Well Chris' weather forecast was spot on this morning. In the early morning hours it was coming down like cats and dogs. It eventually turned to intermitted showers when Jose's call came in at about 8:30. It was raining where he was calling from while being overcast though without rain on the boat. When told we had the Bimini up he was game to try to finish the engine install.
Things were moving along nicely. A new diesel line and cap was installed, for example, as well as playing with the throttle and gears. The English Beta Marine engine and the analog mechanics of the throttle and gear shift on the pedestal were opposite to what one would instinctively expect. Kind of like the opposite setup in an English vehicle. So, for the moment at least, to move forward one would pull back in the gear lever and to speed up one would pull back on the throttle. The go into reverse one would push the gear lever forward and to slow down one would push the throttle lever forward.
It is not much weirder than sailing with a rudder where one pushes it to the right to turn the boat to the left. There is a fix which Jose has explained. Maybe when once getting to Halifax...
During testing we noticed that the water did not seem to be circulating from the surrounding water and then back into the surrounding water and the engine seemed to be running a little warm. Jose dug deeper into this mystery and we discover; well he did; that the water intake impeller which is a fan like device made of plastic had probably gotten very hot during our tests while on the hard and thinking that we were feeding water to the engine through a hose. Water was probably going in but sitting and got hot. This broke down the plastic impeller fan and it lost blades.
Of course this part was very specific to the engine so we were on the line again to BC and the Beta Marine dealership there. A wonderful lady named Karen took my particulars and after a couple of calls back and forth for things like getting the address of the Bluffer's Park Marina on my end and her looking into rushed shipping possibilities on her end. It is looking hopeful that FedEx may be able to get it to me by tomorrow! There are some crazy interweaving of energies coming together as we approach our Aug. 12th departure date.
While Jr. remained on board installing the water filter and tying wires and hoses out of the way, Jose and myself headed up the bluffs to visit some Canadian Tires looking for a particular 10 foot piece of hose and two large containers of deisel. We were able to track down a store through Canadian Tire's shared inventory system. It was a bit out of the way so Jose said he could pick it up a little later in the day when he would be in that area.
The opportunity of having Jose's expertise in picking out a tool set was too great an opportunity to pass on. We left the store with a set of tools that would accommodate any diesel mechanic and most boatswains.
While up the bluffs we picked up a pizza and drinks and brough them back to the boat to share with Jr.. Half veggie for Jose who was trying to live up to his doctor's advise to eat lots of veggies. He was trying but overlooking the salad part.
It was a nice break. Jose was feeling disappointed about the impeller. My thought was considering ALL the things that could have gone wrong with the engine installations, not least of which someone could have had a jammed finger, that a plastic fan was low on the things that go wrong list.
We parted with hope that tomorrow would see the required part to finish our project.
Had a little fan time and UTubin' then headed up to the pub for a most delicious chocolate cake and coffee while using the laptop while it was charging. This turned out to be a considerable amount of time.
Was able to contact my Daughter to expect a home inspection by our buyers on Tuesday morning. Let both my contact at the corporation and my lawyer know that she had been informed. It seems out of my hands at this point, in the best of ways.
Did some HIVE curation over my second cup of coffee. Eventually we were fully charged so headed back to the boat. There is USB charging available in the cockpit so phones and tablets are no problem using the solar. The entire stay at the slip has been on solar and except for the laptop it has not been an issue. Well the microwave is missed yet propane is available so no whining allowed.
Loki has seemed to have had his fun with the impeller while all other critical checks, like insurance, have been ticked off the list. It is exciting that the passage will, likrly, soon commence.
May the wind be at your back!
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