March 31, 2009

3.31.09 clean parts

Jim has been busy the last few days….here are the parts he has been working on.3.31.09 007

It’s a shame I didn’t have a before and after of each one.

The heat exchanger had seperated from it’s base. The solder or lead that was holding it had broken. Jim used JB Weld and fastened hose clamps to the base to hold it securely. Now it’s waiting to be painted.3.31.09 010

This piece of the exhaust where the water mixes with it….had a thick layer of carbon and diesel fuel in it. About 20 % blocked…  Looks pretty good now. 3.31.09 009

Now he’s getting antsy….hopefully the block will be here Fri…but he’ll still be on hold…the gaskets havn’t been sent yet.

March 30, 2009

3.30.09 mystery solved

Well…..Jim was right….all that stuff in the heat-exchanger ..was old impellers.  Today he took the raw water pump apart and the impeller was still in there.cleaning 007

In his right hand is a piece of the trash he took out….and in his left is the impeller. He replaced it with a new one.  Here is a close-up of the reason why.cleaning 004 c

It is already showing signs of cracking. So……..if you’ve checked your impeller…. and pieces are missing….take the inlet side of the heat-exchanger off…..that’s where they are. We cant tell if these are what’s left of one impeller or the remnants of many impeller changes over the years. With the way it is designed, Jim feels at least half of the water-flow was restricted. 

From Jim’s days of racing, engine building and truck-driving…he has learned to check his gauges regularly….. He never say any signs of over-heating …but it may have in the past, when the last impeller failed.

Here’s another look at the end of the heat exchanger and all the stuff he got out of that top third..evidently that is where the greatest flow is.heat exchanger    stuff 001 Jim checked the thermostat by putting it in a pan of water with a thermometer …heated it up …and made sure it opened at the correct temperature….it did.

Since there hadn’t been an over-heating problem…Jim almost didn’t take this apart…he just likes to see how things are made and work….sure glad he did.  I wonder how many old impeller parts it would take to shut the water flow down completely. Engine running hot…and you cant figure out why?…..might want to check here.

This might all be old news to most of you Nissan LD28 owners….but this is our first and we were quite surprised. Jim says he is learning a lot more than he really wanted to.

3.29.09 cleaning header

There was a lot of carbon buildup in the intake/ exhaust/water manifold.cleaning 001

This was just the easy stuff.

March 28, 2009

3.28.09 busy feeders

You never know what you will find on this blog….just had to share some of the pictures I got of my birdfeeders. They are just outside the window of the computer room…maybe 10 ft from where I am sitting. I’ve been trying to get pictures of the Indigo Buntings but they are pretty flighty. There are 2 Painted and 2 Indigo buntings is this one.birds 3.27.09 033

You can see that one is much bluer than the other….they havnt completely colored out yet…

The green one in the picture below is the female Painted Bunting.  birds 3.27.09 039

I have seen 4 Painted Bunting pairs and 3 Indigo Bunting pairs at the feeders. The brown ones are the female Indigos.birds 3.27.09 020 Oh….here are the “twins”….they come in early evenings to finish up what the turkeys havnt gotten.hauling out and engine 007 We love the “critters” that pass thru here. At times we get overrun….

One year we had wild hogs that came in each night…I started tossing corn out into the underbrush that needed clearing and they did a great job. But they can be really destructive. 

March 27, 2009

3.27.09 engine tear down

Most of the morning was spent cleaning the oil pan. It will be put on the rebuilt block.clean oilpan Jim has been wanting to tear the engine down to see what the problems were..even though we are going to use a different rebuilt long block. 

tearing down the block 025 It was pretty interesting. I got a lesson in engines while taking pictures.tearing down the block 033 One of the tricks of the trade….see that short hose?..he puts one on each bolt before dropping the piston out so the threads wont score anything.tearing down the block 036 Heres one of the pistons.tearing down the block 039He could see where there had been blow-by…and found a couple of other things…..when he got done he decided to scrape the paint off of the heat exchanger…heat exchanger    stuff 003 He’ll repaint it later…but the real surprise came when he took the end cap off…..heat exchanger    stuff 002 all of that “stuff” was packed into the third section at the top of the picture.  He’s thinking it is impeller parts from the water pump…that will get torn down tomorrow. We never had an over heating problem so it was a big surprise..Perhaps the water pump impellers had been replaced at some point. So…..if you are missing some impellers on your water pump you might want to look in here. He’ll know tomorrow.

