Why are people afraid of stopping an engine when on a passage?  I have had two starters fail in all of my boating experience--always have a spare starter,  and spare starter batteries.  I once had a diesel engine fail to start because of a fuel problem--fixed in about five minutes.

It does not make sense to me not to change oil when on passage.

Bob Austin

RE: It does not make sense to me not to change oil when on passage.

I don't believe that there is any magical value of changing oil, therefore if there is more wear caused by stopping and re starting the engine with fresh (cold) oil I will opt for letting it run rather than a satisfying a sense that changing the oil is good.

I know that there are people that believe that changing the oil often has a major effect on engine life. Tests don't support that result. Large commercial engines are intended for LONG service lives. They do not recommend 100 hour oil changes. Also, on the other end of the spectrum  many newer premium cars that have finally gone to synthetic oil recommend 15K mile oil changes. At an average speed of 30 mph that equates to 500 hours of use. Good engine care and engine life involve many other things than oil changes.

Regards, John Harris