2017 - South from the Chesapeake

[PT26]

Russ, I understand the family plan, have a great trip!

Avery, you will enjoy the Grampian, what a great designer, every berth in my boat is longer than I am tall and I'm 6 foot five. They sail great too!

The A4 is running great I did everything suggested so I'm guessing we got out what ever it was.
We are having to marina up there's a gale coming this afternoon

[sastanley]

The gale came thru here with sunny skies and whipping out of the NW. We raced the Colgate 26 Easy Button on #3 of 4 Frostbite races today. We had no chance on the bigger boats, as a Henderson 30 planed by us on the reach leg.

We also don't have any instruments, but a J/105 out racing today said, average as 19-23 knots with the highest gust at 34.5k. (i think a real gale is 35+ knots .) Out here on the east coast, we just don't have our boats set up for that. We had a single reef and #3, finished 5th out of 7, but we were getting our a$$es handed to us by the larger boats.

[PT26]

Sounds like a great day Shawn!
We will move on 25 knot days but
It blew through here with rain and it was gusting to 40.
I'm super glad we decided not to move.
We have had a great run since then even through the rock pile with currents in our favor.
We landed in Osprey Marina for Thanksgiving. One of the best stops on the trip.

I wish you all a Great Thanksgiving and a beautiful day

[edwardc]

A good friend of mine, Ron Harbin in S/V True Blue, just left out of Osprey Marina about a week ago after a 2 week layover there while his significant other came down for a visit. He really liked the marina too.

He's also on the way down the ditch, and plans to leave the boat at Vero Beach for a short trip home for Christmas before continuing on to the Bahamas. Keep an eye out for him and say hi if you get the chance. Its a white Pearson 31 with a solar panel lashed on the cabin roof.

[PT26]

Will do, Vero is really a nice stop.
A mooring ball is really inexpensive and they have free buses going in every direction on the hour.

[PT26]

So yesterday we left Beaufort SC and right after we crossed the Port Royal Sound we noticed that the A4 was hiccuping and the rpms were racing up and down all on their own. So we figured we got water in the fuel again and needed to change the filter... again.

We got to Bahia Bleu Marina South of Savannah GA (Thunderbolt was full) and proceeded to change the water separator. We dumped the filter into a clear bottle to see what was in it and there was definitely water but there was also a bunch of red colored sediment. Weird right?

So while we were doing Boat yoga anyway we decided to change the spark plugs and check the oil. The plugs were slightly carboned, but in good enough condition that we kept the for spares.

After the filter change and the new plugs we looked the motor over and noticed the the flame arrester was really clogged so we cleaned it.

Then we fired her up and she ran like a champ so we decided that while we were tied to the dock we put her in gear. She ran just fine. No burps no racing rpms.

This morning we started her up and she seems to be struggling. She barfed out a bunch of carbon (first time that’s happened on this trip) The rpms are racing up and down, oil pressure is jumping around between 35 and 42 lbs. Every now and then she almost falls flat on her face and I noticed a bit of a ticking noise. So I added a little extra marvels this morning to help lube anything that might be getting stuck.

I’m thinking it might be the fuel pump again. What do you guys think?
—Trina

[JOHN COOKSON]

If all else fails check the prop to be sure it is clear. This does not cover the jammed up back flame arrestor and "barfing" carbon.......... Did you get some bad gas?

TRUE GRIT

[PT26]

We’ve gotten ethanol free gas the last few gas stops, but really bad gas is always an issue from marinas.

In idle yesday she was free spinning just fine, but I plan on having the diver check the prop because we did hit a few deadheads in the Dismal Swamp.

It’s really weird though, we just went through Hell agate and she ran burp free for about an hour and now she’s falling on her face and then coming back up.... I think we’re gonna change he fuel pump when we anchor. Already got the solar shower out for after we play in the gas.

—Trina

[Marian Claire]

PT26. Do you have a fuel pressure gauge and if so what is it reading?
Dan S/V Marian Claire
Edit. This may be of interest or just confusing???? http://www.moyermarine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8205

[PT26]

No, we never installed the pressure guage, despite Hanley’s advice LOl. The A4 just fell on her face. We dropped the outboard Aux motor and started sailing. 10 miles to the anchorage and we’re changing the fuel pump whether it is the culprit or not, hopefully the issue will be solved....


Tonight’s bug infested anchorage and motor work should be exhausting! LOL
Welcome to Georgia
-Trina

[sastanley]

Rolling south!

+1 on the fuel pressure gauge.

[PT26]

Good morning guys!

First thing we’re getting in St Augustine is a Fuel Pressure guage.

Last night we ripped the boat apart. Stair came out, walls came out, we replaced the fuel pump (no change) we replaced the water fuel separator (no change). Then we tried starting her up and we had no oil pressure, so we changed the oil (now she’s not starting at all) we changed the coil (no change) we checked the spark plugs (just fine) we cleaned the distributor cap.... points

The darned points had no gap. So we adjusted them to .020, fired her up and WHA-LA! We are up and running again.

Not sure how the points changed, we just put them in and adjusted them, everything was tight.

So anyway we are moving forward with the current right now, steaming at 7.2 knots and running from the noseeums that I can totally see!
-Trina

[Marian Claire]

Swami says "I see EI in your future." Glad you are back up and running. You probable know this but there have been some major changes in some spots on the AICW. A friend has been reporting back as he moves south, they are in Vero now, and has mentioned changes at the St Johns crossing, New Smyrna Beach area and St Augustine. Active Captain has posts about these areas. As always if in doubt follow what is on the water.
Dan S/V Marian Claire

[ndutton]

Can you estimate the combined time the ignition was energized during this no-start episode with the new coil installed?

[sastanley]

Trina/Paul. I had a '78 Civic with a bad (slightly stripped) adjuster screw on the points..it would rattle loose and close up the points on me if I ran her too long..

+1 what Dan said...I think we have enough good data on this forum that you can safely switch to electronic ignition and never worry about it again.