Last night the 76' steel commercial fish boat that a client bought from the west coast fishboat buyout program was disabled about 40 miles south of Cape Flattery, WA. The cause is not yet known for sure, but it appears to have been the result of a broken off injector tip. Since I am packing to head overseas, I was not aboard, but did have a hand in preparing the boat to be brought up the coast from it's old home port of Coos Bay, Oregon. During the 12 hour tow into Neah Bay, the crew was tearing out the injectors and removing the injector lines. Turns out that they were missing a 16 point socket wrench needed to remove some obscure part. Injector problems are frequent enough that when preparing to make a long passage it would be good idea to make sure you have ALL the tools necessary to remove all the injectors and their lines. Needless to say this small item is now near the top of a long list of things to do, before we head out for a 6 thousand mile passage. Routine rebuilding or inspection of injectors may or may not be effective in preventing these kinds of failures, but it is not likely to hurt. Carrying a small magnet to retrieve broken metal parts is not a bad idea, but a typical injector tip may very well be ejected out the exhaust if it breaks off. A bore scope can be used to inspect the cylinder without taking off the head. Carrying a bore scope is not likely due to the expense, but you may find a mechanic who has one. This engine had several thousand hours of use and had been rebuilt, which is to say that I don't know the exact history of the injectors. Capt. Mike Maurice Tualatin(Portland), Oregon