A New Journey Begins for OverEasy - 2023/2025

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OverEasy
Admiral
Posts: 2339
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:16 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: NH & SC

Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy - 2023/2024

Post by OverEasy »

Hi All!

We missed out on getting out Saturday and Sunday (lazy days :) :) ).
But Monday was perfect and we didn’t miss the opportunity to get out on the water!
Spent a wonderful full four hours cruising up the Beaufort River and Coosaw up to Sam’s Point Landing.

Several sets of Dolphins and maybe even a turtle.
There were two nesting pairs of Osprey and several stalking Blue Herons.

A very nice afternoon!
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We also saw several combat type jets overfly in addition to the normal F/A-18s and F-35s that I don’t recognize…anyone recognize them?
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Hope you all are well and happy!

Best Regards,
Over Easy 8) 8)
OverEasy
Admiral
Posts: 2339
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:16 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: NH & SC

Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy - 2023/2024

Post by OverEasy »

Hi All!

Whew! It was hot these past couple of days! In the 80s and it’s only May!

Wouldn’t you know it that these are the two days that I decide to finally clean up the top deck of Over Easy!
Timing is everything.

First off I wasted a good chunk of change and hours of time fussy with “the blue gel” brand hull and fiberglass cleaner crud.
WHAT AN ABSOLUTE WASTE OF TIME, EFFORT, MATERIALS, AND MONEY!!! :x :x :x
Never gonna do that again. Fribble!

Rinsed the surface.
Let it dry.
Shook the bottle throughly.
Applied it with a natural bristle brush throughly to the fore deck.
Let sit for 15 minutes and rinsed… NO EFFECT
Hmmm… maybe let it sit longer ??

So rinsed off and let dry.
Reapply…to fore deck
Wait….30 minutes …. Rinse off…. NO EFFECT
Hmmm… maybe scrub it in …. and let it sit longer …. And scrub it some more???

So rinsed off and let dry.
Reapply to fore deck
Wait …. 15 minutes & scrub…wait 30 minutes & scrub….wait 30 minutes & scrub…wait 30 minutes & scrub while rinsing…NO EFFECT
FRIBBLE…FRIBBLE…FRIBBLE

USELESS STUFF!!! Never…Never…Never… again. Three plus hours absolutely wasted time.

So I reverted back to the old standby of a 10-to-20% bleach solution and a nylon bristle brush and some up close elbow grease on hands and knees. Dramatically better than the “blue gel” crud!

Here is a photo through polarized glasses to take out the glare.
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The dark is where we started and the light is after the bleach and scrub and rinse.
Here’s a photo without the polarizer of where we started as a surface condition.
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What a dramatic difference with a simple diluted bleach mixture! :) :) :) VERY HAPPY!!!

With this now out of the way we when out for a cruise from Port Royal out to the Atlantic past Bay Point breach.
Beautiful day to be out!
Lots of dolphins singly and in pods!Some even came alongside to make eye contact!
Wonderful feeling to experience that never grows old!

On the way back we turned up Battle Creek to dock a the Fish Camp Restaurant for a glass of wine and a tall G&T to celebrate completion of the deck cleaning. Appetizer of Hush Puppies. Nice supper of fish tacos and a fisherman’s catch variety plater. All were excellent!
Finished the day with a sunset cruise back to our slip. Wonderful day.

Now I get to apply sealant to the now clean deck and cockpit… that’s gonna take a couple more days :wink: :wink:
One day at a time…..

Best Regards
Over Easy 8) 8)
OverEasy
Admiral
Posts: 2339
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:16 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: NH & SC

Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy - 2023/2024

Post by OverEasy »

Hi All!

