TECHNICAL START YOUR ENGINES

DENNISON BERWICK is author of Marine Diesel

Basics 1: Maintenance, Lay-up, Winter Protection, Tropical Storage, Spring Recommission, (Voyage Press, £10.99) the first visual guide to marine diesel systems. He lives aboard SV Oceans Five, a 36-foot Chevrier built in 1982, currently in South-East Asia.

Getting the engine ready for service after lay-up (sometimes called ‘summerising’ in contrast to ‘winterising’) should be straightforward and not difficult or time consuming, especially if some of the necessary tasks were completed during laying-up. If these tasks (such as oil change and impeller inspection) were not completed, now is the time – before an engine breakdown spoils time on the water. Preventative maintenance is the key to reliability and well worth the modest investments of time, effort and cash. When we think of our summer sailing it is rare we