We are on board and eating again

We took a photo of last nights dinner as it was yummy and a delight after being on the water since 5 am. Unfortunately, it did not save. Let me try to describe the plate. We had green aspiration (combo of aspagus and broccoli), pasta with garlic, parsley and olive oil and Lindsay Green Tofu. YUM!
So, what I did was heat my skillet with some oil add one pound of pressed, chopped tofu. Sautee for a few minutes and then turn down the heat to medium to cook out the water. Using a silicone steamer I placed my rinsed trimmed aspiration in the skillet with the tofu and thought I was quite clever to use that heat/steam to cook the vegetable.

Whlie the tofu cooked I heated the water for the pasta, it is boxed pasta but I only add the water not the fats they call for and I drizzle the pasta with extra virgin olive oil to finish it off.

I cooked the pasta, 8 minutes, turned that off , stirred the tofu that was browning nicely in the pan. Cooked that for another 5 minutes added soy sauce stirred and as soon as the soy sauce started to bubble I took it off the heat transferred the tofu to dinner plates. I added nutritional yeast and set aside. Drizzling some oil into the used skillet I turned back on the heat tossed the aspiration to finish it off. Total time 25 minutes start to plating. We had been on the go for 13 hours and needed something warm and healthy and quick. This fit the bill!

Let me know if you need more directions but really I just eyeball the soy sauce, you don't want to saturate it but use it a seasoning maybe 2 tablespoons. The nutritional yeast flakes I order from swanson vitamins and love it. It is full of b vitamins and has a nutty flavor. Its great on popcorn. I use a quarter of a cup ususally and sometimes more.
This was a good meal

Last Beaufort Evening

We spent Thursday re-rigging sails and completing last minute boat tasks. 

Today was devoted to provisioning and moving aboard. 

Now we are going to spend our last 2012 Beaufort evening with friends. 

Tomorrow we are planning a 05:00 departure to correspond with the slack tide in Beaufort inlet.

C'est la Vie tied up at Beaufort Docks ready for an early morning departure

C'est la Vie tie up to the Beaufort City Docks

C'est la Vie is resting in the water at the Beaufort Docks after five months on the hard at Burbridge & Wilson  Marine.  As with every launch day the pre-launch hours are a blur of last minute prep... a final coat of bottom paint, wax the boot stripe, polish the bow pulpit, install the dodger, heft the dinghy back on deck, et. al.
 

C'est la Vie awaiting the travel lift for launching

still awaiting the completion of the new mainsail cover and need to install head sail.

The launch went smoothly with no surprises or hiccups... Whew!  Hanging in the slinging checking thru-hull fittings and starting the engine is always nerve wracking for me.

The new engine room sound proofing works amazingly well.  Because I'm accustom to adjusting the throttle by the volume of the engine when first pulling away from the boat yard basin I ran the engine at way too high an RPM.  Once we gained the ICW, and checked the RPM gauge, I  discovered the needle up in the 3600 range.  Our typical cruising RPM is around 2400.  While approaching the Beaufort Channel Bridge we discovered another quirk of the new sound proofing.  Previously we could hear the engine transition from forward to neutral to reverse.  Now when shifting gears there is only silence. We must rely on visually checking the shift/throttle lever.  I never really thought about my past habits, but now realize the large degree to which I was relying upon engine sounds when operating C'est la Vie under power.  Learning to use more visual cues when motoring is a price we are willing to pay for the reduction in engine noise.

None of our launches are void of unwanted discoveries.  While checking the status of our rebuild dripless shaft seal, I noticed the packing gland on the rudder post is leaking.  High speed packing glands allow some water to pass to serve a lubricant for the packing, but the rudder post should operate fine without allowing water to pass.  By the looks of the brine build-up on the bronze fitting, I'm guessing the leaked has existed for some time.  Fortunately while C'est la Vie is sitting at rest the gland is above the waterline.  Hopefully I can borrow a pipe wrench and remedy the issue before departing Beaufort.

Looking into our crystal ball... we will spend Thursday completing rigging installations, boat clean up, and last minute repairs.  Friday we will move food and personal stuff back on the boat, and very early on Saturday morning we hope to slip out Beaufort Inlet and run outside to at least Masonboro Inlet.

To mark our launch and begin tracking our fall migration southward we have started a new photo album... NC to FL - fall 2012

sub 24 hours to launch

After a week of shuttling vehicles, moving non boat stuff to Everglades City, and celebrating a friends wedding in Athens, GA, we are back at the boat and hastily ticking off the pre-launch to do list.

The engine re-install is complete!

Engine access cabinetry & new sound proofing installed

engine access panel closed and companionway steps back in place.