It was a beautiful day out yesterday!
Lots of Dolphins!
Left the marina after refueling …17.34 gallons…(glad we have our new Suzuki DF60AV high efficiency 4-stroke engine! It would have been at least twice that with the old Tohatsu 50 hp 2-stroke) and turned to port toward Beaufort.
Passing under the swing bridge we observed a returning nesting pair of Osprey on the bridge pilings. Last year they had a pair of offspring and hoping for a successful repeat this year. We turned to port and slowly cruised abound the cut enjoying the calm waters and pleasant atmosphere along with the pretty shoreline homes.
Popping out into the Beaufort River we motored up to Brickyard landing then turned to Port to go up the McCalleys Creek until it shallowed out. Turning back we to the Beaufort River and then onto the Coosaw River. Again turning to Port we followed the Coosaw up to Whale Branch and the Hwy21 bridge. As it was now after 5 pm and it was time to head home. The Admiral took over the helm and did a great job of navigating us back to our marina arriving just after peak low tide. A beautiful day out!

Hope you all have had a great day and a Happy Mothers Day on Sunday!

Best Regards,
Over Easy 😎😎🐩🐈
OverEasy
Admiral
Posts: 2339
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:16 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: NH & SC

Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy - 2023/2024

Post by OverEasy »

Hi All!

We finally got out again today! :D :D
Between schedules, inclement weather, other obligations and ‘just not up to it’ days we finally got out!

We cruised down the Beaufort River past Parris Island then turning up the Broad River.
On the way down we got to see large US Coast Guard Tug pushing an equipment barge and crane.
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Motoring past Skull Creek we proceeded to go in at McKay Creek. This took us along the Pinckney Wildlife Refuge. Pristine and beautiful!
Here are some photos to share:
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We came back via Skull Creek… unfortunately there were two large and one smaller sailboat that had suffered damage since last time we came this way last season.

The first had been blown in to the marshland and appeared to have blown out their main sail and Furler.
It was visibly listed to the port side… have no idea how one would go about recovering such a vessel.
Wasn’t able to get a decent photo.

The second was a vessel we saw moored out very near the channel edge last season, a bit of a hazard
It was looking a bit rough back then as the mainsail bindings to the boom were becoming undone.
Now it has sunk in about 15 feet of water with only mast and rigging protruding. Quite sad as it had been a pretty boat.
Unfortunately to add insult to injury a smaller 25 footish cabin sailboat must have broken free from its dockage and was apparently blown into the sunken boats rigging which appears to have snapped the forestay causing the mast to collapse aft onto its cabin and cockpit.
Quite the mess. The smaller boat is just wedged into the rigging… wonder what will happen if/when a storm from the opposite direction comes along. Very sad 😢 😢
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After moving on we completed transiting Skull Creek into the Broad River.
Picking up the pace we throttled up … at 5000 rpm we averaged 13 to 15 mph into an incoming tide and a 15 mph head wind.
After turning up the Beaufort River at 5000 rpm we averaged 15 to 16.5 mph going up River but with the incoming tide.
While this wasn’t WOT it was a pretty decent speed considering all the cruising stuff we have on board. :) :)

Great day out!
Lots of Dolphins, heron, egrets and Osprey!
We even talked about planning a week of overnight cruising exploring this region in detail, rather than just as day trips. :) :)
Glad we finally got out!

Best Regards
Over Easy 😎😎🐩🐈
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Russ
Admiral
Posts: 7904
Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2007 12:01 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
Location: Bozeman, Montana "Luna Azul" 2008 M 70hp Suzi

Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy - 2023/2024

Post by Russ »

Nice trip report and photos. Sad about the sunk/wrecked boats. Gotta wonder what the story is and what bad luck for the second boat to get caught in the sunken boat.

How deep is the waters where you travel? Curious if the Mac can go places others are unable.
--Russ
OverEasy
Admiral
Posts: 2339
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:16 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: NH & SC

Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy - 2023/2024

Post by OverEasy »

Hi Russ!

Yeah, it was sad to see…. Not found anything about how they got to the conditions they are currently in….

I do know that last season the boat that sunk was moored on the edge of the channel …almost a hazard depending on wind/current direction….the main sail was starting to have its binding fail allowing the fabric to luff in the breeze. Seemed to be intact but uncared for…apparently it must have collected rain water and/or something failed internally…it was in plenty of water depth.

