A LOT of unexpected Boat Work!

July 16 - August 5

Its funny that the first date above, July 16 is Jane's birthday and the last date, August 5 is Sophia's birthday. Hopefully in our case the "old" will become "young" again. On Saturday the 16th we decided to take a spin into Narragansett bay to watch our yacht club's Regatta racing. Unfortunately half way out the starboard engine overheat alarm went off. It was exactly as it had happened on our sea trial in Maine on May 5. Jane shut down the starboard side but the port side did not seem to function so both were shut down as we floated in the bay to check out the engine room situation. There was no immediate evidence of something seriously wrong  so we crossed fingers and got the port engine started. This brought us almost back to Greenwich Bay and Peter tried the starboard engine again. It started and ran all the way back to the mooring. We thought it might be the solenoid, which was the explanation given to us on the sea trial. So it was on our calendar to have it looked at. On Sunday Jane decided to do some dusting in the aft cabin. Over the port side locker she discovered soot streaks on the white wall which were not there before. This finally explained the slight diesel smell we had ever since leaving Rockland, Maine. On further inspection some of Peter's clothes in his locker had soot on them and Jane discovered soot on the fitted sheet when she removed it from the bunk. So what we thought was diesel blow back was obviously a dangerous leak. The next day we had dePaul Diesel come over from Portsmouth to have a look. They confirmed the leak, showed us the rusty tube connections, took measurements,  and told us it had to be fixed asap.   To save some of the labor costs we started to get into the cupboards taking panels off, moving things out of the cabin and tried to find the exit point of the exhaust tubes. Both aft deck lazarettes were emptied to no avail so we took shelves and panels out of the aft cabin lockers. We could not find a visual sightline of the exhaust exit points. So, Peter had to cut away part of the walls in both aft lockers to finally find access. The mechanics actually found the exhaust tube split on the aft port side near the exit point.

This appeared after 2 months on the boat

After Jane left for the women's cruise on July 24,  Peter decided to have Kinvara II hauled out to have the exhaust work done. On the way across the bay the starboard engine  overheat alarm went off twice with the engine shutting down. This was concerning since Peter had to maneuver to fuel dock at NEB for pump out and the haul out dock by himself. Not an easy trip with only one engine working. After haul out the CAT mechanics took a look at the engines and discovered  that the raw water cooling system was not functioning well and could have caused the overheating and  hot exhaust making that system start to fail.

So Kinvara II has been on the hard since July 26. The exhaust system has been replaced. The raw water cooling systems were removed, acid dipped, and pressure tested. They are being reinstalled with new piping and  pump impellers. The mechanics told us it was a combination of age and low running  hours on the engine. These systems are supposed to be inspected either every 1000 hours or every 2 years, according to the manuels.  Hopefully we discovered the problems before any permanent engine damage has been done. On Monday or Tuesday we have a sea trial with the engine mechanic who will do a complete engine & exhaust survey.

We expected to have repairs and replacements over time with an older boat but to have two near catastrophic failures within 3 months of purchase came as a huge surprise, cost, and disappointment.
We had to cancel our visitors from North Carolina next week because we need to make sure all systems are working properly and safely before having people aboard again.

Same transmission cooler
after acid dip & cleaning

Starboard transmission cooler showing
almost complete blockage and orange silicone
where a rubber gasket should be.

Below are some pictures of 2 of the 6 coolers taken off the boat.

One of 4 engine thermostats showing
disintegrating rubber gasket and
evidence of silicone sealant, which should not have
been there

1 of 2 main engine coolers showing 50%
clogged with marine life. Accumulation of microscopic organisms
passing through filters over time

All coolers cleaned, pressure tested, sandblasted and painted.
Ready for re install and sea trial.

Peter used the time on the hard to scrape lots of marine growth off the propellers and shafts
and treat them with a spray paint to slow the growth. He also replaced the zincs which were
surprisingly very deterioated. We will have the bottom scraped by a diver
 before we head south in September.

Jane used the haul out time to do a little compounding and buffing
of the cabin top and trying to clean up the rust on the swim platform
supports and bolts.Before polishing....lots of rust!

After polishing.....nice and clean.

Blue Water Sailing Club Woman's Cruise

July 24-July 30

When we first owned our sailboat we were members of the Blue Water Sailing Club.  In 2008 Jane went on a week sailing cruise for women only around the Rhode Island waters on our friend's boat, Lambay.  After we left New England to head south in 2009 we let our membership lapse and then we sold our sailboat in 2014. This summer after returning to New England Jane was asked by our friends on Lambay, Bernie Gleeson, to go with her again on a BWSC woman's cruise to Maine. They left Gloucester, MA on July 24 and sailed along with 3 other sailboats to the Isle of Shoals, Biddeford Pool, The Goslings in Casco Bay, Linekin Bay, and ended in Rockland on July 28. Jane and Bernie rented a car to return the next day because Jane had to be home for Sophia's birthday party and Bernie had a triple Christening (all grandchildren) on Sunday.  It was a great trip, super weather, and great camaraderie with the other women Jane knew from the sailing club.

Our first night at East Gloucester Yacht Cluib

 On our first evening with all 4 women aboard we saw a thunder storm brewing in the NW sky. It looked ominous. Within 2 minutes after texting Peter these 2 pictures the front hit us with sustained winds of 45-50 with gusting over that. Jane thought it would pass quickly as the front moved through but the winds and rain lasted about 20-25 minutes before seeing some calming. We had to keep watch to make sure we were not blown off the mooring! Imagine having 2-4' waved build up in small Gloucester Harbor in 10-15 minutes?  Peter texted Jane that some boats had sunk during the storm in the Portsmouth, NH area.

Empty mooring field on Sunday afternoon

Sunken Boat due to the storm
from the night before.
So glad we were not here!!

Isle of Shoals Starr Island Hotel

Sunset in Isle of Shoals

Champagne toast in Biddeford pool

The Goslings, Casco Bay, Maine

Our crew: Starr, BWSC commodore Cynthia,
Captain of Lambay Bernie, navigator Jane

The Women of BWSC cruise

Dinner at Linekin Bay Resort

Hanging out in Greenwich

After the Fourth of July the weather turned very hot. We divided our time between the boat and Sarah's house to try to stay cool. Boat work was on hold because it was too hot. On a few nights we ran the generator for AC to dry out & cool off the inside to sleep. Cleaning, polishing & waxing the cabin top would wait until cooler days.  Sarah had a business trip to Nashville so we helped out with Sophia. She got a pair of pink cowboy boots when Mommy returned!

Hanging out at EGYC

Double rainbow! 

Moon rising

Howdy Partner!!