Cultivating Patience

Breakfast. Schoolwork. Showers. Turn on engine. Head to dock to dump garbage and recycling, fill diesel and water tank. Sail 5 nautical miles east to the Isles of Shoals. Find empty mooring ball. Explore island. Go swimming. Find an ice cream store.

That was our plan today. Nothing elaborate.

We did the first three things and then when our engine would not start, the rest of our day looked nothing like we had envisioned. 

Cruising requires patience. Heaps and heaps of patience. 

Since we ran out of fuel just outside Boothbay Harbor about 2 weeks ago, our engine has been requiring more TLC.

In theory, when we know we are running low on diesel, we switch tanks. We have 2 diesel tanks and switching one to another only requires someone to simply switch the dial. Easy peasy. 

The problem was we didn't KNOW our main tank was running so low. When we filled up at the dock last week and it started to bubble up we stopped filling, thinking it was full. In fact, it was just the speed of the fill that made it do that. And likely the clogged vents,  which we have now cleaned.

We should have kept filling but being paranoid of spilling diesel into the water, we stopped. And so we really didn't know how much was left because we thought it was completely topped up. 

So when we ran out of fuel in the first tank, it was impossible to switch to the second tank without bleeding the engine first. Bleeding the line basically entails making sure all the air is purged from the line. 

When Matt and Garvin bled the engine the first time it started back again. However this was necessary again a few days later. And after today's no-go we realized something was truly wrong. Even bleeding the engine 3 times today didn't do the trick.

Hmmmmmm. Time to call in an expert.

But getting a marine diesel mechanic to come to you at short notice is not easy. We called around, texted friends, asked the marina and after a few dead ends, managed to get someone to come to us within a few hours!

Glen is a mobile marine mechanic, formally an airplane engineer technician for the army. He was great and managed to start the engine again.

So what was the problem in the end? There was a nut under the high pressure pump that was slowly dripping diesel, so when turned off it was also slowly letting in air. Hence needing to bleed it so often.

Also the fuel filter in the engine needs changing, and the lifting pump on the back side of the engine isn't working. We have ordered a new pump which we'll have installed, though not urgent.

All in all, we had a different day than we anticipated. We didn't go anywhere and we spent a lot of the day waiting and dealing with engine stuff.

Did I mention cruising requires lots of patience? And if you claim to already be a patient person, cruising will certainly test that theory.

As always, we try to look for the positive in any situation. It could have been a LOT worse.

Also, the bonus was we got to see a massive tanker and another nuclear submarine pass us. This one carried ballistic missiles too! Had we gone today, we would've missed all that action.

In the evening back on the boat, we learned how to play Hanabi, a cooperative game where you try to set off the best fireworks as a team  before the timer goes off. Thanks to Garf for the game, we loved it!

Tomorrow, we try for the Isles of Shoals again.

The kids have quickly become confident on the VHF and calling the launch.
The praise they get from the marina staff and fellow boaters helps too.

Patient kids meant we bought them a small bag of 
Cheetos to share. Highlight of the day!

Humongous tanker makes our boat seem tiny. Imagine the wake it made!

Nuclear submarine passing us, this one carrying ballistic missiles.
Everyone is warned to stay at least 500 yards away. Even the launch doesn't operate.