The smaller one entangled looks like it was blown in-between the sunken boat’s forestay and mast which appears to have snapped the smaller’s forestay allowing it to fall aft…judging by the damage at the deck-to-mast juncture it was not a “planned” event. It’s pretty well pushed in to the sunken boat’s rigging but it certainly isn’t tied off to the sunken boat so if the wind and current changes it could just as well work it’s way free becoming a mobile hazard to other vessels and/or structures. It’s companionway hatch was missing ho it could also be filling with rain with each passing storm….if that continues and it sinks that would be a gawdawfulmess to untangle…. Seems that sunken vessel recover is done in somewhat typical “we’ll eventually git aroundtoitsomeday” by the state. If it doesn’t directly relate to making money off of it then it’s bottom of the to-do-list… da hazard aspect be ‘your problem’…

There is a similar problem on Battle Creek… Informed DNR personally about what appeared to be an abandoned sailboat that was gradually going into distress sitting lower with each passing rain storm last season … well it did sink… in the channel! Now it’s been an active hazard for several months… someone, not DNR seems to have dug out an old grounded “No Wake” Buoy from the edge of the nearby marsh and tied it to the forestay (seems they did it at high tide as it has been seen to be dangling at low tide :D :D ).

Now as to the channel depth…. Plenty of bottom clearance at 8 to 30 feet. Off to the sides it can vary quite a bit as you might suspect. Prop down fully loaded we draw about 18 inches (ballast dry) to 24 inches (ballast full). We’ve been taken to regularly limiting our min depth to 4 feet on the sonar and running with our swing keel down about 1/4-to-1/3 of the keel rope travel length at low speeds (acts sorta like a retractable skegg) which is about the same as our prop. As the sonar is now on our removable stern mount the partially deployed keel acts as our ‘early warning bottom bumper indicator’ :D . When the keel lift rope goes slack it’s time to stop! Before attempting to back out we haul the keel all the way up to avoid it jamming into the muck.

Best Regards,
Over Easy 😎😎🐩🐈
User avatar
Russ
Admiral
Posts: 7904
Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2007 12:01 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
Location: Bozeman, Montana "Luna Azul" 2008 M 70hp Suzi

Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy - 2023/2024

Post by Russ »

The X is vastly better suited for shallow draft sailing with its swing keel. I was curious how well suited your area is for the M and grounding dangers.

Right now, I boat in deep deep water and running aground is never a concern. Although I did snag a cable in the marina once that left a mark in the dagger. I grew up sailing in the East Coast and running aground was a constant concern.

SC seems like a beautiful area to boat. I'd love to sail there sometime.
--Russ
OverEasy
Admiral
Posts: 2339
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:16 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: NH & SC

Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy - 2023/2024

Post by OverEasy »

Hi Russ!

Yes, it is a wonder area!😎😎
Lots to see and do… after 3 seasons on the water of getting out several days a week we’ve only begun to see it all! 😎😎

The bottom is generally soft sand/muck stuff.
There are some hard spots and there are oyster banks to be aware of but nothing onerous.

There are shoals that change with the currents and storms but the marked channels are well kept and navigable.
The multiple estuaries go for miles and miles and miles.

With a good GPS chart plotter, up to date charts AND SONAR we’ve not had any real issues.
When we get into areas where it get shallower than a charted 6 feet (which applies at low tide) we slow down to idle if possible.
We’re there to see and enjoy, not race through as fast as we can.😎😎

We generally plan our first forays into new territories at the beginning of a rising tide… that way if/when we do go aground it’s pretty much a non-event to subsequently float free… we also get to gain an idea of where the deeper areas are for the next time… at least in general terms anyway.🙄🤔🫣
We also turn back or get to more hospitable waters before the tides start to recede when on these forays.

