|
Home Port Our Logs The Crew Calendar Favorite Links The Boat Photo Album Route and Charts Miscellaneous Stuff |
Larry's LogSaturday, the 9th, we finally did leave the marina. We had been there a month and a day. Strangely enough, the marina had a monthly rate and a daily rate, but staying longer than the full month you had to start paying the daily rate again. We left after filling up with water, running the vacuum once more and going to the bakery one last time. We got to the anchorage at Ste. Anne at about 6pm and used the Bruce-type anchor we had gotten from Mima. They had given it to us because Tom wanted it off the boat. On their way to Martinique, they had hit very rough seas and it had bounced out of the roller and scratched their new paint job. Tom was angry at it so off it came. For me, it was a step up in weight since I had been using a 45-pound CQR, and I hoped it would work well. It had worked well as a step onto the boat from the dock. I also had a tough time stowing the CQR so I didn't want to have to try to re-attach it if the claw didn't work. Fortunately, the anchor seemed to hold well and we settled in. The next day was a quiet one although the wind had picked up again. I decided that the tools needed to be cleaned so I started that process, using engine oil as the cleaning agent. I had used WD40 in the past but that didn't seem to work well in the long run so I used heavier 40-weight oil. It left a thin film that I hoped would protect the tools better. Cleaning all the tools would take some time and we had been so busy before leaving the marina that I didn't want to be too active so I just let them soak before cleaning them. I really just wanted to be lazy but I figured that was close enough. I had gotten another Patrick O'Brian book from Mima and started to read that so I guess I was relaxing a little. I know people back home have the feeling that we don't do much out here, but IT AIN'T TRUE. For example, comparing boat and house maintenance is a very different thing. Houses don't move constantly and have components that are protected from the weather. Boats are always moving and most things in a boat are exposed, at least occasionally, to salt spray or rain. Well, if it were too easy, everyone would do it! We didn't leave the boat that day or the next, mostly because it was blowing so hard but also because we were really just relaxing. It was very pleasant in the anchorage even with the wind howling and occasional rain showers. Just having some privacy was nice. The wind was great though for providing power and we hadn't run the engine yet to charge the batteries. Tuesday, the 12th, we finally left the boat to go into town, bringing the garbage. We also went to the bakery and the bank. Unfortunately, the bank was closed for Carnival and the ATM was broken. At least the bakery was open. Later in the afternoon, we went in to play bocce ball on the beach. We played one game and then we celebrated Liz's, from Mystique, birthday. Another cruiser had baked a cake and someone else brought in some champagne so we had a nice party. After we got back to the boat, Jim and Jacque from Lady J came over for drinks and snacks. We enjoyed their company a lot, and their story of how they met as teenagers and then later got married twenty years later. The next morning, Diane, Jacque and Ghislane, from Piano, went for a walk in the morning. While they were gone I ran the engine to charge the batteries, and discovered that the problem with the regulator was still there. After charging for about 50 minutes, everything looked good, with up to 70 amps and 14.2 volts, the problem reappeared. The regulator had just gone into the absorption stage of charging in which the voltage is maintained at 14.2 volts (for AGM batteries) while the amps decreases slowly. Absorption is supposed to last for an hour (adjustable). After being in absorption for just 3 minutes though, the regulator flashed an error that it couldn't turn on the alternator field, and of course, there were then no amps coming out and the voltage dropped. The error condition lasted about 30-40 seconds and the regulator then went into the float stage, skipping the rest of the absorption phase. Since that was wrong, I stopped the engine, figuring I would restart the process. When I restarted the engine, it flashed an error also, so I just stopped for the day. Looking back at it though, this error may have been a normal part of the startup process; I didn't bother to see if it stopped - I just turned off the engine again and let it go for the day. Needless to say, I was very upset; I thought the problem had been solved. The test I ran while in the marina had been successful, so evidently there was still something wrong with either the ignition switch (probably) or the wiring. When Diane came back around lunchtime, I explained the problem and she was upset also, but adamantly said we weren't going into the marina again. She didn't like the marina due to lack of privacy I said if we needed to go in again, we would, but we would have to see what I could figure out. Neither of us was happy! A little later, Ghislane called and asked if we were going to shore to see the Carnival parade that evening. Diane wanted to go but I wasn't really in the mood so after an early dinner, Jan and Ghislane picked up Diane and