As I start to write this, I find myself humming “on the road again, …” and yes, Simba is back in action. She departed Green Cove Springs, FL,30 miles south of Jax on the St. Johns River where she has been docked since late spring. I actually am jumping the gun here, as to be truthful, Simba cast off her lines at 0700…and tied up again an hour later because her bottom and props were so badly encrusted with barnacles she could attain a top speed of only two knots and the poor engines were working so hard she was puffing black smoke which first caused me to think I had engine problems.
At 1100 hrs. diver Carl showed up. Although I was eager to get goin’ because I wanted to make it up to Jax that day so I could run offshore the next day some 40 miles up to St. Simons channel, leading into the small city of Brunswick, GA. The following day a blow was (is) expected, precluding any hopes for an offshore trip and I was not eager to use the Intracoastal Waterway ‘cause, if you ever read last winter’s logs, you know that waterway can frequently prove unfriendly to a vessel drawing almost six and a half feet, or even shallow draft critters in places.
And so I wanted Carl to get cracking (scraping, chiseling, pounding). However Carl had caught sight of my BMW and offhandly asked if it happened to be mine. Well, the next hour went by like a flash as we spouted bike talk. He had lots to tell, all 6’2” and 300 lbs. of him, and I of course told him how Chris changed our planned aerobic, healthy bicycle excursion along the south coast of France into a wild ride on two BMW’s from Germany through the Alps down to southern Italy and France. In a blink an hour had passed. I shoved Carl underwater and spent the next four hours twiddling my thumbs while he did his thing. And he performed, for when I departed at 1600, Simba the snail morfed into Simba the Donzi wannabee. I made Jax in four hours, anchoring near container docks with huge cranes and freighters making Simba feel like the proverbial knat on that elephants hide.
Prior to departing I had to perform a few chores of which I shall mention a couple so you will know I am not yet ready to join Dad's “Sittin’, Starin’ and Rockin’ Club”. After sitting idle, mechanical devices can oft times attempt to show who’s boss. The genset, a generator powered by a dedicated diesel motor, creates 120 volt (household) alternating current to run the frig, a/c and heaters when not plugged into shore power or using the other AC generator which is belt-driven by one of the engines when underway. I could get by for a bit without the genset, except for the fact I need AC to power the windlass which deploys and recovers the anchor and chain. When I checked the genset out, it refused to fire. I changed two filters – no luck. I then got out the old manual and “bled” air out of the fuel lines using a manual fuel pump. The “blood” flowed well until I got to the second stage series of plugs and pipe couplings to loosen. The pump seemed to lose “thrust” but I persisted manipulating the lever down and up countless times and still no joy – no fuel or air bubbles emerged from the last fitting on the line. Dang! Disappointed, I tightened the final fitting and offhandly pushed the starter button. Kazam! Ignition!
The past two years the electric windlass, controlled by a handheld switch I grasp while leaning over the rail to watch the chain, had the nasty habit of blowing its fuse (circuit breaker) at the most inopportune times, like while attempting to set the anchor to keep us off the rocks. Stopping everything to run down to the engine room to reset the breaker gets old pretty quickly. This summer I found a similar switch on the net, bought it from Grainger in Darien (that of course is Darien, CT and not the Darien near Brunswick, GA, accented on the first syllable). I installed the sucker and, crossing my fingers, it worked flawlessly last night and this morning.
