The Luck of the Irish?

Well, folks, you can count on the fact that this old man is not full blooded Irish.  That Irish luck has eluded us with the status of the Misty Lady.

The diesel technician pulled the head on the starboard engine only to find that one of the pistons had melted the aluminum top into the compression chamber of the head.  The starboard engine is TOAST.  Break out the check book.

Thanks to the internet and to a couple of sharp diesel advisors, I just this morning ordered and paid for a replacement engine to be mounted in the Misty Lady.  As this process transpires, I will try to photograph the steps.  Delyn has determined that the port engine is okay, just needs some work and it will be good.  The compression is well within tolerance and the exhausts do not smoke.  The engine does have a fuel delivery problem, since we have to spray ether to get a start.  Delyn has indicated that the fuel pump system will need to be repaired but this should not be a huge expense.

So, the starboard engine will be removed, the functioning components removed and installed on the new engine.  How do they accomplish this, since the engine is well below decks and beneath the galley sink and work cabinets?  First, they must cut a hole in the side of our yacht.  The mechanic will work with the yard technicians to identify the area of the hull that will need to be cut.  They will then use a special saw and cut through the side, opening a hole large enough to have a chain attached to the engine and a fork lift to hoist the entire engine up and out of the hole.  This hole thingy did not please us, but evidently it is a standard process to change out one of these large yacht diesel engines.  The diesel and the yard specialists tell us that the closure after the engine work will maintain the entire hull integrity, so we feel better about a huge cash in her side.

The remanufacture company president assured me that the engine will ship first thing this coming week.  Given land transport, expecting about five to six days from the shop to our location.

My goal is to ensure that work on other aspects of the Misty Lady’s upgrade will continue while she is hauled out and on blocks in the yard.  We still have flooring to be laid, fuel to be polished and a washer/dryer combination to be installed.  We will also install a new refrigerator at this time.  Wall treatment options are being evaluated at this point as well.

Good wishes and thoughts as we move through this time and trial.

 

Unknown's avatar

Author: harv1941

Just a summary, I am 84 years of age, retired in July 2013 and settled down to promoting the dangers of bacterial meningitis, which killed my beloved son, Mike in 2009. My wife, Charlotte, and I embarked on an adventure of live aboard cruising, aboard a large Blue Water motor yacht. While our beginning was rather fraught with hurdles, we continued to look forward to the day we moved aboard the Misty Lady and cruise the eastern seaboard and associated waterways. After more than four years of life aboard this Bluewater Motor Yacht, I developed an advanced problem due to interaction with medications and experienced rather frightening balance problems. Therefore, getting on and off the yacht was fraught with danger of falling between the docks and the boat's hull. Walking the docks was also problematic considering that our yacht club docks were all floating docks and my balance problem was a danger during the walk from our yacht's docking slip to the clubhouse or out to the DC Wharf facilities and our car housed in the yacht club's reserved garage. SO, we had to regretfully put the Misty Lady up for sale and move back on shore. We moved on shore, first into a condo apartment in Alexandria, then after two years there, we relocated to the city of Newport News, in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. Our original desired location was in the city of Hampton, Virginia, which is the oldest English-speaking settlement in the United States having been established originally in 1610. My ancestors came to this country through this settlement in the mid 1600s and lived in that area for around 100 years before beginning a migration of one portion of our family toward the west. I looked forward to moving back to this area and exploring the roots of my family, both maternal and paternal ancestry, but we found a great house in the Newport News area and became ensconced in the terrific neighborhood of Kiln Creek. My wife, being still actively employed, received a substantial offer in a position with a government contractor firm back up in Northern Virginia. So we put the Newport News house up for sale, receiving and accepting an offer withing two days. We then relocated back up to the city of Alexandria and into another high rise condo. My wife reached a point where considerations for retirement were becoming very important. She indicated that she really didn't want to retire in Alexandria, so once again we began a house search in the Tidewater area, this time in the City of Williamsburg and in a community restricted to 55+ age owners. We found the ideal location, initiated the sale and closing for our retirement home. We then put our condo on the market. Alas, the market was not as robust as before so we had to change asking price a couple of time, but finally the Alexandria Condo was sold. Now we are set to enjoy the great locations found here in the Tidewater/Hampton Roads area, considering that we are history buffs and there are literally hundreds of historical sites in this segment of our nation. Of course living in Williamsburg is the epitome of history living life. So, now we are in our retirement home, in a great retirement type community. A great clubhouse with a fine dining restaurant, a grill/pub, an award winning PGA designed golf course and miles of walking trails. Looking forward to my wife's eventual full retirement and the two of us visiting all up and down the east coast historical spots.

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