Another problem
10-26-18 Another problem..
Now that the plastic tube in the transmission situation is at least not getting worse, (mainly because I haven't run the engine), a new wrinkle has developed that will again delay our departure from Hampton, VA to warmer regions further south.
We had a diver come yesterday to tend the bottom since we have been sitting in a marina for over two months. It was just a routine scrub to slick up the bottom before we headed south after the current weather front passes through over the next two days. We had planned to start on Sunday. After he was finished cleaning, I had the diver take my GoPro camera and give me a tour of the bottom and running gear. He did a good job of cleaning the areas coated with anti-fouling and since there was no preventative on the prop, I expected some minor growth that could be scraped off. I mean, it was shiny clean when the boat went into the water in late August so it shouldn't have too much. I was also interested in the state of the shaft zincs that, like the props, were shiny new in late August.
Well, the props had lots of little barnacles that he scraped off as well as possible but I now know that I will be putting on some Propspeed when we haul this winter. The zincs however were a surprise. Not surprising in their condition but rather their lack of presence. They were completely GONE.
HOOOOOkay... Now I'm worried. I have no idea how long they have been gone or the mechanism of their disappearance. I am clueless to whether they dissolved or were thrown off on one of our short day excursions. I also don't know how long the running gear has been subject to unprotected electrolysis. To say the least I need to replace them ASAP - there is no waiting until I get to winter quarters in a couple more months.
Unfortunately the diver did not have any 1 3/8" donut zincs in his small stock. Equally unfortunate was the fact that neither did the Hampton West Marine, nor the Virginia Beach West Marine, nor any other marine store within a reasonable surrounding area of about 40 miles. Mind you, we don't have a car here so we would still have to bum a ride or call Uber.
After some more hair wrenching, teeth gnashing, (does anyone have a cure for baldness and chipped teeth?) and a night of sleepless tossing and turning, we expanded our Google search terms this morning and found a small local marine salvage business that actually has four of them in stock! New one's too, not used as could be surmised by the business name. He will even deliver them to the boat today, even with a nor'easter coming in this evening. I've then arranged to have them installed by the diver around midday on Monday at high tide.
That means we won't get going south until Tuesday. Sigh... Two more days sitting in the marina going nowhere. Whoopee. What an adventure. It also means two more days that something else can go wrong. Gee, am I getting pessimistic? Nah.
They say you shouldn't have a schedule when you cruise, but this is getting ridiculous.
We were hoping to link up with some other GHTA members also going south but at this rate we will be linking up with them going north in the spring as we are still trying to get south. No, I'm not getting bitter. Not at all...
Narrator: And so we leave our dispirited adventurers sitting in the salon of JADIP quietly typing on the computer in the fading evening light and cold drizzling rain of a slow moving fall storm.
But will they really get the zincs installed on Monday? Will they actually start their long hazardous journey south on Tuesday? Will Steve get hair implants and his teeth capped? Be sure to stay tuned on this channel for the NEXT installment in the continuing saga of the Trawler JADIP and the JOURNEY OF DESTINY!
10-27-18
I was able to procure four of the 1 3/8" donut zincs locally yesterday. It turned out to be very cinematic.
>>Scene: early afternoon<< Under a dark cloudy and threatening sky, while standing on the docks, the protagonist makes a phone call to a local obscure business. A meeting is arranged.
>> Scene: much later << Well after dark in the middle of a wild raging storm the protagonist fights his way against the wind and rain off of the long docks to wait in the lee of a building pillar on the shore. He sits in the shadow of the pillar near a small area lit by a single overhead bulb in the otherwise blackest of nights. He has a look of concern on his face and seems worried that his contact will be a no-show. After thirty minutes of huddling in the small refuge while the storm throws wind and lightning around him, a pickup truck suddenly drives out of the darkness into the circle of light and stops. The protagonist steps out from the pillar into the light with his head down obscuring his face. The driver of the truck climbs out and likewise head down to protect his face from the wind and rain, makes his way around the truck holding a small but heavy package. A few words and the package are exchanged. The words are almost unheard amidst the howling wind and tortured trees. Money changes hands. The two shake hands and quickly turn away. The driver returns to the truck and drives off. The protagonist disappears into the darkness of the docks.
>> Scene: a short wile later << Arriving in the warm cabin of his boat, the protagonist shuts the door on the wild chaotic weather outside and suddenly it's quiet. He doffs his coat, hat and gloves on the settee. He then greedily places the small package on the salon table and begins to open it carefully. The protagonist's wife peeks up the companionway from the galley below.
"What is it?" she calls.
He quietly replies, "It's the stuff dreams are made of" as he carefully places on the table, one at a time, four metallic tori.
>> Zoom in on the tori <<
>> Fade to black. Fade in theme music. <<
>> Roll credits <<
Now we just have to wait for Monday and the diver to arrive.
