That makes my worrying about cutting open the aft bulkhead look a bit silly. It's astonishing to me that a boat like that wasn't built with removing the engines in mind.
Food, fixes and notes from the casual coastal sailor.
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A galette
Kris Cringle
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September went out in flames
NaClH20
Super ciliary
Having recently repowered the workboat, I heard stories. One was where the engine was buried in the depths of fishing boat. They had limited enclosed working space available. The solution they came up with was to cut the around the engine through the bottom and then lift the rest of the boat away. The resulting section was then wheeled into the shop and engine replaced at leisure. When done, the boat was replaced on top and seams reglassed. Another boat had the old engine cut out in bits, but then had the challenge of getting the new one in up forward under the deck. Again being yard catering to fishing boats they had access to industrial quantities of ice. The engine room was filled with a nice slope from the hatch to the engine beds. The engine was slid in place and positioned above the mounts. Once the ice melted away the engine settled down and then just needed fine tuning.
Ingenious ol’ buggers… But then they were workboats, and the standards of finish there tend to be a little lax. I’ve seen some astonishingly asymmetrical and lumpy boats out making a living
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Kris Cringle
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Listening to four bald eagles overhead this morning, joy riding on a crisp north wind.
Ajax
Super Anarchist
@Elegua would have posted his Italian dish of tuna and beans but it's been 4-5 days now and the beans are still as hard as stone. I think he's burned through 7lbs of propane trying to soften them up. I think he bought these beans from a shady character on the side of the road who promised that they were "magic beans." Pity, the sauce was delicious.
I brought down eggplant caponata and crusty bread to his boat to enjoy on a blustery, rainy evening. The apple galette was delicious. We've taken turns cooking dishes for each other.
I took him and his crew into town to Bacon Sails and Fawcett's Marine, then food shopping. I shuttle some jugs of water down to the boat every few days to keep them topped up. This weekend, we're going to take a joint cruise to hit various destinations in the Choptank River.
The remnants of hurricane Ian initially pushed the water from the eastern shore over to us causing Elegua to have to rappel upwards onto his boat from the dock. The wind has now shifted due north and I suspect we're about to see a precipitous drop in water levels. He'll be stuck in the mud until Thursday and have to step down onto the boat.
I brought down eggplant caponata and crusty bread to his boat to enjoy on a blustery, rainy evening. The apple galette was delicious. We've taken turns cooking dishes for each other.
I took him and his crew into town to Bacon Sails and Fawcett's Marine, then food shopping. I shuttle some jugs of water down to the boat every few days to keep them topped up. This weekend, we're going to take a joint cruise to hit various destinations in the Choptank River.
The remnants of hurricane Ian initially pushed the water from the eastern shore over to us causing Elegua to have to rappel upwards onto his boat from the dock. The wind has now shifted due north and I suspect we're about to see a precipitous drop in water levels. He'll be stuck in the mud until Thursday and have to step down onto the boat.
Elegua
Generalissimo
Those beans will be cooked into submission. High water has come, Hell isn’t here yet, but I think I can see it.
Cruisin Loser
Super Anarchist
Elegua's OK, his Mom is a hoot!
Kris Cringle
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We're often asked to explain Maine coastal culture clash to visiting sailors:
Who knows? If you were out there all day pulling lobster pots, you might do some strange things as well.
Not excusing the behavior, but I've given up trying to figure out lobstermen. Maybe because I have a boat that looks like a lobsterboat, they tend to ignore me, which works fine for me.
Ajax
Super Anarchist
I think watermen can be strange in general, not just lobstermen.
A friend of mine anchored in a creek on the eastern shore of southern Maryland. A very out-of-the-way place not frequented by any kind of recreational boaters let alone sailors. They arrived in the evening after dark. They were the only boat in the creek. They were very quiet and turned in promptly after cooking dinner. No partying, no music, no drinking.
Apparently a waterman/crabber took exception to their presence and began running a trot line for crabs at around 3am. He ran the trot line pretty close to my buddy's boat. He motored up and down the line aggressively, keeping a wake rocking my buddy's boat. Each time he reached the end of the trot line, he would blare gospel music from a radio onboard and pray loudly.
Cruisin Loser
Super Anarchist
They get bored and do it for fun. No harm intended. Had a one do that off Isle Au Haut maybe 15 years ago. It was a teenager on the boat. The skipper came by to apologise when we picked up a mooring in the Thorofare and he saw we had little kids aboard. We laughed it off and shared a couple of nice beers. Good folks.
They do get pretty tired of people from New York and Boston. When I asked one "is it because they love giving advice to people who are happier than they are?" he laughed, said, "that may or may not be it, but I'm using that from now on".
Interestingly, the "Midland, Texas" hail port on my transom occasionally draws nasty mutterings in southern New England. Downeast it helps me make friends with the locals, with whom we find we have a lot in common.
