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Techno frustration, again

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Posted by BaltACD on Wednesday, July 31, 2019 8:08 PM

Lithonia Operator
We are going to leave here I’m guessing $1500-$2000 lighter, unfortunately, but the reality is that we have had a total blast here in Camden! The very-upscale classic sailing yacht circuit is racing here now, and you would not BELIEVE the boats we are sharing dock space with. It’s a total trip. When I get home I’ll post some pix, and link you guys; I don’t have the password for my photo-share thing with me.

Well, you could be taking your Bugatti for a oil change. Everything about it is expensive, right down to the oil change, which can ring you up a staggering $21,000. If you need some explaining on why a Bugatti Veyron oil change costs as much as a brand-new Honda Civic, then you're not alone.Jul 19, 2018

Watch How The $21,000, 27-Hour Oil Change Is Done On A Bugatti ...

https://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-news/watch-how-the-21-000-27-hour-oil-change-is-done-on-a-bugatti-veyron-ar181881.html

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by Deggesty on Wednesday, July 31, 2019 8:07 PM

tree68

 

 
Paul of Covington

   Lithonia, any news on your motor yet?  I've been waiting with baited breath (whatever that means).

 

Actually, it's "bated breath," and simply means you are holding your breath...

OTOH, "baited breath" could have some interesting meanings...

I'm curious about the outcome on the motor, too...

 

"Baited breath" is what a cat uses to entice mice to come of their holes; the cat eats cheese and then breathes out by the mouse hole. I thought everybody knew that.Smile

Johnny

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Posted by MMLDelete on Wednesday, July 31, 2019 8:00 PM

Paul of Covington

   Lithonia, any news on your motor yet?  I've been waiting with baited breath (whatever that means).

 
Hey Paul, thanks for asking.
 
Things are going very well, actually. Looks like we will be on our way Friday. The company we are dealing with, Lyman Morse, is top-drawer, and everyone here is friendly, helpful and professional. I have never dealt with people like this in the marine biz before. https://www.lymanmorse.com/
 
We are going to leave here I’m guessing $1500-$2000 lighter, unfortunately, but the reality is that we have had a total blast here in Camden! The very-upscale classic sailing yacht circuit is racing here now, and you would not BELIEVE the boats we are sharing dock space with. It’s a total trip. When I get home I’ll post some pix, and link you guys; I don’t have the password for my photo-share thing with me.
 
We have really dodged a bullet. This situation with the engine could be much worse. (The Pacific Seacraft 37 rafted to us now has a serious, serious boatload of woes.) And our incident when entering the harbor could have gotten ugly but didn’t. So we are grateful. And if you have to break down in a boat, Camden ME is the place to do it.
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Posted by tree68 on Wednesday, July 31, 2019 6:42 PM

Paul of Covington

   Lithonia, any news on your motor yet?  I've been waiting with baited breath (whatever that means).

Actually, it's "bated breath," and simply means you are holding your breath...

OTOH, "baited breath" could have some interesting meanings...

I'm curious about the outcome on the motor, too...

LarryWhistling
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Posted by Paul of Covington on Wednesday, July 31, 2019 5:57 PM

   Maybe we can catch up with NDG's String Lining thread.

_____________ 

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Wednesday, July 31, 2019 5:41 PM

Jeez, has this thread taken on a life of it's own or what?

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Posted by Paul of Covington on Wednesday, July 31, 2019 5:31 PM

   Lithonia, any news on your motor yet?  I've been waiting with baited breath (whatever that means).

_____________ 

  "A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner

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Posted by MMLDelete on Tuesday, July 30, 2019 12:46 AM

BaltACD

 

 
tree68
 
Shadow the Cats owner
 I can give you the names of a couple more expensive hobbies that my husband has had in the past.  

Hah!  Try amateur radio...

 

Depending upon the class you want to participate in - automobile racing performs a pretty good disappearing act with money.  The old saying - Speed costs money, how fast do you want to go!  I can only afford to go half fast.

 

I’m a huge auto racing fan, IndyCar and F1 primarily. The expressions I’ve heard are:

There’s no substitute for cubic dollars.

Wanna make a million bucks in racing? Start with a billion.

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Posted by tree68 on Monday, July 29, 2019 9:31 PM

BaltACD
Depending upon the class you want to participate in - automobile racing performs a pretty good disappearing act with money. 

I have some friends who race DIRT.  They're pretty grass roots organizations, but a failed tire is still a failed tire and might mean no ice cream for kiddos today...

LarryWhistling
Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) 
Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you
My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date
Come ride the rails with me!
There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...

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Posted by BaltACD on Monday, July 29, 2019 7:24 PM

tree68
 
Shadow the Cats owner
 I can give you the names of a couple more expensive hobbies that my husband has had in the past.  

Hah!  Try amateur radio...

Depending upon the class you want to participate in - automobile racing performs a pretty good disappearing act with money.  The old saying - Speed costs money, how fast do you want to go!  I can only afford to go half fast.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by tree68 on Monday, July 29, 2019 7:14 PM

Shadow the Cats owner
 I can give you the names of a couple more expensive hobbies that my husband has had in the past. 

