Solomons

Washburn's Boat Yard
38 19.959 N
76 27.530W

We are trying to figure out how to "manage the tide" so after vast research we decided to time our trip back to Solomons so as the ride the ebb tide down the St Marys/Potomac Rivers and then catch the flood back "up" the Chesapeake to the Solomons. So we were up early and under way by at least 9AM. We are docked at Washburns now. I have no clue what happened to the tide thing.

Monday July 23, 2012

We got off to a good start. Eric (seems like he is the boatyard boss) was on board by about 8AM to plan our visit. He had called us last week and suggested we arrived a few days later because they were running a few days behind, but it seemed things had worked out OK and so the work could start.

We were assigned a mechanic - Rick. He would work on the windlass and the engine issues and service. Rick seemed like a nice guy but had trouble speaking as his jaw had been wired shut for the last six weeks as the result of a punch. Eric would be our electrician and work on the #2 Gen issues, the #2 charger issues. XXX would be the toilet guy (I felt bad for him) but he was home sick (good decision)! It was understood that I was to be the under-study so that I would be able to deal with simular issues in the future. 


Rick as able to point me to a computer guy. My pilot house computer had crashed and I suspected the worst. The computer guy turned up and confirmed the worst - the hard drive had crashed - and took it away. Oh well. 

NOT "Tide Hiker"

We are docked next to the "travel-lift" so we get to see boats pulled out of the water. By dark Monday the boat was a mess - but things were moving forward. Deidre grilled some salmon for dinner but after a couple of bites we decided it was off. 


Tuesday July 24th, 2012


The TV antenna man came. The Olympics start Friday! We are frustrated by our current TV access - we have ZERO channels currently. So we signed up to install a satellite dish. Its expensive, but we will run out of books soon.


Work on the boat continued. parts have been ordered for the Windlass. Parts have been ordered for the toilet. The #2 Gen is OK and both chargers are working, the base problem is that the AC units (there are three) are old and pulling too much electricity. Today I participated in changing the impeller in a generator, "rodding" the heat exchanger (to get the remains of the impeller out), changing the primary and secondary fuel filters on the main engines and bleeding the fuel pump. Not a bad day.


Tuesday night we went out for dinner with the people we met at St. Mary's last week.


Wednesday July 25th, 2012


More of the same today. I was able to get into "town" and buy some replacement software for my computer, and spent much of the afternoon loading programs and recovering data. So far so good, but I have lost a lot of data.

Cleaning the bow (you can see the stain)

The highlight was Deidre getting into the dinghy and cleaning the bow. She did a great job, but ran into a hitch when I forgot to check on her for 30 minutes and got stuck between the boat and the pier. Tacos for dinner.


Thursday July 26th, 2012


Big day today, the satellite TV arrives! And "Bruce" the TV man was right on time. We also asked Bruce to sort out the surround sound on the TV. Which he has done. Deidre and I watched TV until the wee hours - we were suffering "Law and Order" withdrawal! But we are organized for the Opening Ceremony tomorrow. Also, parts for the toilet and windlass arrived today, so the aim was to get all the jobs wrapped up today and Friday, so we can get on the road. Boboli for dinner. 


Friday July 27th, 2012


All the work was wrapped up by lunch, and we got the bill - it was as expected - five boat units (plus 3 boat units for the satellite). We celebrated by washing the decks and generally cleaning up.

Summary of work:


1. WINDLASS: The top half of the windlass needed an overhaul. It had become difficult to manage. I had tried to dismantle and lubricate it without success.

* The mechanic had some trouble, but the difference was that he knew what he was doing. Both clutch surfaces were worn down to the rivets, and the shaft was corroded and abraded. The clutch surfaces were replaced and the shaft cleaned up. It works well now.

2. SALT WATER TOILET: The salt water supply pump had stopped working. We could use the toilet with a bucket of water.

* The pump was obsolete. So a new pump was installed remotely and it works fine.

3. SANITATION TANK SMELL: We can process sewerage with the Electro San or store sewerage in the "black tank", but that choice caused a smell. Some places we are not allowed to discharge even processed sewerage over the side.

* It was determined that our vent hose was blocked and leaking,and it was replaced.

4. SECOND CHARGER DID NOT WORK: We have two battery chargers for the house bank, but the battery monitor suggested that the second one did not work. That made charging the batteries with the generator seem very inefficient.

* It was determined that I was looking at the wrong gauge.

5. SMALL 7.5 kVA Generator issues: 
     a. The small gen destroyed its impeller a week ago. I had a replacement but I was concerned about where all the bits were.

* The mechanic "rodded" the head exchanger.

     b. The small gen will barely run one AC unit. The gauges suggest the voltage is not balanced.

The small gen checked out OK - but the three a/c pumps are "at the end of thier useful life", and are pullong too much current, and need to be replaced. We are getting a quote.

6. OUTBOARD MOTOR
     a. The starter motor is loose, the bendix gear and the ring gear are getting chewed up.

* There are two bolts - to get to the second one the mechanic had to take the bloody thing apart. But it starts well now.

     b. The throttle/transmission linkage is broken.

* I had the parts but thought I would let the mechanic do it :). He also serviced the foot.

7. WATERMAKER LEAKING

When I tried to flush the element each week, it leaked water all over the place.

* A hose clamp was defective and was replaced.

8. INSTALL SPARE FAN BELT ON STB ENGINE

There was a spare fan belt in place on the port engine when we took possession of the boat. I used it when the belt failed in Florida. To put a spare in place.you have to remove the Stabilizer PTO and I wanted to be shown how.

* Spare is now in place and "maybe" I could do it.