Today is the day we really start hemorrhaging money.
I ordered the copper coat: seven kits at $120 per kit are necessary to coat CaroBabbo. It is a four-day process, however, this should be the last time I put a bottom on CaroBabbo.
Jennifer sent out the check to Jim kitchen for $2500, and the water maker shipped yesterday, charging my credit card $3500. I’ll order the new burners today for a £115 each, and tomorrow I will pick up the new injectors which were $115 apiece to be rebuilt. I’ll allow you to do the arithmetic, it’s much too harrowing.
Jennifer has sensibly suggested I do the minimum to the old dinghy here at Lake Union, and sell it for what ever I can get, so that we get beyond it. She’s right, of course. The oars, spars, centerboard and rudder are in the workshop drying out. I’ll sand and get them painted today.
Yesterday, I met with David at Fisheries, who spent some very generous time with me discussing synthetic halyards and various aspects of standing rigging.
He is very in favor of synthetic halyards, and since I will be adding one new halyard, I’ll make that one synthetic to get some experience. Fisheries will make up a halyard for me if I wish – the halyard is dyneema, with an outer covering from a sacrificed piece of nylon line. The cover will run from the back end of the halyard past the winch. I need to learn how to do this, and if it is an ancillary halyard, I can use it as primary to test my work. The Dyneema itself will be 3/16″. It is quite inexpensive, actually.
How to measure? David’s answer was too simple for words: just use the measurements from your current halyard. I wasn’t bright enough to figure this out on my own.
Rick from Seattle Injectors and I spoke yesterday. All three injectors are shot. He says we have bad fuel and water in the fuel killed the injectors. The question, which he was not able to answer easily, is whether there is water currently in the fuel, or whether it was the terrible stuff we picked up at Kake. I think Kake, which completely gummed up the filters.
Either way, they need to be rebuilt. Seattle Injectors cannot supply the seals between the injectors and the block. I went to MER and met Norm, with whom I dealt in June. The seals and washers or something like $20 per injector.
While I was there Norman and I spoke about my refund from when I returned the hard fuel lines last June: I never received the refund.
Norm checked, and Yep, he never approved the pending refund. That will help my AMEX balance, but it will be a little bit like cutting funding for the arts as a way of balancing the federal budget.
I spoke with both Norm and Rick about air and fuel lines. Neither had any new ideas, but then no one has. It’s looking like I will add an electric fuel pump to the circuit. This will help bleed the lines, will allow me to fill the fuel filter after changing it, and perhaps with the pressure in the fuel lines allow me to see where the air leak is by putting pressure on the connection.
I suspect the problem is between the small filter on the engine and the injector pump. I would really like this problem to go away!
It’s time to start watching the weather so that we can pick what day next week we will move CaroBabbo.
I will also place a large order with fisheries today and have it shipped to Port Townsend. I’m hoping I can actually select items to be shipped in person at the store, rather being restricted to choosing purchases for shipment online. There are some things I’d like to actually hold in my hand before making the purchase. I could, of course, just record the SKU of each item and then just order online.
We haven’t moved CaroBabbo in five months! We haven’t started the engine, or anything like that. (I generally start the engine and run up the revs once a month as part of my monthly maintenance.)
It’s looking like Friday is the day to start the engine with the rebuilt injectors, and then I can hopefully get back to Jennifer on Friday night. The last ferry that connects with the bus to Port Townsend is at 3:45 in the afternoon. Otherwise, I won’t leave Seattle until Saturday.
John,
Who was that commodore that is so often quoted,
“A boat is a hole in the water into which you constantly throw money!”?
John,
Perhaps you should try the old tire trick. If possible, while the engine is stopped or rotated slowly to add a lot of pressure to the area in which you suspect the leak, paint it with soapy water and look for the leaks. I’m not sure of the procedure but certainly you know the idea. Is it possible to get 20 pounds or more air pressure on these suspected lines or joints?
Dad