Zen & The Art of the Engine Room
I have found that one of the things I love best about our boat is the engine room. I thoroughly enjoy taking my tools down there and just starting to clean, wax, and shine everything. The old credo about a clean engine room being the best way to find any problems is absolutely true. When we were underway this morning & I went down for an engine room check, I was immediately able to spot a tiny little oil leak out of the filter. Since everything is bright white and kept reasonable spotless, it’s very easy to see when things are not as they should be. Of course, it helps that marine diesel is red and oil is black – they both jump out in stark contrast to the white.
The amount of surface area in that room is unbelievable and I do always get tired after a couple of hours without having hit even a fraction of all the possible places which I could wipe. Still, as long as we’re in there fairly regularly, we stay on top of it pretty well. And like most things with the boat, I see only the flaws and things I need to do next. I think most of the world would say we do a decent job of keeping her clean. If there is such a thing as a spiritual communion with this vessel, I would say I find it especially strong as I lovingly wax all her inner workings.
experience
Wow what an impressive engine room!I am inspired by your waxing the inners as I hardly ever make it into ours, except to shut off the water if need be. Travis is the one that cleaned and babied the engines, and maintains the batteries. Billy the Cat enjoys the engine room the most, and I think I may just follow him down there today, given that you have inspired me with your zen! om…