My thirty year old trawler's twin Ford Lehmans sat unused for 20 years. When I pushed the start button to test them, they fired up instantly. That's with the fuel line stuck in a jerry can of 20 year old diesel. I never even changed the fuel filters on the ten years I owned Hotspur, my old Hallberg Mistral. If the boat runs great, why mess with it? If it's not running right, that's the time to see why.

Since I've owned my boat, it's left the dock once for the fifteen mile trip from Westport to Stamford, CT. I'm leaving for points south this fall without having left the docks since that time. Ya just gotta believe!