Posted by Monty
More rain in the forecast today. We managed to get through most of the night without it, but it started again around 5:00 am and threatened to last all day. A check of the radar image on WeatherBug showed a low that looked suspiciously like it had rotation and some organization. Could another tropical storm be forming? We'll see.
Clambake was feeling a little blue.
Clambake was feeling a little blue.
I, however, was on a mission. I had picked up the starter and alternator yesterday from the good people at DI Banks in New Bern. They did a great job and Tom was very helpful, even managing to get both pieces back so I could have refrigeration over the weekend. (As per a previous post, Sea Bird has engine driven refrigeration. No engine=no chilling. Things were getting a little warm, despite the block of ice in the fridge.) So today was the final push for engine maintenance as I had also decided to replace the raw water impeller. Access would never be better than with the other two components removed. (Your car has a radiator, which is an air to liquid heat exchanger and cools the liquid that flows through the engine. Sea Bird has a liquid to liquid heat exchanger powered by a little rubber piece that pumps sea water from the ocean to cool the coolant that cools the engine.)
At any rate, it's a good thing I did, as the old impeller had started to fail.
The pictures below tell some of the tale. It's getting a little tough at my age (no comments from the peanut gallery) to get convoluted into the positions required to repair a sailboat, but I managed. I'm sure I will pay for it tomorrow, but for today, the starter is starting, the alternator is charging, the pump is pumping, the fridge is chilling, and Sea Bird sits happily murmuring to herself as all of the above takes place.
If things hold together, we will be departing sometime in the next few days for an extended visit to somewhere. It's been too long since the sails were up and pulling us to new adventures.
At any rate, it's a good thing I did, as the old impeller had started to fail.
The pictures below tell some of the tale. It's getting a little tough at my age (no comments from the peanut gallery) to get convoluted into the positions required to repair a sailboat, but I managed. I'm sure I will pay for it tomorrow, but for today, the starter is starting, the alternator is charging, the pump is pumping, the fridge is chilling, and Sea Bird sits happily murmuring to herself as all of the above takes place.
If things hold together, we will be departing sometime in the next few days for an extended visit to somewhere. It's been too long since the sails were up and pulling us to new adventures.
Determining which of these is the old one is left as an exercise for the student.
That starter is WAAY back there. And heavy.
Wires are reconnected. Hopefully in the correct places. We are, after all, talking about a guy who cannot remember birthdays. Including his own.
Today, my boat is telling me that all is well.
Today, my boat is telling me that all is well.