They do get pretty tired of people from New York and Boston. When I asked one "is it because they love giving advice to people who are happier than they are?" he laughed, said, "that may or may not be it, but I'm using that from now on".
Interestingly, the "Midland, Texas" hail port on my transom occasionally draws nasty mutterings in southern New England. Downeast it helps me make friends with the locals, with whom we find we have a lot in common.
Elegua
Generalissimo
Lobstermen are having a particularly tough year with high fuel and low off the boat prices, so they seemed to be particularly ornery this year. I don’t blame them. But then I also don’t care when they get bent out of shape because I happen to be sailing near one of their lines that they placed in the channel. I have a local hailing port so they can get fucked with people-from-away crap, though people-from-away can really grind my gears. All those morans lining up for Reds Eats and messing up traffic. And what is it with people from NH? I ran into at least 3 or 4 complete jackwagons all with NH hails.
Kris Cringle
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Libertarian,...Live Free or Die, 'my way or the highway',... history still permeates through local culture?
You were smart moving down the coast when you did. So far this fall has been historically cooler. How is the Perkins running?
Ajax
Super Anarchist
I have finally met Mrs. @Elegua or as I refer to her- The Auditor.
She is just the sweetest person with a bright, upbeat personality. She has already endeared herself to my wife who is looking forward to spending more time with her.
I have arranged to trade a dozen fresh eggs from my chickens for some of her culinary delights. Maybe we'll post some photos this weekend.
She is just the sweetest person with a bright, upbeat personality. She has already endeared herself to my wife who is looking forward to spending more time with her.
I have arranged to trade a dozen fresh eggs from my chickens for some of her culinary delights. Maybe we'll post some photos this weekend.
Kris Cringle
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You've turned the season when you jump onboard and notice the boat smells like woodsmoke below. A good familiar smell that will fade over the long winter storage.
Just like home, we're spending more time, 'below' in the old 'house' on the water.
Meals were nearly all enjoyed on deck through the summer months in daylight.
Now most meals are below with cabin lights glowing that were rarely switched on in summer.
Some heat to take the chill off is a pleasure if not a necessity.
Blankets that were mostly stored over the summer are back in use.
Everything is a buzz on the mainland in the fall.
It's very quiet out here on the water.
Just like home, we're spending more time, 'below' in the old 'house' on the water.
Meals were nearly all enjoyed on deck through the summer months in daylight.
Now most meals are below with cabin lights glowing that were rarely switched on in summer.
Some heat to take the chill off is a pleasure if not a necessity.
Blankets that were mostly stored over the summer are back in use.
Everything is a buzz on the mainland in the fall.
It's very quiet out here on the water.
Elegua
Generalissimo
Yeah, that NW’er was great - got us all the way to Cape May. It’s been chilly down here too and 5 days of heavy rain.
Mr. Perkins has worked a lot more hours than he is used to. Put about 75hrs on him and we changed the oil and sent it out for analysis. That might tell us how much damage might have been done running on fuel diluted oil. So far he has not balked when asked to work, not gotten too hot and held a steady oil pressure.. Coming up Delaware we got a small reduction in oil pressure possibly from running hard that corrected itself once we backed off (water temps were fine). If the mains were seriously borked, we’d probably know by now. The question is did we wear through, how much did we wear through, the hardened layers on key parts when we ran on the diluted fuel.
Mr. Ajax has been keeping us well fed and secure on his dock. He’s got a small slice of paradise and really gone above and beyond caring for some indigent sailors.
Hi Elegua,
I have an old Perkins 4.236 in my boat. The oil pressure is a bit lower when the engine is well and truly warmed up (hours past when the thermostat has stabilized), and a bit higher when the oil is cold. About 5-10 psi difference. A mechanic told us this is normal, which I choose not to examine too closely because I like the answer. Anyway, it hasn't been a problem - maybe that is what you experienced.
We're waiting for the wind to veer NW this evening; sailing down to Cape May and then motoring up the Delaware. Expecting it to be a lot more pleasant than the NE we rode down last year.
Woodsmoke sounds nice. This past week of cold NE wind and rain had us running the little kerosene heater more than ever before. It doesn't smell strongly of kerosene, but the hint you pick up isn't nearly as nice as wood. It kept us warm and cozy though.
Russell Brown
Super Anarchist
One of the many need for my future cruising boat is space for a wood stove. It's as important to me as standing headroom (somewhere) and comfortable seating. I know lots of spots to cut the good firewood North of here, but since 2015 I've been sailing a boat with no wood stove and no space for one. I get to help my cruising buddy cut firewood and even benefit from it, but it's not the same.
This is my cruising buddy. We've done tons of trips together since 1994, sometimes long ones, sometimes lots of them in a season. My buddy has owned it over 50 years.
This is my cruising buddy. We've done tons of trips together since 1994, sometimes long ones, sometimes lots of them in a season. My buddy has owned it over 50 years.