Yes we do enjoy our swing keel but that shouldn’t hold back a careful boat with a dagger board as neither type has to be an ‘all-or-nothing’ proposition.

One xtra thing we do have are crab pots and their ropes n’ floats to be aware of and navigate around.
We carry a tool kit with a pair of wire dykes and a sharp knife (or two) as a just in case.
But other regions have lobster pots and trot lines to contend with…so it’s a not unique aspect.

Ping s if you do find an opportunity to come down.
It would be nice to meet up!

Best Regards,
Over Easy 😎😎🐩🐈
OverEasy
Admiral
Posts: 2339
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:16 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: NH & SC

Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy - 2023/2024

Post by OverEasy »

Hi All! 8) 8)

Well our 2024 season has come to an end as we hauled out yesterday (Sunday - 07/28/2024). :( :(

Sad to haul out but our plans have us headed north to NH to do some major work on our home there.
Need the warm weather to get it all (or as much as we can anyway) before the cold and freezing weather settles in (generally are one Columbus/Indigenous Peoples Day). There it seldom any exterior work being done once Thanksgiving Day has arrived …. whuch is our “margin” time.

We had a great last weekend on the waters here in South Carolina.
Saturday we got a late start at 4:30 in the afternoon. We headed up the Beaufort River past the Beaufort Waterfront. (It is really quite nice to have this area right next to downtown with lots of boutique shops, galleries and dining options a short walk from the municipal pier. :) :) )

On up the River past the swing bridge….past Brickyard Landing… past the Marine Corp Air Station …to the Coosaw River.
After entering the Coosaw River we eventually made a turn to Port to to head up River passing Whale Branch… then Seabrook… then Little Barnwell Island… Whale/Buff/Cotton Island passed to our Port side as we turned onto The Broad River. Keeping to the shore passage on our Starboard side keeps us away from the mid river shoals which can be problematic made our travel less stressful as the sun was now sitting on the horizon. We passed under the Broad River Birdge (with its excellent fishing pier along side it)… past Skull Creek as we came abreast Hilton Head Island… the sunlight was well fading by then as the sea swells and stiff breeze picked up… although a bit pitchy from the swells we found a reasonable speed that mitigated it some while also mitigating the sea spray… Nav Lights on and the Bow Search light in place :D ( :D back before the bridge where it was calmer) we followed our track from our prior trip around the Pinckney Wildlife Reserve. This proved beneficial as the little GPS Chart Plotter when into “Nighttime “ Mode which loses all relevance to most everything of importance (and wouldn’t reset to daytime mode for some reason or other). We slugged our way through Port Royal Sound to intercept the ICW on the Beaufort River… using the lighted green marker buoys and our prior track line we proceeded up River past Fort Fremont ….cautiously using our bow searchlight and our handheld Q-beam we swept the areas ahead of us for traffic, fishing boats, and crab pot markers… (found the local DNR boat idling off to the side with only thier bow Nav lights on for some reason… but when we lit them up they turned on all thier lighting which is quite impressive!!) … on past Cowan Creek to our starboard side and the Paris Island Marine Corp Training Facility on our Port side.. past Battery Creek on our Port side … and on to our home slip at Port Royal Marina. We gently slipped in and tied up at 10:30 pm… exactly 6 hours since our departure! What a beautiful and wonderful final day cruise to end our 2024 season here.

Sunday we said our goodbyes to our marina friends and our host staff… slipped our lines one last time and slowly motored over to the Port Royal Public Boat ramp where we had previously parked our ‘new to us’ van and boat trailer earlier that day. Hauling out went well as we powered on to the trailer (as opposed to our usual hand lining method) except I’m definitively not all that agile at leaping over the bow railings anymore :| :? :o . Our only SNAFU was one of our trailer bunks detached at one end as I backed the trailer in… a quick mending with some handy paracord solved that issue ( new bunks next season… another project to get on the list :D :D ). Up and out was uneventful with a few curious ramp questions about our unique boat (and some good natured chuckles about my less than graceful ‘leap ‘ over the bow rail) and we headed to the pressure wand car wash to rinse the scum of what we could reach of the hull (the antifoul ablative we applied at the start of this season did a great job 8) 8) the home to park Over Easy.

