Departure Delayed !! Date: 9 July 2000

Question ?? What does the acronym BOAT stand for? -
Answer - "Bring Onboard Another Thousand" !!

Question ?? What is the definition of 'Cruising' ? -
Answer - "Having the opportunity to repair your boat in exotic locations" !!

Due to a trashed starter motor, I've been forced to stay at anchor in Hanalei for however long it takes to get a replacement shipped in. I'll update you all before I set out for SF. Enjoy the weather.

Terry, aboard S/V "Secret O' Life"

Let's Try Again. . . . Date: 11 July 2000

Hi there - 10 phone calls, a big limit on the VISA card and Aloha Airlines will get you a starter motor pretty quick. It's installed and all checks out good - Oh, and a new ignition switch as it appears a short in the old one caused the problem. I'm planning to leave Hanalei in the a.m. (12 Jul) so next mail will come from SF in 25 - 30 days (or more). As in the past, give me till 30 Aug before calling the Coast Guard. Enjoy the summer!!

All my best - Terry, aboard S/V "Secret O' Life"

Death of a Starter Motor Date: 12 July 2000
Subject: Perkins 4-108, Delco-Remy Starter
Status: Starter motor fried to a crisp
The Event: Friday, 8 Jul.

As I was making ready to leave Hanalei in the morning I planned to run the engine for a half hour and check the systems since it had been three weeks since I shut it down when I came into the bay. I turned the key in the ignition and she fired right up after only two or three revs. Setting the throttle at a fast idle, I went about with some other chores waiting for the water temp to reach 140 F before engaging reverse and backing down on the anchor to run the engine up to 2000 rpm under load. Everything sounded fine - all instruments looked good and when it hit 140 I backed down for 3 or 4 minutes to get the temp up to 170 F or so.

About 15 minutes had passed since start-up and I thought I noticed a slight burning smell, but some people had been burning brush above the beach upwind of me the day before so I scanned that area looking for the source and seeing nothing I checked the gauges - temp was fine, then I opened the cockpit hatch (engine access) and the smoke rolled out !

Immediately hitting the kill button, nothing happened - the engine continued to idle. I went below and pulled the engine cover from under the companionway and immediately saw that the two-ought batt cables going to the starter were smoking as the insulation was melting about an inch back from the terminal. I reached behind the injection pump and manually pulled the stop lever, killing the engine. The cables from the batteries as well as from the alternator were too hot to touch at least a foot back from the terminals. Even at the Batt Switch, some four feet from the starter, the cable was warmer than I'd ever felt. The starter itself remained too hot to touch for more than two hours.

The Analysis:
Insipient, invasive, obscene corrosion had built up on the contacts within the ignition switch causing them to enlarge somewhat and also affected the return spring on the start mode of the switch so that when I had turned the switch to "Start" and then released it, it failed to return completely to "On" so that the starter motor remained energized as the engine was running. Believe me, this condition can occur and there will be no tell-tale sign that the starter is still running engaged with the flywheel - it just runs along trying to keep up with the speed of the engine - no strange sounds, no vibrations, no nothing.
This causes the starter to overheat which then leads to a dead short developing within the starter and my nice high output 125 amp alternator just started dumping all 125 amps right to ground through the starter!! Hence the rapid heating of the terminal and the potential melt-down of the entire electrical system.

The Fix: A new starter motor and ignition switch.
The cost?? Don't ask, but I'll say that in my VW years I paid less for an entire rebuilt engine than I did for this starter. In the future I'll pay strict attention to the condition of the ignition switch and spend the $30 to install a new one before the old one develops any problems. I'm frankly just happy my alternator and "smart regulator" weren't cooked or my batteries didn't explode!

Fair winds on you all - Terry aboard S/V "Secret O' Life"