Rain, more effin engine trouble, the plan for heading south
Out of the 12 days so far in June, its rained for about 10 of them. Two more tomorrow and Friday, and it looks like three out of the seven of next week. This has put a damper on both the Weatherly charters I make my money from as well as working on and sailing my own boat in prep for the departure later this summer.
Which brings me to my next subject. I've been fielding a lot of questions as to when and where I'll be going once I leave Newport. In all honesty: it's still up in the air, the whole thing, and will be up until I'm actually there. I'd love to sail to Block Island. Sure, I'd also really like to make it to Florida. Maybe the Bahamas or Mexico, or even Cuba? Point is, I'm in Newport right now and this voyage isn't entirely about the destination. Wherever I am, that's where I'll be. To be frank though, there are some outlying engine issues that may put a hindrance on travel. In an attempt to fix a fuel leak, I found the filter housing was cross threaded and they don't make these anymore. Thankfully I found a similar one in a marine consignment store and now have the issue of hooking it into the existing fuel lines (easier said than done, trust me). The water pump, which was professionally rebuilt a year ago to the tune of $300, is leaking. Nothing trifle either, about a gallon an hour when the engine is running, but its manageable. The take home message is this though: between the lack of charters and errant engine issues, if that damn iron spinnaker is not functional once past this fuel leak, there are serious doubts as to whether I'll make it past a Newport dock this winter. An outboard and bracket is about $1200 (plus a haul out), which as of now isn't in the cards financially. I'm optimistic though, chin is up that this is the last of the engine issues and the charters will come more regularly! I've got just over two months before I'd like to weigh anchor in Newport, wish me luck!
Which brings me to my next subject. I've been fielding a lot of questions as to when and where I'll be going once I leave Newport. In all honesty: it's still up in the air, the whole thing, and will be up until I'm actually there. I'd love to sail to Block Island. Sure, I'd also really like to make it to Florida. Maybe the Bahamas or Mexico, or even Cuba? Point is, I'm in Newport right now and this voyage isn't entirely about the destination. Wherever I am, that's where I'll be. To be frank though, there are some outlying engine issues that may put a hindrance on travel. In an attempt to fix a fuel leak, I found the filter housing was cross threaded and they don't make these anymore. Thankfully I found a similar one in a marine consignment store and now have the issue of hooking it into the existing fuel lines (easier said than done, trust me). The water pump, which was professionally rebuilt a year ago to the tune of $300, is leaking. Nothing trifle either, about a gallon an hour when the engine is running, but its manageable. The take home message is this though: between the lack of charters and errant engine issues, if that damn iron spinnaker is not functional once past this fuel leak, there are serious doubts as to whether I'll make it past a Newport dock this winter. An outboard and bracket is about $1200 (plus a haul out), which as of now isn't in the cards financially. I'm optimistic though, chin is up that this is the last of the engine issues and the charters will come more regularly! I've got just over two months before I'd like to weigh anchor in Newport, wish me luck!
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