Hah!  Try amateur radio...

LarryWhistling
Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) 
Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you
My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date
Come ride the rails with me!
There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...

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Posted by Shadow the Cats owner on Monday, July 29, 2019 7:06 PM

 I can give you the names of a couple more expensive hobbies that my husband has had in the past.  Saltwater fish keeping and PC Gaming.  I told him he can keep one or the other he kept the games.  When your spending more to feed a tank than your household some weeks it gets to be a problem.

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Posted by tree68 on Monday, July 29, 2019 6:55 PM

Lithonia Operator
I LOVE sailing.

As do I.  I really miss keeping the sailfish (14') at my aunt's cottage so I could sail at will (conditions permitting).

My boat needs some work around the centerboard slot, or it would be out on one of the largest protected bays around on a regular basis.  Unfortunately, said work requires that I split the hull, and that's a lot of rivets to drill out...  It's not like I'm not busy enough already...

LarryWhistling
Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) 
Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you
My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date
Come ride the rails with me!
There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...

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Posted by MMLDelete on Monday, July 29, 2019 6:29 PM

I LOVE sailing. If you don’t LOVE sailing/boating, sell that boat and stop the money hemorrhaging as soon as you can!

As you were.

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Posted by Overmod on Monday, July 29, 2019 6:15 PM

Was it Dennis Conner who said racing was like standing in a cold shower setting $100 bills on fire as fast as you can?

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Posted by Paul of Covington on Monday, July 29, 2019 6:03 PM

Lithonia Operator

Hey Paul. I was born in New Orleans. I had an aunt, uncle, and lots of cousins in Covington. My Uncle’s name was Lee Eddy. He has daughters named Pat and Peggy and Nora, and a son named Lee.

 

   Well I'll be hornswoggled!   This is getting to be like a family reunion!

_____________ 

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Posted by Paul of Covington on Monday, July 29, 2019 5:56 PM

   John, I had gathered from some of your posts that you were from this area, but didn't realize that you were a fellow sailor.   As for getting sick, it takes getting used to.   I usually feel a little queasy if I go below near the beginning of a trip, but heck, Horatio Hornblower used to get seasick.  I don't remember the sizes of the meter class boats, but I think 10-meter would be pretty big--40 or 45 feet?  I crewed quite a few times in races, round-the-buoys and offshore, and decided that racing sailors were a little crazy, but it was a great way to learn what a boat could do.

   I've lived in this area since 1974, and yes, it has really changed.  The refugees come from the big city in waves, the last big migration after Katrina.

   Well, back to trains.   (As if we were ever there.)

_____________ 

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Posted by MMLDelete on Monday, July 29, 2019 5:47 PM

Hey Paul. I was born in New Orleans. I had an aunt, uncle, and lots of cousins in Covington. My Uncle’s name was Lee Eddy. He has daughters named Pat and Peggy and Nora, and a son named Lee.

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Posted by York1 on Monday, July 29, 2019 5:03 PM

Paul, I sailed several times on Lake Ponchartrain.  A friend had a 10 meter sailboat (I think I remember that's what he said, but it's been nearly 40 years ago).

He got me and several others to help in a Southern Yacht Club race, but I was never invited back to help again.  I was sick most of the race.

I always envied the sailboat owners who were in the lake watching the fireworks at Ponchartrain Beach amusement park.

I was in Covington two years ago seeing an elderly relative.  I could not believe how much the northshore had changed since we left in the early 90s.

York1 John       

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Posted by Paul of Covington on Monday, July 29, 2019 5:01 PM

Semper Vaporo
He also said the two happiest days in the life of a boat owner are the day he bought the boat and the day he sold it.

   I've heard that many times, but I did not feel that way when I sold mine.  For many years after I quit sailing, I kept the boat, piddling around, doing some repairs and upkeep even though I knew I should sell it.  The boat was my friend (I never did think of it as "she"; it was always neutral in gender), and when I finally did sell it, I think it felt something like a divorce.   I visited the marina a couple of times afterward.   The first time the slip was empty (the new owner lived some distance away.), but the second time there was a boat in it named "So What?"   That kicked me out of my mood. 

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Posted by Paul of Covington on Monday, July 29, 2019 4:42 PM

Lithonia Operator

Thanks, John.

Camden is not a bad place to be stuck. It’s beautiful, has great restaurants, and Wayfarer Marine is top-drawer.

They will start work on the engine tomorrow. Not sure what all will be needed, but it’s clear we will be spending a lot of money.

Sad

Oh well. Boats!! 

 

 

   You've got the right sailor's attitude.  You are in a beautiful place--relax and enjoy it.

   I'm not going to bring up the "hole in the water" line, but as for money and boats, though, a fellow sailor used to call the local marine supply store "that jewelry store."

_____________ 

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Posted by Semper Vaporo on Monday, July 29, 2019 4:32 PM

My son used to sell boats.  He said a boat is a hole in the water that you shovel money into.

He also said the two happiest days in the life of a boat owner are the day he bought the boat and the day he sold it.

Semper Vaporo

Pkgs.

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Posted by MMLDelete on Monday, July 29, 2019 3:21 PM

Thanks, John.

