Our motor problem may possibly be easier to fix than first thought!

I had posted a request for help on the Nauticat owners bulletin board and several people responded with their suggestions. One did specifically address the oil coolers, of which there are two. One is for the engine, the other for the transmission. I also spoke to people at American Diesel, staffed with experts who do know the Ford Lehman diesel engine inside and out. They agreed that my symptoms point towards the cooler. I had my credit card handy. :-) ... and ordered replacements. I think the total parts bill comes to about $500.00, plus mechanic time for installation, plus marina transient slip fees. The marina mechanic agreed to install the oil coolers prior to the July 4 holiday weekend. WOO HOO! Perhaps, I can go sailing next weekend and possibly, sail South towards Boston for the July 4 fireworks. Stay tuned.

2009 Marion Bermuda Race Aftermath

Well, no fireworks reception for s/v Bremer Speck. As mentioned a couple of times already, we were forced to resign from this race due to extreme weather conditions in the form of a Nor'easter. Well, there is always the next time. So we are talking already about 2011 ... :-) ...!
From all accounts, the 2009 race was not much fun. There were a total of 46 yachts registered for this race.
19 yachts resigned from the race for the same or similar reasons as Bremer Speck.
19 yachts, that is the equivalent of 41% or close to half of all the yachts entered into the race! This must be the worst year ever.
The yachts who made it to Bermuda were greeted by bad weather as well. Unlike, the usually very sunny and warm Bermuda weather, they were greeted by rain squalls and cool temperatures.
The front runner, "Big Bear", who lead the race from the start, blew-out its headsail some 10-15 miles from Bermuda and was forced to motor the rest of the way! Instant disqualification! What a shame! I am sure, her crew worked very hard to maintain that first place position and then this happens. So close and yet, so far.
Looks like our 2 days stay on Block Island (referred to as the Bermuda of the Northeast) was a good idea because it was sunny and warm and we were able to relax for a while.
Now, I have to go and meet the mechanic to figure out what is wrong with our engine.
Keep your fingers' crossed for me!
Cheers,
Ronald Hiemann
Skipper s/v "Bremer Speck"
1989 Nauticat 40
www.bremerspeck.com

About the "Skipper 150" Inmarsat FleetBroadband Terminal

I have made repeated references to the "Skipper 150" in my posts and have been asked to elaborate on what exactly it is and does do for us on s/v "Bremer Speck". The Skipper 150 is an Inmarsat FleetBroadband terminal, which provides worldwide voice, SMS and Internet data connectivity at speeds of up to 150 kbps. While we were underway, we have had several Internet web sites open on an overhead monitor. We surfed the web for news etc. and researched a few things. At the same time, we also made phone calls. Domestic and International. All this while we had up to 3 PC running on a WiFi network. While having cable modem service at home is a lot faster than what I have here on Bremer Speck, the data speed throughput via the Skipper 150 terminal is surprisingly blazing fast, when compared to other solutions such as an Iridium or Globalstar satellite phone. I have attached 3 photos, showing the Skipper 150 antenna pod, which is mounted on an arch over the transom, as well as a product photo showing the brains, the "black-box", together with a corded handset. The black-box has another phone plug to connect a wireless telephone handset. I have a beta test unit on board, courtesy of Inmarsat and Addvalue Communications Pte Ltd, Singapore, the manufacturer. The Skipper 150 is going into production very soon and will be available sometime in mid July. Contact me if you would like to know more.

Safely tied-up in Newburyport

After a 48 miles tow from nearby Boston to Newburyport, we are now tied-up safely in a slip in Newburyport. Tomorrow morning, I shall talk to the mechanic about checking out the engine, to determine the reason for the tremendous oil loss. A post on the Nauticat bulletin board brought several responses. One very detailed response is pointing towards the oil cooler. The response indicates that we were basically pumping out all the oil together with the engine cooling water. The oil never quite made it inside the engine. I hope this is the correct diagnosis because it would be a relatively inexpensive repair. The weather here is miserable. It is Sunday afternoon, overcast and cool.

