Marine Diesel Engine Class Update

Colorful might be one way to describe our marine diesel engine instructor, although I've certainly heard a few other adjectives tossed around (curmudgeonly, cranky).  But you know what?  I like him.  He might come across as a grumpy old man, but I think deep down he's a softy.  And he does know his stuff.  His approach leans a little off-center--he frequently tells us he doesn't care what we do, because boat owners have more money than brains--but that aside, we're learning a good deal about engines.

You know how when something strikes you as funny at an inopportune time and it's all you can do to keep from cracking up?  That happened during the last class.  Aaron and I have started jotting down all the hilarious (but completely serious) things Oscar (Aaron's name for him--think "the Grouch") says.  As I was writing down "doofumflingy, also doofumflingies," I just about lost it.  Even now as I'm typing this, I have the giggles.  The juxtaposition of a grumpy old man calling parts of fuel injectors "doofumflingies" while using a pointer topped with a mini Hamburger Helper hand was too much for me.  For your amusement, here are a few gems:

• The bilge god is a son-of-a-bitch (he never returns anything)
• Worthless as tits on a warthog (hmm...)
• Runs like a raped ape (when an engine gets away from you it will run like a raped ape--I guess that's fast)
• Harder than the hogs of hell (I suppose hogs in hell would be crispy, but hard? Not so sure.)

Oh, and this isn't your typical classroom lecture setting.  Class is held on a '60s-era Alaska ferry floating just outside the Ballard Bridge.  Downstairs on the car deck is where lab is held.  The lab has a number of engines in various states of functionality that we will be testing, tearing apart and rebuilding.  Very cool.  And very useful.

The E.L. Bartlett in its heyday -- our floating classroom