Comments on: Goddamn shit ass piece of shit boat

By: tony moussis

tony moussis — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 01:34:33 +0000

All said and done ,i am a fan, period.

tony m

By: bongojonny

bongojonny — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 12:52:53 +0000

I’m glad we dont have those problems on lake michigan. best wishes to you and I look forward to watching your adventure unfold!!

By: Carol Anne

Carol Anne — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 05:41:11 +0000

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.

By: RGSC Pat

RGSC Pat — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 03:00:56 +0000

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…

By: mattholmes

mattholmes — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 01:41:00 +0000

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.

By: Livia

Livia — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:55:36 +0000

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.

By: tony m

tony m — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:18:36 +0000

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.

By: tony m

tony m — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:13:04 +0000

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

By: Nate Lane

Nate Lane — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:20:50 +0000

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.

By: mattholmes

mattholmes — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:49:52 +0000

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.