Now that the plastic tube in the transmission situation is at least not getting worse, (mainly because I haven't run the engine), a new wrinkle has developed that will again delay our departure from Hampton, VA to warmer regions further south.
We had a diver come yesterday to tend the bottom since we have been sitting in a marina for over two months. It was just a routine scrub to slick up the bottom before we headed south after the current weather front passes through over the next two days. We had planned to start on Sunday. After he was finished cleaning, I had the diver take my GoPro camera and give me a tour of the bottom and running gear. He did a good job of cleaning the areas coated with anti-fouling and since there was no preventative on the prop, I expected some minor growth that could be scraped off. I mean, it was shiny clean when the boat went into the water in late August so it shouldn't have too much. I was also interested in the state of the shaft zincs that, like the props, were shiny new in late August.
Well, the props had lots of little barnacles that he scraped off as well as possible but I now know that I will be putting on some Propspeed when we haul this winter. The zincs however were a surprise. Not surprising in their condition but rather their lack of presence. They were completely GONE.
HOOOOOkay... Now I'm worried. I have no idea how long they have been gone or the mechanism of their disappearance. I am clueless to whether they dissolved or were thrown off on one of our short day excursions. I also don't know how long the running gear has been subject to unprotected electrolysis. To say the least I need to replace them ASAP - there is no waiting until I get to winter quarters in a couple more months.
Unfortunately the diver did not have any 1 3/8" donut zincs in his small stock. Equally unfortunate was the fact that neither did the Hampton West Marine, nor the Virginia Beach West Marine, nor any other marine store within a reasonable surrounding area of about 40 miles. Mind you, we don't have a car here so we would still have to bum a ride or call Uber.
After some more hair wrenching, teeth gnashing, (does anyone have a cure for baldness and chipped teeth?) and a night of sleepless tossing and turning, we expanded our Google search terms this morning and found a small local marine salvage business that actually has four of them in stock! New one's too, not used as could be surmised by the business name. He will even deliver them to the boat today, even with a nor'easter coming in this evening. I've then arranged to have them installed by the diver around midday on Monday at high tide.
That means we won't get going south until Tuesday. Sigh... Two more days sitting in the marina going nowhere. Whoopee. What an adventure. It also means two more days that something else can go wrong. Gee, am I getting pessimistic? Nah.
They say you shouldn't have a schedule when you cruise, but this is getting ridiculous.
We were hoping to link up with some other GHTA members also going south but at this rate we will be linking up with them going north in the spring as we are still trying to get south. No, I'm not getting bitter. Not at all...
Narrator: And so we leave our dispirited adventurers sitting in the salon of JADIP quietly typing on the computer in the fading evening light and cold drizzling rain of a slow moving fall storm.
But will they really get the zincs installed on Monday? Will they actually start their long hazardous journey south on Tuesday? Will Steve get hair implants and his teeth capped? Be sure to stay tuned on this channel for the NEXT installment in the continuing saga of the Trawler JADIP and the JOURNEY OF DESTINY!
10-27-18
I was able to procure four of the 1 3/8" donut zincs locally yesterday. It turned out to be very cinematic.
>>Scene: early afternoon<< Under a dark cloudy and threatening sky, while standing on the docks, the protagonist makes a phone call to a local obscure business. A meeting is arranged.
>> Scene: much later << Well after dark in the middle of a wild raging storm the protagonist fights his way against the wind and rain off of the long docks to wait in the lee of a building pillar on the shore. He sits in the shadow of the pillar near a small area lit by a single overhead bulb in the otherwise blackest of nights. He has a look of concern on his face and seems worried that his contact will be a no-show. After thirty minutes of huddling in the small refuge while the storm throws wind and lightning around him, a pickup truck suddenly drives out of the darkness into the circle of light and stops. The protagonist steps out from the pillar into the light with his head down obscuring his face. The driver of the truck climbs out and likewise head down to protect his face from the wind and rain, makes his way around the truck holding a small but heavy package. A few words and the package are exchanged. The words are almost unheard amidst the howling wind and tortured trees. Money changes hands. The two shake hands and quickly turn away. The driver returns to the truck and drives off. The protagonist disappears into the darkness of the docks.
>> Scene: a short wile later << Arriving in the warm cabin of his boat, the protagonist shuts the door on the wild chaotic weather outside and suddenly it's quiet. He doffs his coat, hat and gloves on the settee. He then greedily places the small package on the salon table and begins to open it carefully. The protagonist's wife peeks up the companionway from the galley below.
"What is it?" she calls.
He quietly replies, "It's the stuff dreams are made of" as he carefully places on the table, one at a time, four metallic tori.
>> Zoom in on the tori <<
>> Fade to black. Fade in theme music. <<
>> Roll credits <<
Now we just have to wait for Monday and the diver to arrive.
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