Not a bad place to get stuck

Atlantic Highlands has been a pleasant surprise, and not a bad place to be stuck waiting for parts. Services and restaurants are easily accessible, and folks have been very friendly. The anchorage has been nice and quiet, and quite picturesque. All this within sight of the Big Apple, 20 miles away. We had thought we'd actually be in NYC on 9/11, but our prop saga kept us at a distance. Nevertheless, the reminder of that date was clear from our anchorage, and it was very moving to see the tribute of light,like a tether to heaven.

Outsourcing outboards

Johnson outboards have been around forever. I remember when I was a little kid seeing them all over the lakes and rivers of Mississippi and Alabama. So when we took possession of Synchronicity, the sight of a Johnson outboard hanging on our dinghy was a nostalgic site. During the survey, though, we found that the kill switch wouldn't work. The only way I could stop the engine was to pull the gas line and let it die of fuel starvation. So when we moved aboard this spring, we tried to find someone to fix it. Nobody in Colonial Beach wanted to bother with a little 15hp. So after cruising around the Chesapeake for a few weeks we got real tired of leaving the dink with the engine putting away. We took it in to a repair shop in Annapolis. $100 later we got a recommendation to take it to a Johnson dealer. Oh, and he Johnson dealer tells us that our Johnson isn't really a Johnson, because Johnson is now really Bombardier, and since ours is the 4-stroke 15hp, ours is really made by Suzuki..... so take it to a Suzuki dealer. Now it's three months later, and the outboard still won't stop.

But at least it goes. That is, until last week. We were anchored just across from Atlantic City in Brigantine Beach, and decided to head to town and go to Trump Marina casino for a giant buffet dinner. We knew it would be a bit of a challenge to find the tiny channel inlet back in the dark, but I had my tiny GPS to help guide us in. The tide was out and sure enough, we missed the inlet enough to hit the sand bar. We pushed off and continued in, but little did we know that the rubber cushion hub on the prop that protects the engine shaft had done it's job and wouldn't push much longer. And sure enough, when we got to Atlantic Highlands, the engine started running at high RPM, but the boat would only do about 1 mph. We weren't sure what it was, so I called around to a few service shops (now do I call Johnson, Bombardier, or Suzuki?), but nothing was quick and easy. So we figured we should first replace the prop. We found Atlantic Marine Supply right here in town, so they quickly ordered a prop, due the next day. OK, sounds good. But I should know by now that it's too easy to work. We got the prop on time on Tue and then found the splines didn't match. I found the exact replacement at Defender, and Mike at Atlantic Marine Supply was gracious to let us have it delivered to his shop. We figured we needed a spare, so we thought we'd try some more avenues, and even found a suzuki dealer right here in Atlantic Highlands. Hey, maybe we can get the kill switch problem fixed. But no, they focus on larger engines and parts would have to be ordered, and our 4 day stay here would probably stretch to a week. Then we found a local prop repair shop, and Jake really worked hard to help us out. But alas, no parts to fit, no prop to match. I'm still not sure if a suzuki prop would fit our boat. But UPS says our exact replacement is out for delivery this morning, so we're hoping to finally pull up anchor and head to NYC this afternoon.

Now This Is More Like It!

After spending a couple of months just hangin' out at Colonial Beach we're finally off on a new impromptu adventure. At this writing, we're passing the Chesapeake Bay Cove Point Lighthouse, Coast Guard Station and nuclear power plant enroute to Annapolis. Conditions are very good with winds expected to run 10-15 knots and on a broad reach all day. We've gained a passenger/crewmate in David whose boat remains in CB while we 3 venture out. Our destination for September is New England via Delaware Bay and Cape May to Block Island. More on that as the trip progresses.

Lest we forget to share all the fun of the last 2 months, let us hit some of the highlights. My particular favorite was the week that Sally left to visit her mother in Huntsville. I must say I can't remember when I've had such a good time in many years. Temperatures hit record highs with heat indicies in the area of 100-105F. Dew points were up in the 70's and even the kitties went into semi-hibernation as the oppressive heat and humidity settled in for several days. But then the fun really started.

Sitting at dock in CB for any length of time allows a lush growth of sea grass and barnacles to cake the hull and invade the thru hulls with the same abundance and abandon as kudzu overtaking the southeastern U.S. The sea water cooling came to a complete stop and both AC units went out within minutes of each other. Almost simultaneously, and with the starboard waste holding tank full, the macerator began to leak into the bilge via the cabinet floor beneath the sink. A photo wouldn't be helpful here, but smell-o-vision would certainly help our readers to share more fully in the experience.

I managed to slow the macerator leak and rinsed out the bilge using the shore water making conditions slightly more tolerable so I could at be in the hull to start working on the AC water pump. Our neighbor, David, gave me a hand opening the filter housing and removing the seacock end of the sea water hose. Surprise, surprise! Virtually no water flow from the seacock, even in full open position. The strainer was caked with about an inch of grass which held tenaciously to the filter basket. At that point I cleaned the basket but was pretty tired having worked on the whole mess for about 3 hours. With a lapse in concentration I forgot that the o-ring that holds one end of the strainer in shape was still in the cleaning bucket. Yup, I tossed it into the bay and didn't have a spare. I shared the whole adventure with Sally, cleaned up and had some dinner around 9:00pm before collapsing into bed - temp around 85 and dew point still in the 70's.

When I awoke the next morning I was ready to tackle the AC once again so I headed to the local Ace hardware where I picked up a $4.79 brass fitting. Back on the boat I removed the hose from the filter to the pump, inserted the brass fitting and attached the shore hose to the other end, thus bypassing the filter and sourcing fresh water for the AC. Finally, both units working, I got some much needed relief from the heat and humidity. We got a new filter basket via overnight express, cleaned out the seacock as best we could, removed and cleaned heavy grass growth from the intake hoses and reconnected the seawater intake through the filter. All remained well for a time but we did experience another failure in about 3 weeks due to grass in the intake hose. When Sally returned we tackled the macerator together and fixed it with the service kit which had luckily been supplied by Synchronicity's former owner.

Here are some pictures from our September journey. At this writing we're sitting just south of New York City on September 11 and again mourning the loss of so many lives and painfully aware of the missing towers on the skyline.

Departing Solomons, MD

Sally and David, Ready for Annapolis

The Admiralty Rests after successfully hoisting the spinnaker.

Passing the "Pride of Baltimore II" on the C&D Canal.

"Proteus" on Delaware Bay

For more info on this amazing craft, click here:

http://www.wam-v.com/