The end of the trip to Carabelle was slow and anxious. After five hours our engine died. We were so sure that was all worked out! It restarted, but this time even when we throttled back, it would cut out every 5 to 10 minutes, and hesitate to restart. We had areas of 1 foot of water next to the channel, so drifting was not an option. I stood at the bow ready to drop anchor in a instant if need be. We called ahead to the marina to announce our distressed condition. They cleared the gas dock for us, and there was a diesel mechanic on the scene. He found the same problem that was diagnosed earlier, air in the system, coming from the same hose to the lift pump. Apparently when the mechanic replaced the worn hose in Seneca, IL, he used the wrong brass fitting, and air was leaking in. This fellow didn't have the correct fitting either, but sealed it so we could continue on. We tied Osprey tight to the pilings and Captain Bob gave her a test under load until he was convinced that the fix would work.
Should we still do the crossing without a shake-down cruise? We decided to make the beginning of the crossing a shake-down. We'll run the engine hard, and if it balks, we'll head back in. The problem occurred after 5 hours, so we will have plenty of time to return to port if we aren't comfortable with its performance. Here's a photo of Bob signing away our life savings to the mechanic.
And then, there was a beautiful sunset. . . surely a good omen!
Should we still do the crossing without a shake-down cruise? We decided to make the beginning of the crossing a shake-down. We'll run the engine hard, and if it balks, we'll head back in. The problem occurred after 5 hours, so we will have plenty of time to return to port if we aren't comfortable with its performance. Here's a photo of Bob signing away our life savings to the mechanic.
No comments:
Post a Comment