March 26, 2009

3.26.09 What a difference a day makes

This is the engine compartment right after the engine was removed yesterday.engine haulout    3.25.09 032 Jim spent a great deal of time cleaning it today. engine repair 002

March 25, 2009

3.25.09 engine get lifted out

Well….Jim has something to do now, besides mow, chop, weed and fill in the holes the critters make in the lawn…

One of the locals here in the Black Hammock, has a big truck with a lift. He came over this morning to see what the boat looked like..said he could do it…came back an hour later…and did it…engine haulout    3.25.09 008 This was definately the way to do it.engine haulout    3.25.09 011 engine haulout    3.25.09 018 engine haulout    3.25.09 021 He controls it with a hand control.. so he was able to work it up and out from inside the boat where he could see just what he had for clearances. Once out…they pulled ahead and set the engine on the tractor barn floor.engine haulout    3.25.09 026 From there Jim put it on his engine hoist…engine haulout    3.25.09 037 Once he got the parts off the back he put it on an engine stand.engine haulout    3.25.09 047 He spent the rest of the afternoon pulling parts off.engine haulout    3.25.09 053 He’ll spend the next few days cleaning everything up…I guess this is a side of boating most people dont see.

March 24, 2009

3.24.09 he’s started on the engine

Didnt want you to think Jim was sitting around..bored..here in the jungle. Nope..got a new chainsaw…been weed eating…mowing…lots of fun stuff. Oh….and he’s started removing parts of the engine and getting it ready for the lift out.hauling out and engine 014 There is a tractor dealer with a big lift that will do it. We’ll tow the boat down there, 3 or 4 miles,  and they can sit it in the back of the truck.  From there Jim can get it with his engine hoist and move it to the engine stand. I’ll try to remember the camera…should be interesting.

3.19.09 hauling out

This is the ramp we used. hauling out and engine 002 You wouldnt think we could back in far enough and not drop off the end of the ramp…but we did.  We backed the trailer in at low tide to see how far we could go. It looked like it would be ok so we came back at high tide and all went well.

Once on the trailer we stripped all the canvas off and stashed everything for the ride.hauling out and engine 001 This will be the farthest we’ve towed. Fernandina Beach to Oviedo, FL. It’s only about 180 miles to the house. Good trip. No problems…truck handled it well. We look forward to traveling to other places. Really want to do the Land Between the Lakes (KY) one of these days, or maybe even the Arkansas River with Larry and Diane.

March 17, 2009

3.17.09

Yesterday didnt start out the best. Had trouble getting the engine to run and when it did…it poured smoke.  Shut down several times and Jim tried a few things…finally got it running well enough and without a great deal of smoke so headed to Fernandina Beach. Carole and Ed of Southern Cross, suggested a couple of marinas so we ended up at Tiger’s Pt. Marina.  They had a mechanic on duty…he couldnt pin point anything…fuel injection pump..timing belt..rings …all the things Jim has thought of so we will be towing home. It was disappointing since it ran so well at the start of the trip….seemed quieter…smoother…We were happy with the new injector tips.

Carole and Ed invited us over for an early St Patrick’s day dinner of corned beef and cabbage. I need to get a pressure cooker (as soon as we have a boat that runs)…it was a fantastic meal and prepared in less than an hour. It looks like the way to go to save time and fuel. I’ve been reading about them but never knew anyone that used one.

Jim’s brother, Carl, came to the rescue. He picked Jim up and is taking him to the truck and trailer. We will be hauling out tomorrow at high tide.

This will be the last picture of Slow Motion and Southern Cross, together, for awhile.3.17.09 004 We are sorry we wont meet the other Albin owners…sorry we didnt get to say a proper thank you and goodbye to Gordon..and to Karen and Jerry.  We did get to see an Albin 28 cruise in and turn around ..we thought he was going to dock so I didnt grab my camera…It was Restless…(my old CB handle), but he continued on out the creek. I hope he’s headed for the mini get together at Cumberland Island.

