A New Journey Begins for OverEasy - 2020/2022

This is a place to document your trips with your boat. Tell us about your journeys. Share your experiences. Post your pictures.
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Starscream
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Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy

Post by Starscream »

I guess I don't quite understand the root cause of the mod: my stairs just swing up and stay there on the friction in the pivot. I thought they all did that, from the factory. I guess some had fixed stairs???? What a drag that must have been!

One of my favorite mods this spring was to unscrew the actual wood stairs, sand them down and recoat them with polyurethane. There was a lot of mold and smell in the wood, and the new shiny steps look really, really nice.
OverEasy
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Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy

Post by OverEasy »

Hi C Buchs

The ladder legs just brush by the the dinette bench back.
Guess there are some tolerance variations in production.

Previously we could only swing the ladder up about 30-40 degrees from horizontal.
Awkward at best and @#&*$% when you are loading up or unloading .....
Now we can walk down the stairs, flip the ladder up, place stuff in the aft berth, swing the ladder down and exit in a civilized manner. Sooo much nicer!

Safer too as we’re not tempted to just “rest” the ladder in place without the pins engaged or attempting to do the Mac26X Shuffle Side Step to the battery seat (which has the cooler on it typically). :o :o The other advantage is when the ladder is up in the open companionway it gives the next person coming along an automatic heads-up that someone else is working in the aft berth and the ladder isn’t available for the moment vs someone expecting the ladder being in place and it isn’t! (That is a mighty big step down.... :? :? :| :| )

Dimensionally a 1-1/4 or even a 1” thick spacer might be sufficient to get the stairs up and not bump into your dinette bench.


Hi Starscream

You lucked out and missed all the consternation.
Over Easy is a 2001 Mac26X and if recollection serves we believe you have a 2002, yes?
It would be interesting to see a photo of how the factory fixed this issue.

Re-finishing the steps is a great idea! That gets added to our list for the Fall 2021 Mod List! :D :D
Right now it is warming up here in SC up into the mid/high 80s. Almost too hot to be working inside the boat without ventilation...(our box fan makes more noise than air movement! :D :D )

Really want to get out of the driveway and into the water....⛵️🌊🎉🎊🥳🍾

8) 8)
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Starscream
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Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy

Post by Starscream »

It snowed today. Too cold and wet to get out there and take a photo of the 2002 X-ladder but I will soon. If I'm lucky we will launch next week.

Those steps are just a couple of seconds to remove,take 'em inside and voila?

It's weird, but that one single mod made the greatest visual impact. It's the first impression thing.
OverEasy
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Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy

Post by OverEasy »

Hi All!

We have two new Deck Hands for Over Easy!!!!
:) :)


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Nova Leigh on the right and Macgregor on the left.

Both were adopted from Carolina Poodle Rescue within the past two weeks.

Nova is a15 month old Standard Poodle who aspires to someday train for Wilderness Search and Rescue in Vermont with our daughter who is pursuing her Masters at the University of Vermont.

Macgregor (“Mac” for short) is a 3 year old Miniature Poodle who will be staying with us to help with the day to day vessel operations and navigational lookout duties. He is very energetic but fully appreciates the laid back sailors lifestyle.

8) 8) 🐩🐩
OverEasy
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Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy

Post by OverEasy »

Hi All!

We did it! Over Easy is in the water in South Carolina! Launched at Sun Set
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And arrived at our slip with a Full Moon

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Champagne for all!

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Wife and Daughter as well as Nova and Mac as deck hands ( the last two had a thermos of water).

The Captain really appreciated the Champagne after a three hour sunset to night time to moon rise inauguration cruise! The arrival was most welcome! And it was our first night landing!
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Inquisitor
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Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy

Post by Inquisitor »

That is a wonderful beginning to the journey.


... but I thought you were suppose to break/pour the champagne on the boat. :D 8)
Odysseus, expert on the Siren's call
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Jimmyt
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Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy

Post by Jimmyt »

Very nice!
Jimmyt
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Russ
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Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy

Post by Russ »

and the Journey Begins.....
--Russ
OverEasy
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Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy

Post by OverEasy »

Hi!

We departed the Sams Point Landing about 7 PM just in time for a beautiful sun set. A small pod of dolphins came by to check out a sparkly clean Over Easy.
Enroute we remembered to fill the ballast which made the ride much more stable. Our 20 year old 50 hp Tohatsu while running considerably better after it’s visit with Butler Marine was still acting persnickety and was laboring at 4K rpm so we throttled back to 3k or there abouts for most of our journey.