So ends our 2024 season… it was a great season ( inspite of our months long lingering high heat and humidity and frequent southern frog choker thunderstorms :| :D :( :wink: 8) ).

Hope everyone is also having a great season and are able to get out on the water to enjoy our boats.

Best Regards,
Over Easy 8) 8)
OverEasy
Admiral
Posts: 2339
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:16 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: NH & SC

Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy - 2023/2024

Post by OverEasy »

Hi All!

On one of our last cruises of the season we had a small sorta unplanned ‘adventure’…. :| :| :? :? :|

Had a nice 'mild' ( 89F & 99% humidity :P ) day out on the water Monday (07/22/2024) . Cruised down the Beaufort River to the Atlantic! At least as much Atlantic as I want to wander about on which is the last ICW marker (#23) where the ocean begins! :o 8) Then back up the Beaufort River to the Broad River then on to the Pinckney Island Wildlife Refuge along MacKay Creek. From there wandered along MacKay Creek around Last End Point into Skull Creek and back home to our marina slip at Port Royal.

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Bit of excitement and a SNAFU. First the SNAFU of my own making... I checked fuel via the wobbly tank sight gauges before casting off in the morning. Looked to have a 1/4 port tank and a 3/4 starboard tank. Ran out to the Atlantic at about 12 mph on the port tank and ran it dry after looping around the last bouy. Switched over to the starboard tank and continued to our loop by the Wildlife Refuge. Coming along Skull Creek I check the fuel level again while traveling at 14 mph and it looked to be 1/2 a tank. More than enough to get home on...right? Well the ocean swells were up and the lowering tide current & river flow made the ride a bit wallowing so I ran at a higher power setting to smooth things out a bit down the Broad River until reaching the Beaufort River. At that point I turned up the Beaufort River and saw a pop :o :o up series of afternoon thunderstorms sitting in front of us. I throttled down to idle speed so we could batten down the hatches. While doing that I rechecked the remaining fuel.... Oppsies :!: :!: :o :? We were now down to where the sight gauge was over on the "E" stop! Fribble! Rookie mistake on my part. The way the Starboard tank indicator is situated it reads 'more' fuel when the bow is up than is actually there due to inclination of the tank. (The port tank is a bit opposite). So as the nearest refuel was back at our marina it was time to cruise along at our best fuel economy hull speed of 6-7 mph. Given the River current was about 2 mph in the ocean bound direction that gave us about 4 mph homeward progress. Fortune was on our side as the thunderstorm cell ahead passed by us that was short lived as another was building and moving in. While we had been aiming for getting refueled as soon as we arrived the weather wasn't cooperating. As the lightning started to flash we went straight in to our slip on vapors managing a smooth landing on the first try. (Sitting at a fuel depot within an active thunderstorm refueling didn't seem like a good idea at the time :o :| 8) .) We tied off, secured the boat and got off the pier just as the real show got started... closer than I'd like but it all worked out. Just gotta remember to bring a gallon can with me next outing so I'll have something to get us over to the fuel dock.

So much for our little miscalculation!
Alls well that ends well! 8) 8)
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Starscream
Admiral
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Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2009 10:08 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Montreal, Quebec. 2002 26X - Suzi DF90A

Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy - 2023/2024

Post by Starscream »

I think we've all been there and done that, but thanks for having the guts to share and call yourself out :D

