1/20/2017
With the Gold Looper Looper-Palooza reunion scheduled to
begin at 5:00 p.m., we found we had time on our hands to tackle some boat items
on our list of issues. Clark had scheduled a diver to come dive under the boat
to see if he could find anything with the port side prop that might be causing
a vibration / banging that we experience at low RPM. Given Clark was tied to
the boat waiting for the diver to show up, we decided that I would be the one
to go out in the car to run errands.
First, I had to get our car out of the compound where it sat
waiting for our arrival in Fort Myers. Once I had it outside the locked gates,
I set out to find the various items Clark needed for the boat and run
some other errands. Items on Clark's list included buying 1) contact cleaner for
electronics, 2) a two-gallon gas can, and 3) diesel fuel. Reviewing hardware
stores online, I found a nearby store where customer comments indicated they
stocked everything “they” could ever need. I decided to try there first and got
very lucky.
I was able to buy both the contact cleaner and the gas can
at the hardware store. From there I made a quick stop at the drug store to buy
some shampoo and soap and then went in search of diesel fuel. Clark had
suggested that I could get fuel from either a gas station or a fuel dock, so I
tried the gas station approach and it turned into a whopping great failure! I
bought a two-gallon gas can. Well,
the nozzle no more fit to put diesel in a gas can on purpose than it fit when I
tried to put diesel in my car by accident. I guess I better stay away from gas
stations since once again I had to go in to talk to the clerk since I had already
swiped my credit card. (At least this time I didn’t misplace my credit card in the process.) I
left there with my empty can to go find a fuel dock.
When I arrived at the Fort Myers Yacht Basin, every parking
space at the marina showed reserved with huge fines for illegal parking. Luckily,
I found street parking. I was concerned when I saw meters as I had not brought
a change purse with me, but just as I pulled into a space, a couple came up to
me and told me to wait until they pulled out and they would save me a quarter
by letting me use time off their meter. That was nice timing! The meter had 8
hours of time on it. I needed about 15 minutes!
I got the fuel and headed back to Sunset Delight happy to have completed my list of errands successfully.
By the time I got back to the boat, the diver had been under the boat, checked
everything, found nothing of concern, and left. At least we knew that we had no
props about to fall off or anything dire going on under the boat. We still did
not have a cause for the thumping at low RPM.
Since I had been successful in obtaining two gallons of
diesel fuel on my excursion into Fort Myers, Clark decided we could tackle the fuel
filters for the starboard engine to see what condition they were in. I made
Clark change into work clothes because I knew it would be a messy job. Thinking
I would not be doing anything too messy to assist, I took the chance of not changing
out of my nice clothes.
As I mentioned in an earlier blog entry, everything is
bigger on this boat including the engines and, therefore, the fuel
filters as well. We used to use empty liter-sized coke bottles to hold the
filter when we removed it to capture the fuel that drained out. Well, we did
not bring any old coke bottles with us, and the new, mega-sized fuel filters
would not have fit if we had. While trying to figure out an alternate, I
remembered I had an empty water jug on board that turned out to be just the
right size. Sometimes it pays to be a hoarder!
We pulled out the fuel filter that we thought might be bad,
but it looked almost new – pink, not black. That probably means that a clogged
fuel filter was not the reason for the engine stalling. Since we had it out,
even though it did not look bad, we replaced it with new.
Installing a new filter means adding diesel fuel to prevent
air getting in the line. To avoid a spill Clark said we needed something
smaller than the gas can to pour the fuel into the filter. Luckily, I wash out
and keep old mayonnaise jars for just such jobs on the boat. Again, sometimes
it pays to be a hoarder! It worked very well. Clark had to fill that mayonnaise
jar 4 times to get the job done. He was amazed at the amount of fuel it absorbed. The job was extremely messy, but we both managed to keep our clothes clean in the process.
At 4:00, we called it a day on boat repairs and got
ourselves dressed for the Looper-Palooza reunion. We walked the short distance
to the Fort Myers Event Center. What a nice break from the stress of the boat
repairs to get out for an evening with dinner provided! When we arrived at the reunion, we found
several boating couples we knew from our days on the Great Loop. Boat names we
recognized included Sadie Too, Namaste
(from Michigan), Sea to See (from
Washington), and Nearly Perfect (from Texas).
Cocktail hour with an open bar ran from 5:00 to 6:00
followed by a dinner for Gold Loopers. As with other AGLCA-sponsored events, Gold Loopers were asked to get up and tell a little about themselves
and a highlight from their loop trip. Clark took the opportunity to let
everyone know that our Mainship 350 is now for sale. We learned during the
evening that a lot of Gold Loopers are selling their boats for one reason or
another, so I guess we have a lot of competition in finding a buyer!
After dinner, we walked back to the boat. Having had such a busy day, I decided I needed
to call it a night and headed for bed. Clark, however, decided he could work on
the stern thruster since, to him, it was still early. Just as I was climbing into
bed, he came and got me and asked me to work the stern thruster controls while
he checked voltages. Fortunately, that was a rather brainless activity that I
finished relatively quickly. As soon as I was excused from duty, I ran for bed, climbed in
and fell asleep almost instantly.
Clark woke me up when he came to bed at midnight. I think he
opened and closed every drawer on the boat looking for a clean pair of pajamas.
Unfortunately, the drawers make a lot of noise when slammed closed! Since I was awake, I asked Clark how the
repair went and found out that he was able to pinpoint the problem with the
stern thruster but he needs a part to fix it.
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