EP21 - Engine Failure at Sea: ADRIFT in the OPEN OCEAN – What to Do

In this episode, we end up STRANDED and ADRIFT 12 MILES offshore, with a broken engine and no wind at all. And we’ll show you exactly what to do: HOW TO DEAL WITH AN ENGINE FAILURE at sea and how to be self-sufficient to carry out a temporary repair by yourself and make it back to port. We’ll cover the basic operation of a marine diesel engine, the most common problems that can occur, the key tools and DIY solutions I use to deal with them, and some practical tricks and hacks. And of course, the story of that day — what was supposed to be a tuna fishing trip turned into a full-blown odyssey. Everything here at: The Low Cost Sailor DID YOU LIKE THE VIDEO? 🔹 Give us a Like 👍 🔹 Tell others about us 🗣 — we want more people to discover the channel 🔹 Follow us on social media ✅ and share our videos 🔹 Use our affiliate links 🛍 — it won’t cost you anything extra and helps support the channel 🔹 Subscribe ✍ All of this is completely free and helps us a lot. 🔹 And if you really, really liked it, SUPPORT US 💰: 🎁 https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted... 🎁 👉 Important links: 👈 Full post with all the information and purchase links: http://thelowcostsailor.com/en/what-t... If you have any issues with the links below, you can also find them on our website: http://www.thelowcostsailor.com/en/ Purchase links for some of the items shown in the video: ✅ Our well-known PowerBank, which I use to start the boat engine (or a car) and for many other things: 🔵 AliExpress: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_AlpVgF 🔵 Amazon: https://amzn.to/4sbmEp7 ✅ Essential jumper cables for any boat or car: 🔵 AliExpress: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_9gpLDr 🔵 Amazon: https://amzn.to/41RHY8q ✅ An extra diesel fuel pump — it can get you out of many tricky situations: 🔵 AliExpress: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c39... 🔵 Amazon: https://amzn.to/4mmkcuU ✅ The pump I use to transfer liquids between containers and tanks — it can even be used in an emergency to bypass the cooling circuit and take in seawater: 🔵 AliExpress: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c3y... 🔵 Amazon: https://amzn.to/4vcfjs6 ✅ Extra fuel container for backup diesel: 🔵 AliExpress: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c4e... 🔵 Amazon: https://amzn.to/4shkV1G ✅ A cheap electric outboard motor, perfect for slow maneuvering or compensating for current while fishing: 🔵 AliExpress: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c31... 🔵 Amazon: https://amzn.to/48uRp1c Special thanks to Marcos from the channel @Soltaramarras for coining the controversial term “Tupper boats”, which has really caught on among sailors — myself included. More information and tips for sailors on our website: ⚓ http://www.thelowcostsailor.com/en/ Follow us on Instagram for updates: ⚓   / thelowcostsailor   Don’t forget to like us on Facebook: ⚓   / thelowcostsailor   Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 00:17 Cover 00:40 Overview 01:42 A fishing day 03:42 How an engine works 05:54 The engine fails 07:27 Identifying the problem 09:16 Emergency DIY solutions 14:22 The solution that got us back to port 19:14 The repair 20:20 Conclusions 22:20 Outro