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WINS A BOTTLE OF

CHILLY UP NORTH

I have just read the test of the Sunseeker Manhattan 52 in your latest issue. I have no objection to the article, nor the Manhattan, but I realise that I use my boat in a different way (and climate) to that which most of the boatbuilders’ design departments imagine.

It looks to me as if most of the boats are designed for the Med and, even though they are big (ie. over 50ft), they are mainly intended as dayboats or maybe chic weekenders. Hence the beach club-style bathing platforms and small kitchens suitable only for mixing drinks and making canapés, the small wardrobes for a bikini and (maybe) a blanket for the al-fresco dinner.

We spend the summers in the Baltic, where summers can be Med-style (2016) or Arctic (2015). Temperatures can vary from 10-30°C in July. With a crew of four or five, head seas that can reach 3m high and the whole family living aboard for a month, our cruising conditions are quite different.

I have a Windy 48 (RCD Category A) with a hydraulic platform and a Williams 325, cockpit

PUSSER’S RUM!

doors and a galley rebuilt to domestic standard. Every single available area of the boat is used for storage for anything from lifejackets and survival kit (it’s 80nm from the mainland to the island of Gotland), to winter jackets (even in July) and a decent wine cellar.

Every market is different, which I do respect, but our shortlist of boats shrinks very quickly when we head to a boat show to look for our next possible boat.

BREXIT BOAT BOOM

How good it was to read in MBY about the booming British boat industry when everyone has been predicting the end of the world for business since the Brexit vote. I loved the Southampton Boat Show and could tell just from the mood amongst the visitors that the feel-good factor was buoyant – and it wasn’t just the sunshine putting a smile on everyone’s faces. Proof indeed that people do have money to spend and are happy to buy boats when the yards build the right product at the right price. Jack Jones

I have a fuel line problem in my old Mariner two-stroke outboard. I suspect it could be an air lock due to a leak somewhere in the fuel line. But the marina mechanic I spoke to says air is never a problem with two-strokes. Is that true?

If it’s a gravity-fed on-board tank it won’t be air. A remote tank could be different. If your two-stroke is running poorly and you’ve checked or replaced the plug, you can assume it’s going to need a good carburettor clean. Remote tank issues could be a fractured feed pipe, which would run fine with a brimmed tank, but not when the fuel gets below the fracture. Also, these engines tend to have a fuel pump which is usually reliable, but like everything, it eventually needs replacing.

Also check that the tank is venting okay while fuel is being drawn, and if a remote tank, check the primer bulb.

Check out the fuel line connectors too, the seals don’t last forever and leak air in and petrol out. Vics says You don’t give any indication of the model. Is it a little portable engine or a whacking great 200hp one? If you can keep it running by pumping the fuel line bulb it will confirm a fuel supply problem such as a leaky fuel connector allowing air to enter or a defective fuel pump. If pumping the bulb doesn’t help, suspect a carburettor problem. If you can keep it running by playing with the choke, it more or less confirms the need for a carb clean. BUT, check the sparks are good before tearing into things. It’s often a good idea to replace the spark plug(s) on small two-strokes even if you think it is a carb problem. And find a new mechanic!