It was fun running with you, Ed & Carole..we really enjoyed your company. Let’s do it again next year. Maybe we’ll even finish the trip next time….for now…our next cruise will be “land cruising” to NY.

3.16.09

Good cruising day…but the engine started doing funny stuff….smoke…oscillating..just plain not running right.  Jim changed the fuel filter…drained the glass..hopeing we had bad fuel or water in the fuel….We’ll see how she runs tomorrow.

March 15, 2009

3.15.09 going to Fernandina Beach

Another beautiful sunrise. 3.15.09 009

We covered 56 miles today. Our speed varied from 4 mph to 8 mph…depending on the tide.

There was a beautiful sunset…3.15.09 sunset at Fernandina Beach 003 and then we watched the shuttle launch.3.15.09 launch 002

We were able to see the booster rocket separation and watched them fall until they were out of the sunlight. It’s always a thrill to see it go up.

Cumberland Island tomorrow.

3.14.09

Left Palatka and headed to Green Cove Springs for the night.3.14.09 008

Carole and Ed have a good friend, Gordon, who lent us his van, complete with 2 cats, to run to the store for supplies. “Thanks, George…see you on the return…

His boat is currently “on the hard” while he does repairs. He built it and sailed it from England. The yard in Green Cove Springs is full of boaters working on their pride and joys..big and small. Some absolutely unbelievable. Lots of dream boats in there for us.

We had a pre-supper snack aboard our boat and enjoyed stories and a couple games of “R L M” . a dice game where you pass chips to the R the L or to the cup in the middle.  The last person with a chip is the winner. a good game that requires very little concentration so you can still visit.

Nice night for sleeping.

3.13.09 Silver Glen Springs to Palatka, FL

Walk the dog and say goodbye to friends…..3.13..-09 018 everyone finds a way to enjoy the water..3.13..-09 004 This is Muscrat Love..an Albin 27 (like ours), it is a rental boat. Jim wants a hardtop like this …but a bit higher for more head room…….3.13..-09 002

Southern Cross makes a pretty picture as they cruised by us..3.13..-09 029 then we caught up to Karen and Jerry aboard Tursas…3.13..-09 047 We all stopped in Welaka at the city dock and enjoyed lunch together at “Shrimp R US”.3.13..-09 049

Continued on to Palatka city dock for the night.

March 13, 2009

3.12.09 Moonlight run

We had a good night on the river. We used to sail alot at night on Grand Lake, OK.

That was where we met Larry (River Nomad). He was a die-hard sailor and poked a bit of fun at our 26X, with it’s 50hp motor. Now we both have trawlers.

Larry, Diane & River Nomad made it safely back to OK. We’ll look forward to meeting them again for a cruise.

At the entrance to Silver Glen Springs..we anchored and took the dingy in. The moon was still up .3.11 to 3.12.09 009 But the sky was getting pink in the E.3.11 to 3.12.09 029 3.11 to 3.12.09 044 That’s Slow Motion, in silhouette, on the horizon.3.11 to 3.12.09 049 Jim saw this flock of birds.3.11 to 3.12.09 047 I was trying to get a nice shot of the boat in the sunrise and accidently got this.spider The camera focused on the palm leaf.

Using the oars, we checked the depth over the bar to see if we could clear it.  Looked like we had 2 inches more water than needed. Once back at the boat we proceeded in …slowly…no problem…

Carole & Ed with Southern Cross…were already here.3.11 to 3.12.09 054 Ed was doing a bit of cleaning up when we rowed up to say hello.3.11 to 3.12.09 063 George was visiting with,Kerry, one of the owner’s of Tursas. She and Jerry  have just come up from the Keys…and are heading to NY aboard their Albin 25.3.11 to 3.12.09 061 We were invited aboard Southern Cross for strawberry shortcake with Carole & Ed. Kerry & Jerry joined us. Ed is waiting to help us tie alongside.3.12.09 018 Some exceptional people spend lots of time aboard boats.

Dont let anyone tell you Florida doesnt  fog the mosquitos..3.12.09 014 Just kidding….there was a fire burning to the W of us. the smoke stayed high and didnt bother us.

We are heading N to Cumberland Island, GA, in the morning.