> > > > It has electrical wiring which doesn't *show*, and which almost certainly won't melt down all the wires and start a small fire when I try it out next week. (It did last week, but now I'm about 99% sure I know what I did wrong...)
> > >
> > > Brunnen-"on the bright side, the engine started first time and ran really well, right up until all the wiring melted into flaming toxic glop!"G
> >
> > Who's been inspecting your wiring job for you?
>
>
> Nobody. That's probably got a lot to do with it. It was an amateur job to start with (by the previous owners, I assume), and age hasn't helped any. I replaced a few badly worn cables with new ones of exactly the same type, but something seems to have gone wrong in the process. I'm getting an electrician to sort it out next week; don't worry, I do know where to draw the line at do-it-yourself.
>
> Brunnen-"plus, it's guaranteed social death for a Coastie to need rescuing by their own unit, so it's gotta be a safe boat"G

Tell me more about that engine. Not because I would be any help. It's just that old engines interest me and I think I remember you saying that your boat was about 30 years old. I just sold my 43-year-old outboard motor to a collector and I guess I'm feeling guilty about that. I often use my referrences to identify old engines for people and information about yours could add to my data. If I'm not being too nosy, tell me about the brand name, configuration, number of cyliners, etc. I have about 15 vintage engines, mostly one-cylinder with brand names like Cushman and Vespa, of course, but also Maytag, OMC, Briggs-Statton, Craftsman, and even one I can't identify...yet.
Howard