Engine Update

Well, there isn't much to say really except that I've taken a lot of stuff apart, broken a few things -- mostly bolts -- and still haven't found anything obviously wrong. Based on my description, which probably wasn't very good since it was the middle of winter and about 28 inside the cabin, Boston thought it was the drive, or dampening, disk that attaches to the flywheel.

It looked okay when I pulled the transmission, but I took that off last night anyway and, other being a little dirty and rusted, it's perfectly fine. I've also partially dismantled the transmission itself -- still need to pull a few bearings -- and haven't found anything wrong. Ken, who worked on all the Coast Guard boats during Katrina, thinks that it might be low oil pressure, so I'm putting part of the engine back together so I can run her and check it. I don't have a gauge, just an idiot light which might not work, so I'm going to borrow a gauge from the yard once I get her back together so I can check it.

I did notice she's a little low, so maybe she was leaking a little and finally dropped down low enough to cause a problem. I don't know. The last time I worked on an engine was in 1995, which didn't turn out too well. The time before that was when I was still in high school. I'm mechanically inclined, but don't have much experience. I was a TOW gunner in the Corps, so although they were mounted on jeeps, I didn't do much more than change the oil in the oil bath for the air breather. Oh, and this is my first diesel.

Part of the problem is that engines, at least ones that need work, are usually oily, dirty, rusty, and just a pain to work on. And this one is about the worst I've seen. I guess it's typical for older sailboats, but the reason I like sailboats is because you can sail them, i.e., you don't use an engine. For example, I haven't really done that much to it, and I've already broken 3 bolts, and there's another one I'm pretty sure will break once I try to get it out -- it's actually a badly rusted stud. At least the broken ones were all on the transmission, so I could work on them after I got her out.

Anyway, I've got a hour or two of work left to do before I can run her, so I guess I better get back to it. I still have to hook the freshwater intake hose back up, and reinstall the exhaust hose that goes from the mixing elbow to the water lift. I needed to cut that one to length anyway, so I don't mind that too much. The same goes for my two main cockpit drain seacocks. I was never happy with the location of the valve arms, so I didn't mind taking them out either -- I had to take them out to get the transmission out.

Zoe watch:

I trimmed her again, and she's doing pretty well, but it's been really hot for the last few days. It's much better today, but I think both of use have been getting too much sun. We slept in the cockpit last night. In fact, she's slept there for the last two nights. We've been having a little trouble with mosquitoes, but they aren't too bad when the wind's blowing. Unfortunately, it stopped early in the morning, so I woke up at around 5am to several bites on my arms -- not sure how many she got. I need to get us some mosquito netting -- and finish repairing my screens, but it's too hot to stay in the cabin so that not a priority right now.