I did a similar thing on a recent trip through the Montreal Canal system, where I had plenty of gas for the trip at hull speed, but when we got out of the canal we had to cross our lake with 35mph gusts, and steep faced lake-waves rolling us 45 to 45. We had to power up to get steering authority, and I kept all the fins up because the roll was extreme and I didn't want to snap anything. We ended up tacking under power to try to keep the waves at a better angle, and we eventually made it back in. A few days later I went to get the boat for our Lake Champlain trip, and on the short trip from the dock to the ramp the motor sputtered and died, meaning we literally had less gas left than was in the fuel line. Well...I mean, in that first tank. Still had the whole second tankful, but I really didn't think I even needed to check. Very easy to underestimate fuel consumption when powering through the rough stuff. While we were in downtown Montreal we took a tour through the ports and into the Iles de Boucherville, a trip where the river has a current of up to 5 knots. The return trip against the current must have burned a TON more gas than I calculated, possibly because we were in that zone between hull speed and planing speed with respect to the water.

When I go the boat after that trip, we ran out of gas in the alley between the docked boats. I was so convinced that we had plenty of gas that I didn't even try to switch main tanks, I just dropped the Honda 2.3 which started on the second pull and we were back in business before the boat ran out of momentum. Once out of the alley I realized the problem, switched tanks, pumped the bulb and everything was back to normal, but now with more "experience".
OverEasy
Admiral
Posts: 2339
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:16 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: NH & SC

Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy - 2023/2024

Post by OverEasy »

Hi All!

Made it up to NH at the beginning of August!
All safe and sound but missed the Admiral’s annual Doctor appointment and needed to reschedule it.

Got here just ahead of what was left of Debbie meandered through the region. Couple of really rainy days but not much wind for us.
The pond looks beautiful!
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Hit the ground running the moment we got here.
Our younger daughter Lydia’s friend Kate and her 30 year old 300K mile short school bus made it up here but was experiencing some electrical issues as the batteries would run down attempting to start the old diesel engine. She had a mobile mechanic come out to her while she was down in Boston visiting her Mom. The mechanic changed out the alternator and replaced one of the two batteries. When she got here to NH as we arrived she was still having the same problem. Huh?

After unloading all my tools our UHaul trailer I took a look ….
Found there was water in the fuel filter… changing out the fuel/water separator on an old F350 type van modified into a school bus with supplemental Air Conditioning is A PITA. Found it was full of water. The drain valve on the filter it totally inaccessible too! Once that was done we got it to fire right up. Ran at high idle for 10 minutes to help purge the system then had to re-remove the filter to check for more water (none found) and re-reinstall the filter. Went to restart it with the interior ‘dog house’ off and noticed a “cavalcade” of sparks coming from the starter solenoid!!! :o :| Whoa! Crawled underneath and found that the power lead was unsecured to the solenoid stud…no nut, no washer and a good bit of arc damage to the cable end and stud…. I personally think this was the real cause of her starting problems and drained batteries while she was down in Boston…the water in the fuel didn’t help either. At the same time as the sparks were noticed I found that the right hand exhaust manifold to tubing interface coupling was not sealed and belching hot fumes into the compartment … given the virtually nonexistent seal of the doghouse to the passenger compartment it’s a wonder Kate (and my daughter) hadn’t fumigated themselves. Good thing they are cheap and have been running around with the windows open to avoid running the air conditioning!!! Small mercies! I worked at it for a while and managed to reduce it to about a third of what it had been but couldn’t do more with the limited mechanizing tools I have here in NH. (The tools I brought up are more geared to carpenters and dirt work.) I recommended she get to a professional shop to have it fixed an ONLY drive withe the windows open AND WITH A CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR. She arranged with her dad in Wisconsin to have his shop look at it once she got there. I also fixed her windshield wipers… the switch faile in the on position so she had been pulling/inserting the fuse under the dash to operate them. I don’t have the specialized column access tools so I rigged up a dash switch and in-line fuse to the fuse block as a temporary solution.

