Trip 90/91 - Thurs Eve / Saturday - July 16/18th

The engine is in its cradle, time to hang some parts. And get closer to seeing if it will run again.

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I find my scope on The Blog changing. Less of a "How To" and one, more of simply documenting whatever progress is being made.

At the Lake City Marina, my neighbors know of my task and have been asking "How is it going?" and "When will it be done?".

The Going is good. Never fast enough. But steady in its pace and width. The When? I gave up on that. All I know is a sort of mental checklist of "What is next?" for the next 5-6 moves on the chessboard. I am patient and eventually, all will be well again.

My goal is to have Empty Pockets a vessel Marcia and I will be proud of and thoroughly enjoy using in most daysailing conditions we may find.

I also came to grasp another concept. After working hours, I may have three hours of time actually onboard Empty Pockets. Then it is time to come back home, settle, and get some sleep. I am lucky to be at the Marina before 10:00am on the weekends. I try, but that is about the earliest I can get there. So, there is not enough time in a week to get more done.

A while back, some people at work marveled at the time of day of some of the eMails I would send. 2-3-4:00am in the morning and here I am, 7:45 and ready to go. I routinely would get by on 3-4 hours sleep a night for months at a time. Well, that don't happen no'mo. I do not mind getting old, I do not even mind slowing down. But, I do mind the loss of energy I have now.

Also, folks have wondered "Why go thru all this work and then sell it to trade up?". Answer: Until I can afford full retirement and a small home and a really nice vessel, Empty Pockets will do quite nicely for the sailing Marcia and I will do, and the meals and cocktails we will need to enjoy the day for the next couple years. Once we live together again, then, we will know more of our immediate finances etc.

 

Thursday Evening

The harness that lead from the engine to the Petter Power Panel in the cockpit has some really nice wire. I will use it for a temporary fix to get the engine going again.

 

The alternator has a clipon plug for excitement and charge current. I decided to open the plug, clean it and gently squeeze the contacts a bit tighter.

Much happier now.

 

Starter and alternator hung on the side of the engine.

 

To afix the front pulley, I greased the shaft and collar and slid it on.

 

 

Different lighting can produce a much different effect.

 

Some engine shots.

 

Saturday

The Hobie Cat group was in force (about a dozen craft) and setting up their catamarans for the day. These have no ballast and if one or two people, they can place their feet on the windward hull, set or grab the trapeze from the top of the mast and step off the hull over the water as one hull slices thru the water, and the one they are on is 2-3-4 feet above the water.

These babies really fly and speeds of 20-30knots is not uncommon. And these folks are serious. It has to be really windy before they do not go out. Like, 40mph or better. 25-30? No problem.

 

These are the cables that transmit the motion from the shifter and throttle to the engine. They consist of an out tube and an inner flex-cable that moves in and out. I decided to lube them with some light oil.

 

I picked up some Magical Marvelous Mysterious Oil.

 

I made a funnel at one end to pour the oil into.

After a bit and 3-4 fills, the opposite end dripped some goo and then later, changed to the color of the oil.

 

The wiring schematic.

 

I replaced the Power Panel, Shifter/Throttle and cables in their previous positions. Just temporary, but saved alot of time fabricating what was needed.

 

Look who is back.

 

A parting image ...

 

Later ...