Hi Milt, Good to see that you are having a good time in expensive Bermuda. I must beg to differ with your touting the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," philosophy. Having spent many years in charge of maintaining a fleet of CG-inspected passenger vessels, that is totally opposed to everything I believe in, and I hope that this writing will dissuade others from following it. Before someone takes me to task and says "Oh, easy for you engineers to say..." let me state that I realize that there are those who are not comfortable around machinery. But one must make sure that it is up to snuff and taken care of and repaired as needed.There are many good books you can carry aboard to help you troubleshoot or better yet, take someone as crew who has a good aptitude for mechanics and electrics. There are two philosophies in equipment operation: preventive maintenance, and run-to-destruction. Your suggestion of not checking the oil until (and if)! the alarm sounds certainly falls into the latter category. Have you considered that perhaps the alarm might fail to operate, or may be set too low? There are several options: 1. Stop the engine and check the oil. This is what we do. Check the jacket water level and the reverse gear oil at the same time. 2. Keep track, from previous passages, of what the oil consumption is and simply add that amount when that number of hours is reached, while the engine is running. I have done this, also. You will need to factor in the load on the engine. 3. Fit a Murphy or similar gauge. Alaska Diesel will not honor the warranty on any engine equipped with Murphy or similar gauges as they require connections to the oil pan which, if done incorrectly, might fracture from vibration at certain speeds. But this is simply a hedge against warranty claims which were not ADs fault, and you will find many commercial vessels which use them. My point is, its important to have confidence in all aspects of your vessel, and I think many people forget this. It is not enough to have a "bluewater-capable" boat, as you do, because that capability reaches far deeper than having a comfortable, heavy hull with high railings and a Portuguese bridge. If you are worried that your starter might not operate, why not have it checked before you leave? If you are concerned that your get-home engine won't get you home, install a bigger one. If you are one of those people who is a victim of the FUD created by the purveyors of fuel "polishing" equipment and the need for "pre-lubers," go ahead and get one. If you are rolling in cash, buy a spare starter. But, please, don't risk wiping the bearings of a $30,000 engine because you are afraid it won't restart. If you assure yourself prior to passage that all systems are OK, its highly unlikely that you'll have a problem while on passage. Regards, John "Seahorse" New Bern, NC Milt Baker wrote: --Oil changes, I was careful not to say that my approach of not shutting down is not the only approach valid on this. Still, I noted that most of you who weighed in tend to agree with me: shutting down the main engine in mid-ocean on a passagemaking power boat to check oil is usually not a terrific idea. Perhaps Bob Austin's vote of dissent comes from the fact that he usually had sails as a primary means of propulsion and his mechanical skills are no doubt far better then mine! There's a lot to be said for: if it ain't broke, don't fix it. --Oil changes, take 2. Brue Kessler's approach is to have a Mourphy gauge which shows oil level at all times, and that would seem to make a lot of sense. I've heard that Alaska Diesel doesn't like that, however, because it adds additional complexity--more to go wrong. Any thoughts? --VHF range and booster amps. I was surely surprised to hear Bermuda Radio 190 miles out and all the more surprised when they responded to my call at about 180 miles. My electronics guy did not want to install the 130-watt booser amp because 25 watts is the limit in U.S. waters, but we could not find any rule which prohibited having a booster amplifier as long as it's not used in U.S. waters. The booster is on a separate breaker and when the breaker is off, the radio transmits its usual 1 (low) and 25 (high) watt power. I like the idea of being able to boom out a VHF signal when/if we really need to--and I admit that this time around we did it only to test it out. --On speed and mileage. Jim Leishman weighed in suggesting that perhaps our 9 sq. ft. Naiad fins were out of alignment. That sounded like a smoking gun to me, so I got instructions for measuring alignment from Naiad and took a dip in the 76-degree water here a couple of days ago. Sure enough, it appears the port fin is out about 5.5 inches and the starboard fin about half that. No doubt dragging that much fin through the water sideways costing us both speed and fuel, and we'll try to have the fins realigned shortly after reaching New England. I'm trying to compile a real world database on N47 RPMs, speeds and fuel burn, and I'd welcome any input anyone might have. Peter if you have fuel data on the five N47 deliveries you did I'd love to have 'em offline: miltbaker@mindspring.com Bluewater is still about two inches overpitched on the prop (34x32 instead of the design 34x30) which is less than ideal and which we will deal with as soon as we can. Dean Wiley, our fist-rate crewmember on that leg, suggests that the prop pitch is perhaps more a problem than the fin misalignment. I don't know which is more of a problem. Weather permitting, we expect leave for Newport in a little over a week. --Milt Baker, N4732 Bluewater, RBYC, Hamilton, Bermuda

> I must beg to differ with your touting the "if it > ain't broke, don't fix > it," philosophy. While I understand the difference of opinion, I understood Milt's comment to be a turn of phrase, not unwavering guidance. Everyone who ventures offshore has to make up their own mind how to handle offshore maintenance, and it will indeed depend upon their knowledge, comfort, and equipment. But there's rarely a clear answer: Let's say you have a new Lugger that you've put 1000 offshore hours on and you know it hasn't burned any oil to speak of. You embark on a 750 mile trip (say, to Bermuda). If your normal maintenance is to shut down every 100 hours, are you really going to shut down 50 miles from port? Sounds like an appropriate time to say "if it ain't broke...." Having delivered several new yachts with mildly abrasive break-in oil in the engine that should be changed at 100 hours, I have not only shut-down mid ocean, but changed the oil too. All I can say is I always held my breath a little on restart - those "what-if" gremlins would haunt me until the engine fired. For me, everything offshore is a lot different than inshore waters. If I can stretch the need for a shut down, I will. If it requires an early oil change before departure so I don't have to do it mid-ocean, I will. I'm not a fanatic and will shut down if it makes sense, but I prefer not to if possible. To that extent, I'm with Milt: "if it ain't broke...." Peter www.SeaSkills.com ======================= Peter Pisciotta 415-902-8439