Thought I was done at that point as she drove west to Wisconsin… Now I could get over to Burlington VT to help my older daughter Sarah move apartments. As the Admiral, younger daughter Lydia and I traveled with the van and UHaul in tow we got a desperate phone call from Kate. Her bus had made a loud bang wand was belching smoke everywhere!!! Sheeze, she couldn’t catch a break! After making sure she was getting out of the vehicle and up wind off the shoulder we rerouted ourselves to her location which was only about 30 minutes from our route. Once there I figured out that she’d had a catastrophic failure of her power steering pump assembly. Contacted a truck towing company and waited for it to arrive and load it up. Dragged it all back to the house and called it a night. Again dealing with getting and changing out a literally blown power steering unit was beyond what tools I have here in NH so Kate called the mobile mechanic again. He came out while the Admiral and I went to VT to help move the older daughter. Meanwhile, The mechanic upon finding out about the starter connection issue was very apologetic and replaced the Power Steering pump at part cost which was nice of him given that no one can know for certain what is/can/will go wrong on a 300K mile 30 year old school bus. My daughter stayed with Kate at our home while the work was being done but time was slipping away and Kate’s band tour was going to start… so Lydia drove Kate down to the Manchester Airport for a flight out to be in place for the tour start.

In Vermont the Admiral and I packed up the apartment as it was now past the weekend Sarah had to be at work… boy do girls have a lot of stuff!!! :D :D Had to rent a 10 foot UHaul box truck in addition to the small UHaul trailer we brought! It was fun (albeit tiring) to get a chance to help her over the two days there. Finally made it back home to NH.

Then it was making a first pass at attacking our own storage unit stuff. A van and light trailer load was moved out and into the basement. A couple days of sorting reduced it by a third…at least it was progress!

Concurrently I decided to give it another go with possibly getting a plumber to replace out cropped out 25+ year old combi boiler …. They came back with quotes for systems that were enough to take your breath away…. So after a week lost to that I was back to doing it myself. Placed the preliminary part orders with Lowe’s and HomeDepot and have started to get the parts in. Meanwhile it good we are used to spending long trips on Over Easy or there would be a lot of cold showers,,,,More on that later….

Along with the storage unit and plumbing projects we have made some progress on the driveway and landscaping projects with the purchase of a used John Deere (JD) 318 mini tractor with a small front end Loader as well as a used Harbor Freight (Central Machinery) portable trailerable back hoe. Both are in excellent condition and we were able to get them at great prices. The JD was local to us so that was relatively easy. The back hoe was more of a challenge as they are harder to find than a hens tooth! The Admiral found the perfect one with very low hours and a mechanical gripper thumb (comes in handy when moving rocks and Timbers) but it was over in Vermont north of Burlington. As we’d missed out on the one or two other candidates I jumped on it and lugged a car carrier trailer (from UHaul of course) and drove the 3 & 1/2 hours over to look at it, buy it and the drive another 3&1/2 hours back. The seller took off a couple hundred bucks and even threw in a small snow plow blade that should fit to the JD! My daughter Lydia was in that area finishing a short backpacking trip so she came over to help load it and followed me home.
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I’m only really planning on keeping them both so I can get the yard projects done at my schedule without concerns about extended rental fees and the vagaries of New England weather. If I get a start on the yar projects this year I’ll feel good about it. I can finish them next year if need be. (A good portion of the rationale for the yard projects is to make a proper parking space of Over Easy when we’re up here)

We’ve made a couple of trips to the storage unit with Lydia. At her suggestion we’ve now been doing the sorting and shedding at the unit. It’s been more productive that way. Smart cookie she is!

The Admiral managed to ‘prang’ her left ankle the other day. An extension cord reel dropped on it. It was ok until it wasn’t… a Trip to the ER later with a set of X-rays and she is ok but is gonna be sore for a week or two. Gratefully nothings actually broken. :| :cry: :? :o

On the second floor balcony remove/replace project the Admiral and I are thinking of changing it from a full in-kind replacement to maybe just a short depth “Juliet” type. A lot less work (no 4 foot deep support footings and first floor deck reinforcement columns and beams to bring it up to current code requirements). Instead we will add a permanent wider & deeper sloped (snow shedding) metal awning to better cover the first deck which is where we spend most of our time anyway. Sort of a win/win and a less complex project.

