filter system. I pictured being about half way to the Bahamas and having the engine quitting due to a fuel filter getting clogged. When I first bought Liquid Therapy she had been sitting for a couple years and the fuel was in bad shape. I have only had the engine cut off one time due to a clogged filter. After that I changed filters about every 30 hours of running until I had nice clean red dyed fuel showing in the bowl of the filter. And after that I’ve changed the filters every 200 hours. During the routine filter change I’ve never seen any water in either Racor filter. This clogged filter has only 55 hours of engine time. So, where is the water crud coming from? It’s coming out of one or both fuel tanks. But, Im not sure why. I’ll just be checking the filters as my standard engine room check before we leave each morning. We have been running for about three days on just the starboard tank. So, that makes me suspicious. I’ll be running on both tanks today and it SHOULD be easier for the fuel pump to lift fuel from the good tank and leave the crud on the bottom of the bad tank. I’ll be getting fuel in South Carolina. Fresh fuel will not fix water in the bottom of any tank. But it will give me more in which ever tank has the problem unless??? Both tanks are fowled. Better stock up on filters.
Headed to Wrightsville Beach today. That is if the Onslow bridge is fixed. Lots of boats returned to Swansboro late yesterday afternoon as that bridge was broken. I see boats heading that direction and think I’ll get underway soon myself. Now let me go do the engine room check and get going.
Today’s picture is the liquid that I got out of the fuel filter bowl. The think red layer at the top is fuel. The sludge below that is water and who knows what else.