On Tuesday this week, the diesel mechanic showed up with a sack of tools and an A-frame to begin hoisting the engine out of it’s mounts in the bottom of our boat. He had a long trailer attached to his truck and gave me the impression that he might be leaving the trailer in place and removing the engine in actuality on a different day.
The focus he said was to get the top parts off to allow the engine to slip through the window of the galley. and then to lift it up and out of the engine bay. The picture below shows the engine on the A Frame and note that it is out of the hole!
As you can see, by comparing the engine to the large mechanic who pulled it, the Cat Diesel is a rather large engine. At the back of the engine, is the transmission. A friend said that the transmission looked awfully small for such a large engine and boat. I reminded him that the thing only had two gears, forward and reverse. D’oh
I spoke with the mechanic at the time of this picture and was given to believe that it might not be removed that day. Said more work needed to be done before takin it out of the boat! I left the yard and worked on some other tasks (no not another phone thingy). Later that afternoon, I drove back to the yacht center and as I drove down the hill into the yard and noted the mechanic’s truck backing up from the hill road, out of the center. When I got to the bottom of the hill, I pulled over and spoke with two of the center folks asking what he was doing. They told me that they had already pulled the engine out of my boat, loaded it and the new one I bought on his trailer. He couldn’t make the hill climb the first try and was backing up to get a better running start. See with TWO diesel engines on the trailer, along with heads, and other misc components, his truck just didn’t have enough power to move that load up the hill. On the second try, he made it to the top and my engines were on their way to the guy’s shop. There he will send some components out to be scanned and evaluated as to whether they are still viable and can be returned to service on the new engine, or if not, they will have to be replaced. So, because I was not aware that it was coming out, I missed some truly exciting photos of this process. BUT, you can bet your bippy, that I will be standing there with both my phone camera and m big Canon camera.
At this point we are expecting approximately a two week period until the engines are returned with the new one to be reinstalled and the old one to be sent off to the company we bought the new engine from to receive a refund of my 2,500 dollar “core” charge.
Also, the diesel fuel that had been in the fuel tank for around 7 years was to be polished and prepared for our new engines and our initial voyage home to the DC waterfront. The fuel service company had scheduled a time of 9 am on Thursday. Naturally, my inclination following weeks of minimal commitment by contractors, was to disbelieve them. Funny thing, at 9 am exactly the guys showed up with their trailer and equipment. They went straight to work and ran my fuel through their system three times, each time getting the fuel more clear and clean. The entire process tool slightly over an hour and the cost was the smallest fee I have paid yet! What a day?
The yacht center crew also removed our dingy from the upper after deck and cleaned it up/ The took the Honda outboard engine into their shop to check it for ability to start and run/ The photo below is a picture of the outboard engine on a work rack without the engine cover. Turns out with all the exposure to rain and wind, that little Honda engine started right up, after they pulled the plugs and cleaned them.
The cover is on the bench right behind the engine. The floor wood of the dingy was not so lucky. It was significantly water damaged and will need to be replaced. Not a costly thing however.
The yacht center crew also started the process of treating the bottom of the boat in preparation to apply two coats of anti-fouling paint. This will keep those pesky sea critters from attaching themselves to the boat and making a meal out of the paint.
The new washer and dryer have arrived and will be installed as soon as the technicians can get to them and on board the Lady. Some structural modifications will be required to install these two appliances since the boat was not originally designed for this type of appliance combination.
Then once the engine has been reinstalled, the yard crew will replace the floor panels install a fiberglass repair to stabilize the panel insertion, we will begin the process of preparing the Lady to receive her owners and the two sea cats. The yard crew will reinstall the galley cabinet, the new stove, dishwasher and refrigerator in the galley. We will then install a new granite countertop on the galley cabinet. The bottom painting will be completed during this phase.
At that point we will then hoist the yacht with the huge Travelift and put her back into the water. The picture below shows our new GMC Terrain Denali but in the background you can see the actual Travelift. It is a huge blue beast.
Those big straps will be placed under the Lady’s hull and she will be lifted up into the air and then moved over to the “haul out” slip and lowered back into the waters. She will be very happy to return to her natural habitat and so will WE!!
Another good thing that happened this week is that the graphics people sent us final proofs for the name plate and the stern name graphics for our new name. So shortly her old name will be permanently removed and her new legal name will be posted for all to see and marvel in awe.
Our new bridge canvas is scheduled to be delivered and installed around the 15th of July and the Misty Lady will begin to shine under her new color scheme of White and Navy Blue.
We still have some decorative things to accomplish but these can be done while we are back living aboard. The owner of the yacht center has reserved a slip for us that has a good side finger pier and access to the stern which will accommodate the movement of items from the shore to the boat along with all of our personal belongings. AND most important, the coffee pot!
More to come as things progress. We are looking at a sea trial to evaluate the new engines and some refresher lessons for the old man (new lesson for Char) on piloting a yacht of this size. We will learn how to use the engines rather than a rudder to move into a slip and most daringly, up to the fuel dock for taking on new supplies of diesel.
Stay tuned for these upcoming events, should be interesting.
Misty Lady Thought and Comment 