Thurs morning was quite chilly and I was full of anticipation. Today was the day the last part of the puzzle was supposed to arrive and save the day. I got to the marina early and chatted with Charlie the mechanic and borrowed a couple of tools. I went down to the boat to prepare for the arrival of "the stator". About halfway through the removal of the flywheel I received the call that it had arrived. Like a giddy kid on Christmas I hurried up to the office to collect my savior. I patiently removed the old stator and weaved through the maze of wires and reassembled everything. With assembly complete, I stepped back to analyze the situation and reflect on how monumental the next two minutes would be. You have to remember that I have been replacing parts and checking things over and over for the last three weeks and if this stator would indeed solve the problem of a non-working engine. If it didn't work the next step would be to get a new engine which means an insurance claim and an additional delay in departure. Since the replacement starter had yet to arrive I decided to pull-start the engine. I primed the engine, wrapped the rope around the top of the motor and gave it a pull... nothing. This was not what was suppoesd to happen. I pulled the rope again, nothing. Wrapped the rope again, pulled, nothing. I repeated this process five times with the same result. At this point I thought about throwing up or crying. Then I looked over and noticed I hadn't turned on the key! With the key in the appropriate "run" position I wound up the rope, said a prayer to the outboard gods and gave it a pull.... VROOOOOOOM!!!
I almost fell off the boat I was so excited. Of course it needed some carburator adjustment and would only run at high idle. The good news was that even if it stalled it would always fire again on the next pulled. Elated, I walked up to the shop to talk to Charlie to get a couple of tips on how to make it run smoother. He gave me a couple of pointers and I went down to the boat and turned a few screws and it ran better. Still needing a final tweaking, I talked to Charlie and he came down after lunch and turned the same screws a few more turns. Now it purrs like a kitty. The new starter will be here Sat. Then the journey can begin!
