My slip neighbor arrived in his 41 foot sailboat and said he would have been
there earlier but he had a bitch of a time getting his engine (diesel)
going. I asked what he does for winterization and he said he drains all the
fuel and puts in new filters. He spent a good part of a day bleeding and
trying to get the fuel system primed.

I just change the oil, run anti-freeze through the raw water system, and
shut down. Two years in a row, the engine has lit off in the spring just as
quickly as if it were all warmed up in the middle of a short summer daysail.

The fuel system was full of jelly when the boat arrived two years ago after
a six year layup with fuel in it. I had everything cleaned out and the fuel
tank polished. The settlement bowl on the primary filter is crystal clear
(well, ruby red) and I've put only 70 - 100 gallons in the 15 gallon tank.
Since that would be just a couple days running on a power boat, I don't see
anything to be gained by a filter change at this point. My neighbor's
experience seems to bear this out.

I'm thinking that filter changes, in the absence of picking up some problem
fuel, should be a function of the total amount of fuel that flows through
the filter and not an automatic once a year thing. I'd like to know what
experience other sailboat owners have had, recognizing that hotter climates
and fuel from funkier places than Portland, Maine might dictate more
frequent changes.

--

Roger Long