Saturday, October 27, 2012

Work and Play in Morgan River

Lots of work upon returning to the boat, but fun times too. What is it about a boat that makes every task take longer than expected? Some chores went smoothly. The electricity monitoring system popped back on when the new module was put in place. The wind generator, sails, bimini and dodger all went nicely back together. The new propane pigtail worked, after a first false alarm caused by not tightening it sufficiently. The anchor windlass motor replacement was slowed by unpredicted decisions which needed making, and by the wait for the sealant to harden, but didn't cause any major problems.

Now for changing the oil. How did a two hour job stretch into 5 days?

Q: Hmm. What happened to our spare oil filter?
A: Guess we used it in the Bahamas. No one has one locally. Place order.
3 day delay.

Q: Why isn't our electric oil pump, which promises to empty our tank in 5-10 minutes, producing more than  a slow drip after 4 hours of problem solving?
A: It's a piece of crap.
4  hour delay

Q: Is the piece of crap under warranty?
A:  Yes. Go get a new one.
1 hour delay

Q:  Why isn't our brand new oil pump producing more than a few drips per minute?
A:  It's a piece of crap. Call Luke.
1 day delay.

Q: Why did Luke's electric pump stop working after removing one quart of oil?
A: Because it is a piece of crap. No wait. That's our pump. The impeller in Luke's pump disintegrated. Try a hand pump.

Q: Why isn't the hand pump removing the oil?
A: God knows. Schedule an oil change with the boatyard.
1 day delay.


On the positive side, we've had wonderful evenings with Luke and Jan, and their boater friends and with Gail and Kia Malott and Pam and Jim Minton. And last night we watched the sun set on a 54 foot Hylas, with new friends at the marina. Tomorrow, assuming Hurricane Sandy pushes on past, we hope to participate in the Dawtaw Marina sailing race, a 26 mile trek to Brickyard Point and a race back to Morgan River and the Dawtaw Marina. It's supposed to be on the windy side, but we hope it is manageable.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home