The auxiliary engine should be considered a very important piece of safety equipment. It makes navigation possible in areas where wind direction or strength would make sailing difficult or impossible, including harbors and dock fairways. Failure of the engine, however, does not necessarily amount to an emergency. It is important to assess the risks associated with the failure of the engine given the situation at hand. Because of this, unlike many of Festina Lente’s other emergency procedure documents, no single procedure is prescribed. This is intended to be more of an exploration of the factors that can assist with assessment of the scenario and facilitate resolution.
Prevention
If you participate in the pre-sail inspection of the vessel, there are a few things you can do to reduce the risk of engine failure:
- Check coolant level
- Check oil level
- Check fuel level1
- Verify spare fuel aboard
- Check belt tension
- Verify raw water intake seacock is open
Upon starting the engine, always confirm that water is flowing through the heat exchanger by verifying that water is being emitted out of the port (left) side outlet roughly aligned with the port-side winch.
Avoid long periods of idling the engine or running the engine at speeds higher than its cruising range of 2500 – 3000 rpm. The maximum engine speed is 3600 rpm2.
Always use #2 diesel with a cetane rating of 45 or higher and use a filter funnel when filling from an untrusted source.
Ensure the primary fuel filter / water separator’s reservoir bowl is free of excess water or sludge.
Ensure the raw water filter is clean.
Verify that operating oil pressure is within the range of 30 – 60 psi under normal operating temperature.
Dealing with Engine Failure
If the engine fails, top priority should be assessment and avoidance of related secondary emergencies. Loss of the auxiliary engine in a sailboat is not an emergency unto itself: plenty of people sail boats that have no engine at all, but they do so prepared for the challenges that come with not having an engine.
If you are near shore and in danger of drifting into hazards or running aground, the sails should be employed to navigate well clear of such dangers. If sailing is not possible and you are in shallow waters with a suitable seabed, deploy the anchor to prevent further drifting and then assess whether the situation can be addressed or whether assistance is needed.
Likewise, if you are in a channel or other high-traffic area, your first priority should be getting out of the area. If that is not possible, take steps to make your presence and situation known. Immediately issue a pan pan notifying those monitoring channel 16 that your vessel is disabled and adrift and that assistance exiting the area is required.
If a tow is required, Festina Lente has tow insurance through BoatUS. You can contact towing services by hailing “Tow Boat U.S.” on Marine VHF channel 16, by calling (925) 382-4422 in the San Francisco Bay Area, or by calling the 24-hour dispatch at (800) 391-4869.
- The fuel sender/gauge are currently not working properly on Festina Lente. Fuel level approximation is determined by burn rate and resupply quantities and can be verified through visual inspection of the fuel tank via the inspection port. I have a new sender, but I need to make modifications to the tank in order to install it. ↩︎
- The tachometer is unreliable, as it currently depends on the alternator, which may be disengaged if the battery is fully charged. Right now, we estimate engine speed based on sound. ↩︎