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TBW · 10-09-2021, 17:40

I have a 50 foot trawler with a John Deere 6125; 12 years old. When I first got the boat I had two fairly significant bad fuel incidents. I added a fuel polisher, change the racors every 40 or 50 hours at most; the fuel runs through 3 filters before it hits the engine. My motto is "Remember, All Fuel is Bad."
I also have two dinghy's. Both with Yahama 25's, one two stroke and one four stroke. The other day I decided to take the 2 stroke out. It had been sitting for a year. I got some new gas in one of the tanks and took off for St. Michaels; about 4 miles from the house. About half way back I said, ' gee, I should switch over to the other tank with the old gas and run a little bit of it out'. I made it about two boat lengths and the engine quit; didn't sputter, miss, nothing. Quit.
A good Samaritan towed me back with his dinghy. This is the first time in over 70 years of running around in boats that I have had to be towed back - mortified.
I have spent the last two days learning about the carburetors. All I could find was two jets plugged - enough I guess. Blew them out - just a puff - and all is well. Runs like a top. By far the hardest and longest job was figuring our how to hook the linkage from the choke handle back to the carburetor linkage. Pay attention before you unhook this!!
But at least I will have fresh gas on the other dinghy when my wife wants to run over to Pipe Cay or someplace else this winter.
Costs to learn but as i said: A slow Learner!