Progress
Svmelos
Thu 5 Jun 2008 11:14
Progress. By noon yesterday I had the cylinder heads back.
They had been pressure checked for leaks and found Ok and
the valves had been reground. Apparently there was evidence
of leaking around both inlet valves. After an early lunch I
started the process of putting it all back together but this
was slowed down by two bolts that I dropped in the bilge.
After a while I got the first one out but within minutes I
had dropped a second one! But this was not the only issue.
While looking for the bolts I found a considerable amount of
oil in the bilge. I cannot think how it can have got there
other than that one of our gallon containers has leaked as
we are keeping these in an adjacent bilge area. If that is
the case than it is only a messy clean up. If, though, the
oil has come from the engine I may have a much bigger
problem than I ever thought. Hopefully I can find out fairly
soon.
Yesterday evening we met friends Jane and Ray here in Fort
Pierce. When Janet did her singlehanded trip to Bermuda 13
years ago Jane arrived in Bermuda the following day and, as
two single handed women sailors they became good friends.
Jane’s mother lives here in Fort Pierce and it just happened
that she was visiting so, we have been able to meet all of
the friends that Janet met all those years ago. That is
apart from friends in Bermuda who we hope to see when (if)
we arrive there.
This morning I plan on finishing putting the engine
together, running the engine and tracing the oil leak. If
all goes well then we can use the remainder of the day to
get ourselves and Melos ready and then head out tomorrow.
The good and bad news there is that the anticipated winds on
the way to Bermuda are very light for the next few days.
Jeremy
The day before yesterday when we were still waiting for
engine checks and had run out of jobs to do for the time
being, we drove to St. Augustine to meet our other good
friends, Charles and Cotton, who have known my family for
many years. They were some of the “angels” of my last trip
to Bermuda, in that Cotton and my sister Nancy, were part of
the crew on Melos when we took her through the Okeechobee
Waterway. (We might have done that this trip, but there is
not enough water in it right now). St. Augustine is a unique
city, the oldest in the United States, and has a lot of
character. Seeing friends has been fun, but we are getting
tired of being stuck in the marina.
Janet
Jeremy R Hood
Higgins, Smythe & Hood Yachts
200 Shipyard Drive
Seabrook, TX 77586
Phone: 281 474 5100
Email: jeremy {CHANGE TO AT} hshyachts {DOT} com
Web: www.hshyachts.com