We like diesel engines in our trucks here at Hunting Traditions. Why? Well, we just do. They pull a lot of stuff easily and they save on fuel, too.
What about boat engines, though? Diesel boat engines are not so common, at least not with the speed-boats, bass boats and john boats so many hunters know. Bigger boats use diesel boat engines. When I say bigger boats, I mean the really big ones. Sailboats use diesel engines, too. Again, not the little sailboats, but the bigger ones.
If a sail boat has an inboard engine, it's not uncommon to find it's a diesel engine. On a yacht, which is a really big boat, you will find a nice diesel engine. Sometimes there are several diesel engines on boats.
We don't know much about those, since we don't have a yacht or any boat big enough for a diesel boat engine.
But we have sailed on boats that have inboard diesel engines. We were on one sail boat that had a bum diesel engine, which we didn't know until we were facing a storm rolling in fast and we had to pull our sails down for safety. We were somewhat green at the time, too. Finding out the diesel engine was worthless at that time was ...stupid. We should have checked it before heading out so far. The engine lacked power, which wasn't obvious in the morning while motoring out of the marina.
These engines should be able to power through and get you somewhere, even under the windy conditions we were experiencing. We decided to get under sail again, smartly. We tacked this way and that, kept the sails full but not crazy, at the ready for the big gusts. We had no idea what we were doing, except it was working for us. So we just kept going. Once we got closer to the river where the marina was located, we able to breeze right up the river to the marina. Just giving the sail some rope seemed to keep us going without smacking us over.
We made it. We went and had a drink at the harbor bar and discussed the diesel engine issue at length. We had a diesel engine mechanic check the engine for us and he suggested it wasn't worth repairing. It was time for a new diesel boat engine for the sail boat. These things happen, although not frequently thankfully.
So we began our search for a new diesel boat engine for the sail boat. It didn't take long, and we were able to shop around online. I remember when we had to search blind, using a phone book. I'm glad we don't have to rely on that anymore.
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