Camden is not a bad place to be stuck. It’s beautiful, has great restaurants, and Wayfarer Marine is top-drawer.

They will start work on the engine tomorrow. Not sure what all will be needed, but it’s clear we will be spending a lot of money.

Sad

Oh well. Boats!! 

 

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Posted by York1 on Monday, July 29, 2019 2:57 PM

LO, glad to hear you avoided any major collisions, or worse -- injuries.

I've enjoyed reading your sailing travelogue.

York1 John       

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Posted by MMLDelete on Monday, July 29, 2019 10:12 AM

Paul, we have a pump like that. An Oberdorfer. I have probably exhausted all things I can fix myself now. We have no obstruction between the thru-hull and the raw water pump. The impeller looks great, has lost no vanes, and the rubber part has not detached from the bronze core (I’ve been to that rodeo several times over the years). When I turn the engine’s crankshaft, the water pump’s shaft revolves.

Now I’m going to sniff around the heat exchanger ...

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Posted by Paul of Covington on Monday, July 29, 2019 12:58 AM

   L. O., it's been said about sailing: seemingly endless hours of tedious boredom interrupted by moments of stark terror.   I hope the problem is minor.

   I don't know if they are still using the same design water pump as they did back in my day but I was always nagged by it in the back of my mind.   It was a "rotor" with rubber vanes that rotated in a chamber that had a "bump" on one side that forced the rubber vanes to bend back, sqeezing the water out the exit opening.  I never had a problem with it, but it always worried me because I knew a few people that did.  One of the vanes breaks off and plugs the exit.  I always thought it was a stupid design.

   Anyway, good luck!

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Sunday, July 28, 2019 10:13 PM

zugmann

We had a mimeograph machine in my high school in the late 90's early 2000s.  Yeah, we weren't the most modern school district.

 

You in that video, Firelock? Whistling

 

 

      And the awesome smell of fresh mimeograph copies! Stick out tongue There's a scene in the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High where a teacher passes out a teast and all the students start sniffing the paper.

Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.

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Posted by MMLDelete on Sunday, July 28, 2019 8:45 PM

Flintlock76

"He just wants to play!"

Hey, that's why you go cruisin', right?  Meet interesting people and animals and come home with great stories!

 
Exactly. I won’t say never a dull moment, but there aren’t that many. I love sailing, but there are times I wonder why!
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Posted by MMLDelete on Sunday, July 28, 2019 8:24 PM

Well, we just had one our scariest sailing moments ever. But the humans are fine. The boat? Not sure yet.

So, we had a fantastic sail in 15 knots of wind, with higher gusts, from the Isleboro area over here to Camden. We had one reef in the main, and the staysail; no primary jib (yankee). Exciting passage, and all went well out in the bay. The sailing was so good, I wanted to sail as far as possible up into the harbor before dropping sails. Also, the big waves would have made dropping them out there pretty uncomfortable and a bit more risky for my wife going forward. We scream into Camden harbor.

I start the engine. It’s still blowing hard, as the outer harbor has little protection from a south wind. Camden harbor this time of year is VERY crowded. Boats cheek to jowl on maybe 600-700 moorings in a tight space. Tense enough getting the sails down among the boats, me holding the bow to wind while trying not to move too much. Marilyn did a great job getting the sails down quickly. At pretty much the instant she finished that, the engine’s overheating alarm started screaming. I looked at the gauge, and yes, quite hot. But we HAD to use the engine. I looked around for an empty mooring. Saw one, went towards it. From this point forward, I am worried about how much damage we might be doing to the engine, and whether the issue might make it conk out. The alarm keeps screaming, and will until we get some resolution, just to frazzle our nerves more. We approach the mooring with some Polish name on the ball. Marilyn grabs the pickup buoy. Those suckers are awkward to feed thru the pulpit before you get the actual mooring line. But she gets the line. I put the boat in neutral, and run forward to help. The wind is strong and the line starts to slip from her grasp. I try to help. But it’s too late. We are blown away, and in trying to exit the boat, the pickup buoy gets ripped from the mooring line, never to be seen again.

I run back, put the tranny in forward, and give it some stick. The engine dies. Trust me; this was a low point. So we are now adrift. Sideways, drifting quickly towards dense clump of boats in the strong wind. Alarm keeps screaming because the key is on. I hit the start button; thankfully it starts, but the friggin noise continues, as we are overheated. We head for another mooring. We manage to snag this one on first try.

Stay tuned for an update. We may be looking at dropping some dollars, but the crew is fine, and we handled the emergency pretty well.

Wayfarer Marine towed us to our reserved rental mooring. (There is no anchoring in here.) As a side note, we got the harbormaster involved, and he says the mooring we were on temporarily is some mystery mooring, and shows no sign of being inspected recently!

I have started the troubleshooting. Diagnoses still possible are one that’s cheap and one that ain’t.

I said I want to sail til age 75. Since I aged five years this afternoon, that’s not far off.

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Posted by Flintlock76 on Sunday, July 28, 2019 8:20 PM

"He just wants to play!"

Hey, that's why you go cruisin', right?  Meet interesting people and animals and come home with great stories!

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