The best laid plans...

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 filters. He didn't have anyone available over the weekend, but said he would have someone at the boat first thing on Monday (today, May 13), which he did. I met the mechanics at the boat a bit after eight and by ten they said everything was testing out and we took the boat for a trial run out in the Gulf. The engine got up to 3450 rpm and got the boat onto a plane so all seemed to be in order. We went back to the dock, the mechanics went off to their next job, and I drove home to get Janet and the last load of stuff for our trip. After unloading the car, Janet took it back home while I took the boat over to the fuel dock to fill up with diesel. Janet got a ride to the fuel dock with a friend and we were on the boat and underway by noon. But when we got out into the Gulf the damn engine wouldn't go over 2900 rpm! We both said some very bad words, headed back for the marina, and gave the mechanic another call. They'll take another look first thing (very early) tomorrow morning, and said they'll be ready for a sea trial again at 0730. Fingers crossed!

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 15, 2024 at 11:43 AM

    testing testing 123!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Laurie CookMay 15, 2024 at 11:52 AM

    Good luck with the mechanical problems and the darn weather!
    But sounds like all is going in. The right direction. Be safe and we will be following your journey. Xo

    ReplyDelete

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