Craunological II -- 2024 Cruise

We got a certified Volvo Penta mechanic to check out the engine on Tuesday the 28th and he confirmed that we have a problem with the turbo. He ran all sort of computer updates and diagnostics (modern marine diesels are not the simple mechanical devices they once were as they are now run by little computers) and will submit a warranty claim for us. It's good that the engine is still under warranty (830 hours and 30 months versus 1,000-hour and 60-month limits) because a new turbo will be expensive. The big question is now timing, which will depend on how quickly they can get the necessary parts. I said I would pay for overnight shipping, and the turbo arrived this morning (Thursday the 30th) and repairs should be completed tomorrow. So we are hoping for a Saturday departure -- but not counting on anything given our recent experiences. We ran the boat yesterday from the Naples City Dock up to the Sweetwater Marina in Fort Myers, which is where the the Volvo Penta dealer is located th...

We made real progress yesterday in figuring out what is wrong with the engine, but still have a long way to go to get it fixed. All signs were pointing towards a fuel issue, but it now seems pretty clear that fuel delivery is not an issue and the problem is with the turbo booster. So that is progress. But this means we are now working on a problem covered by warranty, which means we can only work with licensed Volvo-Penta dealers if we don't want to void the warranty (which we don't) and the soonest one of them can send out a technician is the day after Memorial Day. We're hoping the dealer will agree that this repair is covered by our warranty and that the necessary parts are readily available. We really need to get underway by next weekend if we are going to make it to Norfolk by June 15th. The Bahamas unfortunately are out of the question at this point. Maybe we'll try again for them this fall.  The independent mechanic that I hired to work on the boat yesterday was ...

Today was supposed to be our departure day but we encountered more engine difficulties and had to head back to port after traveling just 8 miles. Bummer! So now we are back in Naples waiting for a mechanic to come next week. We don't have an appointment scheduled, but the guy said he will fit us in as soon as he can. We have switched to an independent mechanic who was highly recommended by two separate marine businesses here in Naples because we've lost trust in the company that has been doing the work so far. (Our engine difficulties makes a long story that most folks probably don't want to hear, and the story isn't over yet, so we'll save that for a separate post when the engine problem is finally resolved.) We won't be posting again until the engine is fixed and we have developed a new cruising plan. Hopefully it won't take too long and we'll still be able to get over to The Bahamas. 

More interesting developments today has us now working Plan B. First off, the seas in SW Florida are definitely not favorable for running south to The Keys for the next couple of days. Secondly, another sea trial this morning (with a very rough ride) had the engine getting up to 3500 rpm again and left the mechanic and I scratching our heads. He thinks we might have a problem with some gunk and debris in our fuel tank (which could explain how the problem comes and goes) and suggested that we do a tank cleaning. I agreed to this as it makes sense (they saw signs of algae when they changed the fuel filters last week), is probably good practice after over 800 engine hours and many dozens of different fuel sources, and won't cost us any time getting to The Bahamas given the marine forecast. And finally, Janet remembered that we have a gift coupon for a two-night stay at the Coconut Point Hyatt, which we "won" at a charity auction last winter. This will help us pass the time w...

Well, our plan to depart today for The Bahamas didn't work out due to engine problems. Very frustrating! We're now hoping to get underway tomorrow morning, but may have to adjust our itinerary because the marine weather forecasts that were promising for running south to The Keys today aren't looking so good for the rest of the week. Arghhh!  The long, sad story starts when I had the diesel and generator serviced last Monday (May 6th). When I took the boat out the following Saturday the engine wouldn't go more than 2800 rpm (versus our normal cruising speed of 3200 rpm and top speed of 3500 rpm), which wasn't enough to get the boat on a plane. That meant we were just plowing along at 10 or 11 mph with much worse fuel economy than cruising at 16 or 17 up on a plane, which is not how we were going to go cruising for the next seven weeks! I called the mechanic and he surmised that they didn't bleed all of the air out of the fuel line when they changed the fuel filte...

We are almost ready to go for our third summer of cruising in Craunological II. In 2022 we did the Intracoastal Waterway from Naples to Maine. Last year we did the Great Lakes. In both those years we were gone all summer. This year the plan is a bit different -- just cruising for the first half of the summer and then doing various land trips in the second half. The plan this year is to leave Monday, May 13 for The Bahamas, spend a couple weeks there, then head back to the US, run up the Intracoastal to Chesapeake Bay, and finish up with a couple weeks cruising in the Chesapeake. Our only time constraints are that we have to be in Norfolk by June 15 because we have a flight that day to Boston. After spending some time visiting with our kids and their families in Lexington MA and Manhattan NYC we'll fly back to Norfolk on June 24 and then take two weeks cruising the Chesapeake. We will then have Capt. Dan -- our regular boat trailering guy -- pick up the boat somewhere on the western...