From Pelle Andersson, Stockholm, Sweden: Hi! I have bought a sailboat (Westerly Tiger build n:o 30, 1969) equipped with a Vire 12 manufactured in Denmark 1989. The history is: first it had a Vire 7 but that one died for some reason (previous owner, no contact) and the seller of the boat told me he installed, almost for free, one of the rare Vire 12s available in Sweden. This engine is in very good condition but it was overpropped (13x10") so it would not reach more than say 2000 rpm at maximum throttle, hence it showed signs of being carboned up. I reduced the propellor size by just cutting off the tips, so now it works fine. The only disadvatage is a lot of noise when running at the maximum recommended 4000 rpm. Also, due to very cold raw water cooling (Baltic sea, just about 5 degrees Centigree in springtime), a low operating temperature results in ineffective burn of petrol (gasoline) (too much exhaust smoke). Now I wonder if it would be a good idea to try to run the engine on Ethanol (E 85, which contains 15% gasoline). There should be less smoke, less smell and a cleaner conscience with respect to the environment (carbonoxides pollution). But what oil to mix the ethanol with, and what percentage?
If you can help to answer Pelle's enquiry, and especially if you have already tried to run your engine on Ethanol, please E-mail the Webmaster with the information.