You may recall that, while crossing the Gulf Stream last Spring the marine gear (transmission) broke off the back of the starboard engine. Limping back to Florida I had a mechanic remove it and install a rebuilt gear before again crossing the Stream to the Bahamas. Before returning, I noticed the starboard engine was vibrating more than normal and found that it, and the rebuilt transmission, had pulled free of its engine mount. I also saw that the other side of the engine/transmission was only fastened to its mount by one single bolt, rather than two. What to do? Well, I found that if I reduced that engines rpm’s from 1850 to 1500, the vibration in the engine and gear subsided markedly, so that was the bandaid I applied. When I got to GCSprings, I removed the broken piece of bolt from the marine gear and found a man who could fabricate new motor mounts. Of course I erred in telling the man he had all summer to make the mounts, for he had done nothing when I returned this fall. Then he and I erred again in designing the new mounts; we patterned the new ones on the old which had extensions broken off. We added a certain length for the extensions – and we were short by 1.5 inches. I discovered this when attempting to install the new mounts. My man agreed to add the small extensions, and so I waited…and waited. After three weeks I got word to the man that I had to leave the next day, October 31st. That evening he dropped the modified mounts off at my boat, still warm from the welding torch. The next day I installed the mounts after drilling new holes in the steel support beams, and now the motor, gear, and propeller shaft are running so smoothly I frequently am mesmerized just watching them.
Oh, another problematic piece of machinery has been the power take-off (PTO) on the other engine which drives the big 120 volt electric generator. This big “hub” with it’s large activating lever, was installed by a mechanic in Mobile. After a few months, the PTO began making unpleasant noises (high-pitched dings, occasional ominous rattles, etc.). Finally, last Spring, it gave up the ghost and refused to spin it’s big pulley when prompted. At GCS I found a PTO mechanic who said, “Yep, it’s broke. You want me to remove it (2 hours at $75 per) or you wanna try? Three hours later I delivered the unit to the man. I was able to order an already-assembled clutch kit from the manufacturer, saving me big bucks, and installed the PTO. The unit is performing quietly (amen!) while I write this. A sad note: when I removed the unit from the engine I found that the pilot bearing, which supports one end of the PTO shaft where it joins the engine crankshaft, was missing It was never installed! It’s a wonder the unit functioned at all, and those weird, worrisome noises were created as the unit broke up internally. Guess that Mobile mechanic wasn’t quite as proficient, or friendly, as I had thought.
So I keep busy. And I now know two things. Caveat emptor when it comes to owning a complicated, well-set-up boat, for the good mechanics are rare. Second, unless you are handy, mechanically-inclined, energetic, and willing to frequently get real greasy and dirty, ya better carry a fat wallet and be prepared to experience plenty of down time.
At Princeton I rowed in the crew in the fall of my freshman year. Boy, I recall those frosty mornings struggling, along with a dozen other novices, to heave and thrust a telephone pole-sized oar while perched on a hard plank in a barge. Well at 0530 this morning, it was almost déjà vu. While it was still pitch black out on the St. Johns, I heard a voice shouting instructions, looked out the pilot house door and saw five shells glide by powered by taciturn young men and followed by two small power boats occupied by coaches shouting though megaphones. In addition to recalling Lake Carnegie, I saw a similar scene on the snow-banked Seine near Paris where a novice “caught a crab” which I caught on film. Good memories.
It’s now 1300 (1PM), little wind, no wave, bright sunlight, no naughty noises from the engine room, 7.8 knots – tuff life, this! I’m eight miles to the east of Cumberland Island, one of the “Golden Isles”. All I see are trees and beach. Coming up on Jekyll Island, a Georgia state park! It contains the “Millionaires Row” of early 1900 mansions owned by the barons of industry. The state owns most of the mansions now but the Jekyll Island Club hotel is still a hostelry and privately owned. There are “regular folks’” houses too, but no more can be built, and there will be no more than the two garden variety two-story hotels. The state has a convention center and promotes various social events on the island. The ocean beach is spectacular – and almost bereft of two-legged creatures. Now and then a few bicyclists go by and I plan to ride my mountain bike there ASAP. The seven mile bike ride, to be done on skinny tires, has to be neat also. You cross the high Sidney Lanier (Georgia Poet) suspension bridge (under which I will pass this afternoon) and ride though magnificent marshland. Maybe there is a riding club in Brunswick?!
I have always thought it would be great to serve in the Peace Corps. In 1956 I met some members serving in Cuba and admired them. I believe I can find a way to “payback” a bit in Brunswick. I have visited the Latin American Resource bureau, unfortunately now almost defunct due to lack of funding, and learned they desperately need someone who is bilingual to teach beginning English to Hispanics. Hmmm.
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