The sun set about 8 pm and darkness settled on the estuaries. We really appreciated our new Garmin Chartplotter and it’s Sonar depth capabilities as we navigated our way along our local section of the Atlantic IntraCoastal Waterway. We had previously programmed in our route as a series of waypoints which proved quite beneficial as we motored through the evening.

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Nova Leigh and MacGregor were great lookouts making sure we stayed on course. We watched as an IntraCoastal 40 footer heaved to and settled down for the night taking in their foresail and secured their main.

As darkness deepens we appreciated the accuracy of the Garmin chart plot as well as the bottom conditions but kept a sharp eye out for obstructions, late night fishermen and those moored along the ICW. There were a few detours and our midship mounted though-the-hull sonar gave us accurate and relevant information of what was below and in front of us. (Really glad we made that modification and glad that it worked so well! :) :) Well worth the effort not only to keep it out of the water and potential fouling but also for the direct relevance to our actual vessel rather than hanging off the stern.)

Navigating at night can be a challenge for anyone and we were no exception. Unmarked pilings, crab pots, floating debris, shifting currents and the Beaufort Swing Bridge kept us on our watch!

At about 10 PM a beautiful Full Brilliant Moon rose for us as we started our visual approach to our slip at Port Royal Marina for our first docking (and our first night time one at that!) at our slip for the next several months. A recon pass was made, then fenders repositioned, bow and stern lines made ready and back in we went. The estuary river flow and the tidal currents made the approach a challenge especially with the turbulence from the docks. A failed snag of a dock cleat had us chose a cautionary abort before any bumps or bangs or thumps occurred. So out and loop around again we went for another approach. This time our daughter Sarah stepped off the bow and onto the dock where she deftly looped the bow line around the available cleat (all those years competing on the UVM Crew Team) and bitter end in hand walked back to pick up the stern line which she again deftly looped around an available cleat to hold us steady for securement and engine shutdown. TaDa! Landing accomplished at 10:30 PM!

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Out came the chilled Napa Mumm and POP went the cork! Nova couldn’t stand the separation for Sarah and leapt from the cockpit floor cleanly over the side to the dock by Sarah’s feet as if she had done this a 100 times before! (MacGregor was wanting to do the same but the Mommy wasn’t having any of it! :| )

We drank our well deserved Champagne from the bottle and watched the moon as it rose higher into the night sky. What an interesting, challenging, nice and beautiful first journey for Over Easy in South Carolina waters!

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8) 8) 8) 🐩🐩
OverEasy
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Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy

Post by OverEasy »

Hi All

Went out and about “IN THE DAY LIGHT” this this yesterday. Our second time out down here.

We headed out down the estuary on the Beaufort River past Cat Island and Parris Island approaching Fort Fremont. Incoming tide and moderate headwind breeze with bright SUNSHINE 🌞. It’s nice to see all the beautiful scenery!

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Things were moving along at about 3k RPM on the 2001 50 hp Tohatsu for about a hour and a half when the rpms started to fluctuate downward by about 100 RPM. Pumped the primer bulb while popping open the bench hatch to check the starboard tank quantity. A third of a tank and vacuum vent was open. Checked to see if there was a tank pressure build up and while there was some it was not significant. The hand pumping of the primer bulb seemed to calm things down.... for a bit.... then it returned. Throttled back toward idle and engine shutdown occurred. :o :o

Quick couple of pumps of the hand bulb and restart accomplished but at a weak idle. Checked oil injection tank which was 50% full. Added more to top it off while we were at it. Not too much spillage as we rocked in the 1 ft seas. :P :P ( Not our favorite conditions to be adding oil ).

Better judgement led us as we turned back to the marina. On the return trip the oscillation in engine RPM continued. Swapped to our second tank which was full. Opened vacuum vent and relieved any pressure buildup. No change once we pumped the air bubble through the line. We were running at 2k RPM which seemed to be more stable. All cylinders were firing. No excessive exhaust smoke. Once under the Port Royal bridge we throttled back to 1k RPM and motored around in circles to check things out. Choke, fuel lines, tank vents, fuel levels, etc.... One thing we did notice was the RPM were more stable at lower RPM. Placed in and out of neutral, fwd & rev.

Couldn’t find a cause so we headed back to the marina. Current and wind too strong for our skills and engine activities so we aborted after our second attempt at our interior slip. No sense potentially banging up other vessels as well as our own so we headed over to the day dock to tie up for the night.

We will refuel and go back out again today to see if we can make any improvement. Really considering how nice a newer engine might be....🤔🤔

Aside from the persnickety engine it as a beautiful day out on Over Easy! We all enjoyed the cabin space, the stability and room afforded by the cockpit space!

Our two new four footed deck hands agree!

