Boat Engine Trouble

The boats and crews on this trip would be the same as last year with one exception; Tom and I would be using Tom's new boat. Harry and Wally would be using Dick's boat. Dave and Nilo would be using Nilo's boat. All the boats were berthed at the boat dock during the week we were in camp.

We were all getting ready to head out on Alsea Bay for the first time shortly after we arrived in camp. Tom and I took off to launch his boat before our campsites were ready. We ended up with Tom's boat in a slip not far from the main dock and Nilo's' boat was in the next slip.

Dave began to yank on the starter rope to bring the outboard engine to life. It took a few tries before the sputtering sound of the engine was heard. It was readily apparent that the engine was not running at its best. Tom came over to try his hand at smoothing the idling engine. With a little tweaking, the engine began to run smoothly. Tom had worked his magic. We were now ready to head out on Alsea Bay.

Tom making an adjustment to smooth out the idle

The little engine on Nilo's boat worked well for the remainder of the day as well as most of the next day. However, on the third day of our trip the engine would act up again. We had been out in the morning when we decided it was time to return to camp to take a break. On the way in Dave and Nilo were having trouble getting the engine to shift gears and idle properly. They were able to nurse the engine along enough to get back to port. Harry, Wally and Dick remained out on the bay working on getting their limit of crabs.

Again Tom would try his hand at making adjustments to the engine to coax it back to smooth running. To no avail, the engine resisted Tom's attempts. It was discovered that a metal collar had split allowing the shift lever to slip away from the gearshift transfer-gear assembly. This was a condition that would be better repaired in camp.

Nilo releases lower unit after helping Dave get engine out of car

Dave and Nilo did the heavy lifting while taking the engine from the boat and depositing it in the back of Dave's station wagon. This made it easy to transport the sick power unit to our camping area. Once next to our campsites, Dave and Nilo placed the engine on the end of one of the picnic tables. The other picnic table was being used by the women to work on their craft projects.

Dave and Tom checking out engine problem

Dave and Tom working together to remove damaged part

Now it was time to begin to disassemble the shift mechanism of the disabled engine. Removing the damaged mechanism proved to be somewhat difficult, as the pieces of the assembly were all interconnected as if like a child's wire puzzle. With several sets of eyes watching as Tom and Dave removed the various parts, we had a good chance that there would be enough collective memory among us to be able to reassemble the shift mechanism.

Dave is about to go on a mission to find a new part

With engine pieces and tools lying out on the picnic table, Dave put the damaged part in his pocket. He was going to go on a mission to try to find a replacement for the broken collar. The three of us who had stayed behind continued to learn more about the assembly so as to be able to put it all back together when Dave returned with a new part.

The linkage system for the throttle and shifting of gears was a bit confusing at first. After about three practice runs, Tom and I were getting pretty confident that we could put the mechanism back together. Dave had been gone for longer than expected and we had to wait for Dave to return before the engine could be reassembled.

One of our favorite places to eat

Tom came up with the idea of going to Dan O's Cafe for a late breakfast. We took off in his car and rode the short distance to the restaurant. When we arrived at Dan O's we found that we were about five minutes too late for breakfast. It was decided that as long as we were there we should have an early lunch. As usual, the food at Dan O's wasn't fancy, just good old American fare. The potions were ample and the food was good. An unsolicited testimonial to Dan O's menu is that we keep coming back.

Upon our return to the campground, Dave had not yet completed his mission. Tom was anxious to get back out on the bay with the tide. When Dave did arrive, with a new replacement part for the engine, he had quite a story to tell about his effort to find the needed component. It seems that Dave started by going to marine supply stores and auto parts stores. He tried auto repair garages and service stations. Dave would visit a place where a person, after telling him they didn't have what he wanted, would suggest going to another store. So, Dave moved from one referral to the next.

Finally, somebody told Dave about a machine shop in the backcountry. After getting directions to the rural location, Dave followed a small winding country road up into the coastal mountains through the big trees of the forest. There he found the country machine shop. The machinist agreed to make a part for Dave and what a part he made. It was made with great precision of stainless steel. When Tom asked Dave how much it cost, Dave replied that it was very expensive and we really didn't want to know how much he paid to have this special engine component constructed.

Dave had taken long enough to return that Tom would rather go out to fish for crabs than fix the engine. The tide would not wait for the completion of the task at hand. Leaving the new engine part with me, Dave and Nilo went out with Tom in his boat while I stayed behind in camp. With the guys gone I figured I would try to put the engine together before they returned.

Maury reassembles the throttle/shift mechanism

I was very glad that I had sat in on the practice assembly sessions. With the shiny new component, it was fairly easy to get the engine put back together. I had only one small problem that required that I reassemble the throttle/shift arm twice to get it aligned properly.

Dave lowers the engine down to its transom mounting

When Tom came back to camp with Dave and Nilo, he was glad to see that the engine had been put back together while he was away. Before putting the cover on the engine, Tom decided to set the points and adjust the timing. Once that was complete, it was time to return to Nilo's boat to reinstall the repaired engine.

Dave yanks the starter rope to bring the little engine to life

It took a short time to attach the engine to the transom of the boat. When Dave gave a yank on the starter rope the little engine came to life. Tom made a quick adjustment to smooth the idle out. From then on it was agreed that the engine was running better than it had in years. It may have been that the troublesome component had been cracked and loose for a long time before it finally failed completely. For the remainder of the week it was noted several times that the little outboard engine was really working well.

Even though the engine trouble was something we didn't need, it turned out to be a fun group project for those of us who worked on the engine. There was a sense of satisfaction that we were able to accomplish a fix in the campground. This event would create yet another shared memory of what has become an annual adventure.

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