What is this? Or what else can go wrong?

Have we not had enough, already? What do you think is shown in the photo? If your first guess is "this is a broken off bolt", then you guessed right! But, what did this bolt belong to? You can guess as much as you want. I would bet you $10 that you will not figure it out. So I will make it easy on everybody. THIS bolt was what held the head pump handle in place! You know, the one that pumps water in and everything else out! Now we have lost the toilet, too! I hope everyone is capable of sweating it out because there are few alternatives. During the early sailing days, the head on many ships was outside. Right on the bowsprit. No toilet paper required ... :-)
Google this and you will find this is true. Anyway, BoatUS is towing us now to Newburyport, where Bremer Speck will be hauled out next week. Then the fun begins. I better start printing some money now. I will need it.

Saturday Morning Sail Near Boston

I awoke at 0500 hours to blue skies and a light breeze and am sailing along the coast at about 2.1 knots. A nice and peaceful morning. It is now 0800 and I am watching one of these huge LNG tanker crossing our bow a mile or so ahead of us.
It will remain peacefully quiet because... our motor is more or less kaputt and sailing is all we can do! We had already noticed some excessive oil useage and that is why I had bought 5 gallons worth in Block Island. We have used about 4 of those 5 gallons since we have left BI 20 hours ago... !!! Scary, to say the least.
Early this morning, the engine pressure dropped again rapidly and I shut-down the engine. When I removed the oil filler cap, I noticed some brown, foamy sludge attached to the underside of the cap. Werner believes that the motor may have water in it. Not good, not good at all. This is probably also a result of the bashing we took during the storm. Unbeknown to me, because I was asleep at the time, Gabi told me of 2 near knock-downs, where the port or starboard rails where briefly below the waterline. I think it was breaking waves hitting the side of the boat because a knock-down would have been noticed by everyone, no doubt.
Rather than wasting another gallon of motor oil, which would probably not provide enough pressure for more than 1 hour, if that, I decided to take advantage of my 25 years of membership in BoatUS. I have called them 1 hour ago and they have arranged for a towboat out of Newburyport, which will tow us into port.
I will have to check what services are available. I know Windward Yacht Yard and believe they do engine repairs. It will be interesting to find out, if anybody answers the phone on this bright and sunny Saturday morning.
Well, I am afraid, that I will support the economy in a big way and very soon!
Stay tuned.

Block Island Retreat

After having hove-to for 2 nights and sailing under bare poles in between to cope with heavy, confused seas, we did eventually make it to Block Island. We went into the Old Harbor and tied-up in front of the Harbor Master's office. The sun came out, it was warm and life was good. Time to relax, dry and air out the boat and ... order 5 gallons of motor oil, to be delivered by ferry from the mainland, because the oil pressure alarm had sounded off a few times to alert us to low oil pressure. We found out that the engine was quickly losing oil. We do not know why. We added 2 of the 5 gallons and the pressure has returned to normal. I am watching, though. Our 2 days on Block Island were very relaxing. We ate out and stuffed ourselves with great seafood. I even managed to go to get a haircut... :-) ... We are motoring towards Marion \ Cape Cod Canal now, as I am typing this post. Not wanting to sound commercial, but the Internet connection via the "Skipper 150" is really great. I love it. Anyway, on leaving Block Island, as soon as we dropped the lines and begun to motor out of the harbor, the huge Cat Ferry blasted its horns and started to follow in our wake. What a sight! It almost felt like she was going to go right over us. The tunnel between the 2 hulls looked big enough. Well, no worries, as soon as there was enough room to pass, her captain "put the pedal to the metal", she rose out of the water and roared right past us, about 50 feet away. You can imagine the wake she left behind her. Very impressive, though. The captain even waved at us as he went by. Or, perhaps, he used his hand to give us a signal. :-) It was hard to see. I am sitting in the pilothouse typing away, watching our course on the big screen PC navigation system and the smaller chart plotter. Gabi and Werner are up on deck, steering and watching as the fog is creeping in and taking our visibility away.