Armed with a six-pack of Fat Tire, an In-N-Out double-double "Animal Style" cheeseburger, teriyaki beef jerky, a bottle of Simple Green and some rags, I naively thought I had everything I needed to whip our new ‘yacht’ into shape. Soon I’d be swashbuckling my way up the San Francisco bay with my proud wife by my side, helm in one hand, a beer in the other. “Ahoy sweetheart! There be landfall! What say ye lass we moor up on the Embarcadero and fetch ourselves some crab cake sandwiches?” In hindsight, the only analogy I can conceive to illustrate how utterly clueless I was to every part of that dream I had concocted, would be the idea of a junior varsity quarterback showing up to an NFL training camp and expecting a starting position. In my defense, the Craigslist ad said “rebuilt in 2009” so I figured a can of carb cleaner, some new spark plugs, and I’d be back in business. As I soon discovered, I'd need the beer more than anything.
In order to gain better access for the engine autopsy I removed the galley cabinet assembly and set it aside. In the ensuing years of engine work yoga, I'd come to appreciate what a tremendous luxury we Catalina 30 owners have when it comes to engine access compared to our companionway-engined brethren.
This being the first boat I’ve ever owned, I had little understanding of what I was even looking at, or where I should begin my troubleshooting. “Why does the exhaust pipe go into a white plastic box?” (Water lift muffler) “Why is there a rubber trailer plug with wires in the engine compartment?” (Catalina engine wiring harness) “Why is the engine painted vomit-green?” (Still don’t know) These were just a few of the questions I had. As I surveyed the engine compartment for any obvious abnormalities I stumbled upon what could’ve ended up being this boat's (and my) demise. The previous owner had carelessly routed the gas line from the gas tank to the electric fuel pump next to the hot exhaust hose which had chafed through the outer sheath and almost into the core. I didn’t know much about boats, but I knew what an incredibly serious accident that could've resulted. With that single discovery, it was obvious that I couldn’t trust anything the previous owner had done to the boat.