Feb 09
Goddamn shit ass piece of shit boat
Karen and I took the boat out to fill up on fuel over at the berkeley marina. The engine overheated. We will not be leaving tomorrow.
Wherein we: Bought a boat, Fixed a boat, Sailed to Australia, Sold the boat.
Feb 09
Karen and I took the boat out to fill up on fuel over at the berkeley marina. The engine overheated. We will not be leaving tomorrow.
February 9th, 2010 at 2:15 am
One of the best titles I have ever heard of. Deep breathes and a couple brews on the mainland might help. Good luck to you all. We will be watching.
Jason
February 9th, 2010 at 2:17 am
No it is not the engine overheating, it is called sea trials.
tony m.
February 9th, 2010 at 3:17 am
Forget the engine and just go for it. Magellan didn’t have a stinkin engine and he did just fine. Well, I guess he died enroute, but not because of engine trouble!
February 9th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
check the hull and prop for any trash including barnacles if you have any in your area.The check the obvious.The take time out for sea trails,with out then it is just plain stupid to go out to sea on a 2 year voyage. Sea trails would have exposed the engine over heating issue and you wouldn’t be pissing shit right now.
tony moussis.
February 9th, 2010 at 2:32 pm
Yeah, just go for it. Drake didn’t have an engine. Nelson didn’t have an engine. Well I guess they both died at sea too. But not because of lack of an engine.
February 9th, 2010 at 4:49 pm
tony, thanks for the advice but you can cool it down a bit. I’ve had the engine apart and back together to various levels for the past two years–the engine overheating problem is not knew, and was rediscovered multiple times while sailing on the bay (you can call it sea trialing if you want, but personally I just think of it as sailing). I just thought, incorrectly, that I had got it licked the last time. So this is not a new thing, and we are not stupid. It is rather yet another thing, with which we will deal, however long it takes, and then go safely sailing away.
February 9th, 2010 at 5:20 pm
This has gotten so much more interesting to read than “Matt got in his boat and sailed around the world.” I doubt this will make you feel any better, but you’re trading a trip for a story which will ultimately prove to be more valuable. I’m hooked.
February 9th, 2010 at 8:13 pm
i can see all the work done on the engine,my basic point is your sailboat is in many ways a new sailboat even to you. Sea trials are a helpful tool that’s all.I am sorry for jumping on you,i can feel your frustration. I have been there many a times double.You are one resourceful dude and that’s 90% of it.I also know how hard it can be tracking down why an engine is over heating.
good day and good adventures .
Tony M
February 9th, 2010 at 8:18 pm
ps ,your cool response to my rather aggressive message elevates you in my eyes,not that you need that from me a total stranger.
later .
tony m.
February 9th, 2010 at 9:55 pm
Now you are getting heckled by strangers? Weak.
In case you hadn’t already thought of it (I know sometimes I forget the obvious): intake (barnacles etc like grumpy said), intake hoses, impeller, impeller bits blocking heat exchanger, thermostat, coolant.
February 10th, 2010 at 1:41 am
tony, it’s cool. This boat is definitely not new to me, though, I can assure you that I know every inch of her and have replaced or repaired nearly everything, including all those troubleshooting ideas that have been mentioned.
Our seawater flow was looking somewhat inadequate, so we went looking for obstructions in the seawater side. We found it, in the tranny v-drive where the seawater flows through on its way to the oil cooler. We back flushed with the powerful dockside hose and managed to force it all out. After putting her back together the flow is 5 times what it was, and we haven’t been able to get her hotter than 165, so it appears that the overheating problem has been fixed. We will find out tomorrow as we motor around the bay.
February 10th, 2010 at 3:00 am
Congratulations and relief at hearing that the problem was messy but not too painful to fix and here’s hoping that you get a nice break from the fix-its and a decent weather window.
Maybe in a just world the biggest sailing trophies wouldn’t be for billionaire “yachtsmen”, but instead for sailors who have the resourcefulness and patience to fix the most different things on a boat.
P.S. My wife opened a product box and got the “motivational” (?) message:
“Explore new forms of fearlessness”. Hmmm…
February 10th, 2010 at 5:41 am
The valuable part of this training is getting good at diving down below when something goes wrong and having a good idea of how to fix it — quickly. I’ve never sailed out of sight of land, but still, I’ve found that skill to be extremely useful. One of the boats I often sail on is an old Hunter 34 whose current owner is diligent but whose previous owners had left a lot of “deferred maintenance.” The learning experiences are good.
February 10th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
I’m glad we dont have those problems on lake michigan. best wishes to you and I look forward to watching your adventure unfold!!
February 10th, 2010 at 5:34 pm
All said and done ,i am a fan, period.
tony m