8) 8) 8) 🐩🐩
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Jimmyt
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Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy

Post by Jimmyt »

When you pumped the fuel bulb, were you holding it vertically, discharge up?

If pumping the bulb improves it, you've either got a clog, bad fuel pump, or possibly a leak in the line.

A tank of watery gas will give you erratic engine behavior and stalling, also. I would empty one tank completely and go get ethanol-free gas at a high turnover source - as a first step.

All in all, a good day out (any trip you don't get towed in is a good one). :wink:
Jimmyt
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Russ
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Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy

Post by Russ »

Wonderful!!!
OverEasy wrote: Wed Apr 28, 2021 9:08 am!

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8) 8) 8) 🐩🐩
--Russ
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Starscream
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Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy

Post by Starscream »

I do enjoy reading about Mac-trips and seeing the photos.

Sympathies on the engine troubles. I hope it just turns out to be something relatively simple like watery fuel.

I launched single-handed today. Got the mast up without a single snag...used to be a rare occurance but I'm getting better at prepping all the stays for the lift. I attach a second line to my backup forestay and run it to the bow pulpit and back to the mast, so that once the mast is up I just tighten up the line so that the mast stays up, and then walk the furler drum forward to pin it.

Engine fired immediately, smoked out the winter storage oil, and was flawless for a little ballast-free 90HP show-off in front of the lakeshore crowd. It DOES jump up nice, I have to say. And rolls very nicely into the turns.

As someone else said, it's nice having a trailer sailer so you can launch on your own schedule (while everyone else waits for big-crane day).
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Looking through the fore-triangle, you can see the "mountain" of Montreal (Mount Royal) in the distance.

Lake Saint-Louis on the St. Lawrence River, our home base, is a full 7ft lower than where it was at this time last year, and near a record low. This, after 5 straight years of record highs and flooding. Well I knew it was low, but still backed up into some mud and stressed the centerboard a bit. Oops.

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OverEasy
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Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy

Post by OverEasy »

Hi JimmyT

I was holding the bulb horizontally for the most part. Didn’t think of pointing it up or down. Will have to remember that tomorrow.
New tanks rinsed with ethanol free fuel from high volume reputable source (land). Rinse fuel went to lawn mower.
Filled each 12 gallon tank with ethanol free fuel from high volume reputable source (land).
Between initial trip and second trip yesterday we consumed almost 12 gallons of fuel and a half tank of two stroke oil for about 5 hours of run time so far.

Refueled at the marina today.
They are the volume fuel supplier around here on the water.
Took on 9 gallons in starboard tank.
Took on 3 gallons in port tank.

Went out today.
Warmed up engine. Went to fuel dock. In maneuvering in sequence line to fuel dock throttled back, engine quit when moved to idle, lost steerage. Took three tries to restart.
Came within inches of a new 40 foot Catamaran cruiser!!! Backed far away with sincere apologies to them for the consternation. They were VERY gracious.
Tried again, reentered queue, got in same position except feared recurrence so kept RPMs up which made for a ‘stiff’ landing with dock. Not very graceful.
Departure was better.

Went and checked out alternative marina with less tidal flow but fear the alley to potential slip is too narrow for my skill level.
I REALLY don’t want to even bump another boats fender, never mind hull or anything else.
Trip was two hours.
Engine erratic at or above 3K RPM.
Kept engine at 2500 or 2k RPM. SEEMED happier there.
Tried various throttle settings from start idle up to max (3K) rpm.
Tried very slow accelerations and rapid acceleration.
Tried very slow decelerations and rapid deceleration.
Results were :
- engine erratic at 3 k RPM
- engine stalls at neutral
- engine SEEMS less persnickety below 2 k RPM
- reduction to idle speed = 50/50 shutdown
Tank changes and fuel supplier seem to have no effect.

Checked engine fuel filter - no water or debris.
Fribble!!!

Tried calling service center but they are booked through July.
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Be Free
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Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy

Post by Be Free »

My first thought was contaminated fuel but you've already checked your filters and it sounds like you are running clean, ethanol-free fuel so that's not a suspect (for now).

Next thing I'd check is all of the fuel connections. Everywhere the fuel line is connected to anything is a potential source for air to be sucked into the line. Make sure anything that can be tightened is properly tightened. Check just past every clamp and look for cracks in the hose.

How long has it been since the spark plugs were changed? I've experienced similar problems with plugs that looked fine but changing them corrected all of the symptoms you describe. Are you able to remove them and look for fowling or an obvious gapping or erosion problem?

Long shot: Pull your cover off at night and run the engine. Look for any arcing around the coil(s) and plug wires.
Bill
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"If I were in a hurry I would not have bought a sailboat." Me
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