The first two years that we had the boat in the water, we had a problem with seized fuel injectors. 
The first year 2004 we put the boat in the water in time for the August long weekend and we knew the engine had not been run for about ten years, but she had been running fine when she was stored, but the transmission was a big question mark?? So we had it towed over to our berth for us to use it as a "cottage on the water" and so that Dan could have the engine things worked on during that summer while we enjoyed living on board. First the old fuel was pumped off and replaced with new. Then the same thing was done with the oil in the engine. This was also done with the oil in the transmission, where Dan discovered "The clogged up filter", but that's another story. Any ways, Sean Hurry, our Son Ken's school friend, who is a diesel mechanic came out to the boat to give Dan a hand to get the engine started. He soon discovered two seized fuel injectors. He freed them up and she started. After a lot of adjusting, and starting and restarting, they had her purring like a kitten. That year she left the harbour under her own power and up onto the trailer with no problem.
The next summer 2005 we didn't launch until June 28th and at launch time she wouldn't start again. But we enjoyed our long weekend at the dock, with guests etc. Then on July 16th Sean came out to look at the engine and a couple of injectors were seized again. We realized that this was going to be an on going problem each spring and all the injectors were going to have to be replaced. So, during the next couple of weeks, Dan started her up from time to time, with no problem, and let her run for an hour at a time to in the hopes of loosening up those injectors.
On the Sunday of the August long weekend we decided to fire up "The Bird" and take her out for her "shake down" cruise. This would be the first time out of the harbour since we owned the boat. She started with no problem and with the help of some friends to get us out of our tight docking spot, we cruised on out of the harbour. Everything was running properly, and no unexpected problems. The day was beautiful and the lake was like glass. We cruised along heading north looking for Judy and Bob's shoreline property, finally finding it and taking pictures of them waving from the shore. We continued on northward enjoying the day and the cruise until we realized we were past the half way point to Gull Harbour. So, we made a decision.
We approached Gull Harbour with caution and decided to slow to a stop to survey the harbour as we had not been there for many years and thought we should take it slow to look for any changes that may have taken place. The "Slow to a stop", did not go too well. No matter how Dan tried he could not get her into neutral. He opened the engine compartment and tried to shift it manually, to no avail.
So, now we had a real dilemma. If we shut off the engine and coasted into the harbour, we were sure people would assist us in docking, but without neutral, Dan was afraid, if he killed the engine, he would not be able to get it started again. There were no parts stores in Gull Harbour and we had no transportation (not even a bike) and a tow back to Gimli would be quite costly. On the other hand we knew we had lots of fuel to make it back to Gimli, but we did not have navigation lights for night running (that was on our to do list) and the day was waning. It was past 7:00PM. What to do? We circled around outside Gull Harbour debating the situation and came to the decision that we would light the boat up with as many cabin lights as possible (in lieu of nav lights) and set a course back to Gimli.
After a long a tedious journey in the dark (not as nice as the sunny leisurely cruise of earlier that day). The weather was perfect and the lake was like glass, we approached Gimli Harbour just before midnight. That good GPS was the greatest thing we have invested in. Worth every penny. Navigating in the dark, with our old boat, used to be very scary, but with the GPS it's a snap. But we did need a better compass, for the odd time when the satellite signal fails. (guess what Dan got for Christmas that year.)
The two dogs on board had been so patient, having been on board for so many hours they were really starting to whine at the doors.
As we rounded the corner of the breakwater, there was me at the helm and Dan with his head down in the engine compartment. He was going to shift it into reverse (which we still had) manually and when the boat came to a full stop, I was to hit the kill switch. Well I panicked. When Dan shifted into reverse, I didn't wait long enough for it to come to a full stop. I hit the kill switch while we still had plenty of forward momentum. So, now we were moving forward, toward the Namao, the huge research vessel and the main dock with no control at all. Dan always says, "when I lifted my head out of the engine compartment all I could see was this huge red hull of the Namao(The Namao was painted Red at the time), looming in front of us and us careening toward it". We got lucky though, our trajectory skimmed us just past the Namao and moved us at a 45 degree angle straight on toward the main dock and we were slowing nicely. We were in a good position to throw lines and manhandle the old girl gently into the dock. Which with the help of friends went very smoothly.
The First order of the night was to get the dogs off of the boat and give them a run. Then good stiff drinks all around and finally Gord, Bill Phillip and Mike Sinden helped us back into our own berth.
Dan soon fixed the transmission. It was a worn shifter connection. A simple fix and we were back in business.
SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE MANY MISADVENTURE OF
THE THUNDERBIRD