Took a day off yesterday and went sailing on our little Sunfish with Lydia. It was a perfect day!

It’s been a busy month since we arrived and we’ve got to get get back at it…

Best Regards,
Over Easy 8) 8)
User avatar
Russ
Admiral
Posts: 7904
Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2007 12:01 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
Location: Bozeman, Montana "Luna Azul" 2008 M 70hp Suzi

Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy - 2023/2024

Post by Russ »

You have been busy. A bit back breaking I bet.

What caused the power steering pump to blow smoke?

That's a good mechanic to replace it for parts only.
--Russ
OverEasy
Admiral
Posts: 2339
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:16 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: NH & SC

Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy - 2023/2024

Post by OverEasy »

Hi Russ!

Not back breaking :o :? (hopefully) … THAT’S why I got the toys :| :wink: :D

Busy, yes! The weather here in NH changes like the Okd Man in the Mountain has one of those old fashioned railroad track change turnstile switches and he’s gonna change the seasons on a schedule “Click” Summer turns to Fall then “Click” it’s Winter! Brrrrr!

I’m at that stage where I take the continual ‘slow and steady’ approach of making whatever progress I can whenever/wherever/however make… it ain’t gonna get done by itself :wink: :D :wink: :D.

The vane type power steering pump was a full blown catastrophic failure. From what I saw of it while it was still hot it looks like the vanes folded up internally and disintegrated into each other while the driven hub continued to rotate deflecting the outer pump housing in several places. Heck… it was probably original from factory. I figure the possible scenario was the vane tips had eventually worn down over time and there wasn’t enough vane engaged with the hub slots to hold them in place anymore after 300K miles and 30 years.

Right at the moment I’m contending with getting my younger daughter’s 2010 Ford Explorer serviced at the dealership for her annual inspection stuff and a check engine light. Unfortunately after going through the effort of dropping the car off last night so work could start at 7AM this morning the clerk who took the key last night bollixed it up. The Service Department only got the key when I called at 10 AM to check on progress! Fribble! Then there is the additional aspect of having to drive the vehicle for an additional 100-to-150 miles so the emissions computer can reset and get reinspect end per NH refs. Fribble! It is what it is so I’ve gotta work with it, move on and make progress … there’s other things to get accomplished.

At times I think this ‘retirement’ really means that all I’m gonna get is “really tired” :D :wink: :D ….. it still beats the alternative!

Best Regards,
Over Easy 8) 8)
User avatar
Russ
Admiral
Posts: 7904
Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2007 12:01 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
Location: Bozeman, Montana "Luna Azul" 2008 M 70hp Suzi

Re: A New Journey Begins for OverEasy - 2023/2024

Post by Russ »

The back breaking comment was directed at all the moving U-haul stuffs. We just finished emptying my mother-in-laws house (she went into assisted living) and what a back breaking deal that was. 89 year olds accumulate so much STUFF. 3x20 yard dumpsters worth of stuff (and I carefully packed those dumpsters for max efficiency). My back was stressed.

I never understood how exactly power steering pumps work. My newer cars seem to have electric driven pumps. My Prius runs most stuff off electric. The A/C the power steering..all works with the motor off. Then my Mercedes seems to have a similar pump as with most new cars, when idling too long the engine shuts off and the systems like power steering seem to keep working. I've opened the hood and can't recognize anything under there. When I was young, I was forced to work on my own cars and replaced just about every type of thing on the engine. Not anymore.

Check Engine Light: Interesting you mention 100-150 miles to reset the computer. My son was working on his girlfriends car to fix the engine light. Code was O2 sensor so he replaced it (part was cheap, not the labor had she gone to a shop). The light stayed on for a while. Then........it went out. I bet that is the reason. Needed time to reset the computer. Good to know.

I'm mostly retired now. Have a few clients that won't let me go, but it does give more time for sailing.
--Russ
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