Motor intraborda que se calienta

A 90-minute, 4-round basic Express simulation for Spanish vocational training (Formacion Profesional), module 1619 Mantenimiento del sistema de propulsion y equipos auxiliares de las embarcaciones de recreo (Tecnico en Mantenimiento de Embarcaciones de Recreo, Real Decreto 91/2018).

The learner is the newly qualified technician of a fictional boatyard workshop in the east of Mallorca who handles the cooling-system faults of a charter fleet of inboard diesel motor boats over the four quarters of a year.

Eight diagnostic and protocol decisions over four rounds: the order of checks on an overheating engine, the thermostat, the hand-over test, the raw-water impellers, the waste of the cooling circuit, the heat exchanger and its anode, the winter lay-up and the review of the year.

Scored on fleet in service, workshop cost a week, failed diagnoses and risks of seizure or water ingress; three tempting choices come back later, and three critical errors (the temperature alarm disconnected, the coolant and oily water emptied into the harbour, a boat left afloat with its seacock open and the hose off) cap the round. Lesson: starting with the most probable and cheapest check shortens the diagnosis.

Spanish primary, English parity. All companies, boatyards, ports, clients and people are fictional.

An introductory simulation that assumes no prior knowledge of the subject, designed for undergraduate courses. It also works in vocational and high-school programmes and in onboarding sessions.