Saturday, February 11, 2012

All In Good Time

It has taken over two months to get New Horizon back running on both engines, due to its exhaust problem. Today we finally had both Yanmars running at the same time...what a milestone!

Before:



During:

Finally the new flange inserts are fabricated at the welding shop. At one point they needed both of the old exhaust pipes, so we couldn't run either engine.




"The doctor is in!" Actually these coveralls saved his skin in more ways than one. What a dirty, sooty job. By the last day in the engine room, they were black.




When Dave tried to hook up the exhaust hose on the starboard side, it split. Luckily he had a piece left over from a few years ago when he replaced the same hose on the port side. The problem was that this very stiff hose needed to have a bend in it, in order to fit in the tight quarters. He rigged up this spanish windlass to put the curve in it. We were hoping it would heat up in the sun and take a set, but it didn't work well.



He modified it so that the set up would be permanent and adjustable.



Once installed, the clamps couldn't be tightened down, so he ended up with sooty saltwater all over himself, parts, and tools when the engine started. The proper T-bolt clamps are non-existent here in the Bahamas, so we had to wait for them to come from the U.S. We still need another set of them for the other side, but for now the clamps on there are holding. We also need to get special packing to make it leak free. For now though, at least we are back up and running.

After:


Sleep well Dave! You persevered and deserve the rest. Plus the next step will be cleaning the barnacles and growth off the bottom of the boat so we can move and steer. It's hard to tell if the grass growing is from the bottom up or the boat bottom down! The weather is back to 60 degrees for a few days, so he gets a reprieve. Who wants to travel when it's cold and blowing 20+ knots of wind anyway.

"All in good time." Welcome to the Bahamas, Mon!

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