Fuel and water don’t mix

It had to happen sooner or later everybody said. When installing the new water tanks under the cockpit benches some years ago, there was only place the filler could go, and that was beside the filler for the fuel. Over the years the coloured paint sploges had worn off, but I knew which was which, didn’t I?

It was raining hard and blowing enough to make everything flap. I was busy plotting routes on the chartplotter and getting irritated because the movement of the boat was sufficient to make it difficult to hit the keys right, when M asked me to fill the empty water tank. Hurry, hurry, with raindrops on the specs, and about ten or more liters of water went into the fuel.

Early this morning, telephone. Any chance of expert help? (Same guy, Ronny, as on water pump), “Holiday times and too much to do. Maybe on wednesday”.  OK, thankyou. So, to shop, and buy suction pump, jerry cans, hoses and reels of paper towels. It took time, plenty of drips, two cans of mixture extracted, clean diesel fuel in the end. Cooker OK. Cabin heater OK. Engine OK. Good. Snooze.

Never again. Red paint on the fuel filler, blue on the water. You live and learn!

Planned departure is tomorrow morning, tuesday, when the forecast winds will have lessened and veered, and look good for the whole crossing, to Inverness.

Alls well