went in. They said it was pretty nice but I just didn't want to go in at that point. I sent out an email to Jack Rabbit Marine again, asking if I could use the jumper wire as a temporary workaround for the problem until I could replace the ignition switch. He answered me the next day and said it would be fine, just to remember to disconnect it when not running the engine. The next day, Valentine's Day, I worked on checking the wiring again. I found a wire from the starter positive lead that ran to the ignition switch. It powered everything that came off the switch so I checked it and the fuse that was in line. It looked fine but I cleaned everything anyway, tested the voltage again and there was no voltage drop from the battery cable to the switch, so I knew that was OK. I was going to test the regulator/ignition switch again but decided to wait a day. We just relaxed most of the day and had a nice bottle of champagne (that we didn't use from New Year's). Diane went for a walk with Jackie and Ghislane the next morning so I took the opportunity to run the engine again and see if my cleaning the wire to the switch made any difference. It didn't. As the last time, the charging went very well for the first 45 minutes. The regulator was still in the bulk charging stage when the error appeared, the same symptoms as before, again lasting only 35-40 seconds. This time though, the regulator went back to the bulk phase. I continued charging. The error then appeared again, lasting briefly, and the regulator would then go back to normal. I let the engine run while charging continued for a total of 2 hours. The error continued to occur every 5 minutes or so, sometimes once a minute, but sometimes normal charging went for 7-8 minutes between problems. It was always the same error - "can't turn on field." Every time the regulator would go back to normal charging, with the alternator producing amps and bringing up the voltage to where it should be. In my mind, I figured it must be the ignition switch. I would rig a wire that could be connected and disconnected to the regulator's on/off tab directly from the batteries and see if that would confirm the diagnosis. Fortunately, the batteries did get fully charged and the alternator was working, I was just concerned that "exciting" the field on the alternator like that was damaging it. The next morning I got out my electrical supplies and tools and put on the temporary wire that would hopefully be a temporary fix for the "bad" ignition switch. We planned to play bocce ball that afternoon and I wanted to be able to test run the engine when we got back. Diane decided to go to the bakery to get a baguette for lunch so while I continued working, she got in the dinghy and left. As I was working, I heard her on the VHF calling Lady J in a slightly nervous voice. Jim answered her and she asked if he could come out to get her - she had run out of gas! Oh well. Jim went out and I just continued working since there wasn't much I could do. I knew I would hear about it when she got back. Someone had towed her to shore but Jim waited there while she got some bread and a few other little things. Jim also gave her a little gas and then followed her back to Destiny. Thanks Jim. When she got back, we had lunch and I put gas in the engine and tried it. It started but not very easily and stalled again. We had been having problems with the engine but I thought they were solved once I put the small Racor filter in to prevent water and dirt from getting in the engine. I had done that while in St. Lucia, after having the major problems there. After working on it for a bit, it seems to start up and run so I took it for a test run. It ran fine and I opened it up for 5 minutes. No problem but then it just stalled, as if it were out of fuel. I knew there was gas in the tank, and I could see fuel in the small inline filter, and when I squeezed the bulb, fuel squirted out of the fuel connector to the engine. I started it again and figured that the problem now was that the engine was having a hard time sucking enough fuel through the Racor. I could simply pump the squeeze bulb a bit while underway to make sure it had enough fuel. Later that day, Diane and I went to pick up Ghislane and go to bocce ball. On the way to Piano, even though I pumped the bulb, the engine stalled and I couldn't get it started again. Another cruiser, happening by in their dinghy, gave us a tow back to the boat and said they would tell Piano what happened. I worked on the engine while Jan and Ghislane came over. Jan drove Diane and Ghislane to shore and then came back to see how I was doing. Unfortunately, I couldn't even get the engine started. He went back to Piano and I continued to work on the engine. At one point, I knew there was fuel getting to the engine since I directly connected the hose from the tank to the hose into the carburetor. I squeezed the bulb until it was firm so I knew there was fuel reaching the engine. After struggling with it for over an hour while sitting in the dinghy and getting wet (it was very breezy and the boat was bouncing around), I decided that I needed to work on it in the cockpit, so I hoisted it on deck using our lift. After struggling by myself to get it on the stern platform, I just relaxed until Diane came home, ferried by Jan and Ghislaine. |