 Prior to installing the foreward engine compartment cabinetry we did test run the engine in the boat.  After a brief panic due to a loose engine ground wire, the engine ran fine.  I am really looking forward to experiencing to what degree the new sound proofing reduces our engine noise while underway.

My parents are in town to assist us with boat projects and shuttling the last of our non-boat stuff out of Beaufort. Bud & I have two coats of anti-foulant paint done and one more to go.  Other than panting below the waterline, I spent today tackling a myriad of pre-launch prep.  Bud applied a coat of wax to the topsides.

Bud applying wax to the topsides 24 hours prior to launch 

So much still to do... tick-tock, tick-tock

The fix is in!

Mike from L&M marine arrived first thing on Monday morning to address the oil leak.  He was able to cut off the old, factory installed hose clamp (really more of a crimp on fitting) without lifting the engine or damaging the hose. He then slid a new hose clamp down the hose from above  and using a flexible shaft nut driver tightened it in place.  The entire process took all of 10 minutes.

Once Mike departed I refilled the engine oil and placed a new pad under the fitting.  Throughout the day yesterday, I continued to get some oil spots on the clean oil pad.  I was unsure if this was residual oil from the previous day or oil continuing to leak.

Prior to leaving the boat yesterday afternoon, I place a fresh portion of the pad under the engine.   As of this morning there is no new oil on the pad!   Crisis adverted - whew.

Anne and I have now embarked on the terrestrial portion of our migration southward.  By the first of next week we will have dropped off our car and non- boat stuff in FL and be back at C'est la Vie.   Our target launch date is November first.

"You take the good. You take the bad. You take them both and there you have..."

Well the good news is midday on Saturday, I completed the engine installation.  Yup everything re-installed, re-wired, re-plumbed...

Here is a before image...

the starting point.

And the current image...

re-installation complete!

Feeling very satisfied with myself for completing the project and pleased with the results, I began to wipe down the area before moving on to re-installing the forward engine room  wall.

And this is when I discovered the bad news...

The oil spot on the right is from a 90 minute lunch break.  The spot under the engine is from overnight.  

The engine is leaking oil from the drain plug or hose connection under the oil pan.  It was not leaking outside the boat so  my best guess is that it was damaged during the re-install or alignment process.  The only way to access this area is to lift the engine off the beds.  AARRRGGGHHH!

It is difficult to express my frustration when I discovered the leak.  I've managed to calm down now, 32 hours after discovering the leak.  Other than drain the oil from the engine, I have yet to begin to address the issue.  Mike the mechanic is going to meet me at the boat first thing Monday morning.  My hope is that he has some way other than lifting the engine to address the leak.

Unable to bring myself to begin uninstalling the engine, I spent the day today re-fabricating the supports for the forward engine compartment cabinetry.  I discarded the old wood.  I am modifying the design and using starboard for the support members.  

Lower panel in place.  Upper panel hinged upward to expose sound proofing. Upper side panels have yet to be installed.

As the pieces fall back into place I am also adding sound proofing material to the inner surfaces.

More images from the project are available in the photo album - Haul Engine - fall 2012

the engine is back in C'est la Vie but work remains

Wrestling the new two inch engine exhaust hose into place between the water lift muffler in the engine compartment and thru-hull in the lazurette consumed the morning.  Fortunately, I did not pre-cut the 12.5 foot section of hose to match the 11 foot section that came out of the boat.  Using the longer, new section of hose I was able to run from muffler to thru-hull with out a joint or fiberglass elbow. This eliminates three joints and six hose clamps from the previous set up while allowing the hose to run higher and more center line to the boat  It is important to run the exhaust hose high and center line to  prevent salt water from running the system in reverse and damaging the engine.

engine compartment completed and ready for the engine install

With the muffler and exhaust hose installed the engine compartment is ready for the engine.

With assistance from the boat yard staff C'est la Vie's engine returned to the boat with a minimum of fuss.  So one month to the day the engine is back in the boat.

Tomorrow morning the mechanic is scheduled to align the engine and affix the new motor mounts to the engine beds.  Once this is complete I will begin running hoses and reconnecting wiring between the engine and the boat.

An "out of boat experience" for our engine

Today our engine had an "out of boat experience."  With the assistance of Mike from L&M Marine, we test ran the engine out side of the boat.

This required using our five gallon fuel jug as a fuel tank; pulling the starter battery out of the boat; running a hose into a 5 gallon bucket for the cooling water, and feeding the exhaust into the gravel drive.  Although a bit reluctant at first, after a nearly five month nap, the engine did run well.

Hopefully tomorrow, one month to the day that we hauled the engine, it will be back in the boat.  I'll let you know how it goes....