On our arrival in Porto Santo, we'd discovered Emerald's Volvo Penta D2-75 engine would not start. After sailing into the anchorage then being towed to a relatively safe anchor spot within the harbour, we had begun to investigate the problem. We had since replaced the fuel lift pump, but this was just a side track. Now, it seemed extremely likely that we had a hydrolocked engine. Somehow, water had found its way back into the engine from the exhaust system.

The evidence that pointed to a hydrolocked engine was the fact that despite trying various means, we couldn't get the engine to turn over. To confirm the hydrolock and to attempt repairs, we would need to remove the engine head. With the cylinders then exposed, the hope was that we'd be able to clean them up and get them moving again. However, there were a lot of steps to complete before we got to that point.

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