Saturday, April 28, 2012

Thursday - End of the trip

We departed very early, basically as the sun was coming up we untied from the mooring ball and headed south.  Thomas was debating parking the boat in Ft. Pierce and going to pick up his car, take care of his business then continue his trip down to the keys.  It was another motoring day with the wind still on the bow.
We tried fishing but didn't catch anything.  The weather was beautiful and we were making good time.  Thomas had spent part of the afternoon calling marina's to see who had the best deal to dock the boat.
He had decided to park as our days had been long and tiring and to make it to Ft. Myers, we still had several 12 hour days to go.  He was feeling good about his decision and it was about that time that the motor had a very disturbing squeal and stopped.  We drifted a bit and were being pushed into shallow water by the wind.  We quickly dropped anchor to give us time to figure out the issue.  Upon investigation, the cam pulley had separated from the motor and upon further investigation, it was found that the actual camshaft had sheared and this engine was not going to be running anytime soon.  Thomas, surprisingly, wasn't surprised.  He had researched Honda's and they did have a reputation for having a flywheel issue which I had repaired under a Honda recall back in 2006 or 2007 so I was the one truly surprised.  Apparently this wasn't a flywheel issue but another issue that has plagued Honda's and is pretty well documented.  The camshaft had sheared where the cam pulley attached and would require a complete engine breakdown, new parts and rebuild to get it going again.  A 1995 engine wouldn't be worth the repairs.  This is the engine that took Beth and I from Savannah to Mexico and back safe and sound and without much of a hitch.  I trusted this engine with our very lives and it did not let us down, Thank God for that.
So, we were dead in the water, the wind against us and anchored in shallow water.  BoatUS to the rescue !  If you own a boat and use it in US waters, A BoatUS membership is a necessity!  They were most courteous on the radio and followed up on the cell phone.  The Captain arrived in about 1/2 hour and we were already rigged to be towed.  He towed us to the marina that Thomas had picked which was only about a mile away from our position.  The slip they had assigned was a bit tight to get in to but the BoatUS Captain skillfully guided us in and we tied up.  Thomas went to the office to take care of the paperwork while I secured the boat and got us hooked up to shore power and water. 

After resting for a bit, Thomas checked online for a replacement engine while I made arrangements for a rental car.  Thomas is partial to Yamaha so that was his priority and was very sure he would never own another Honda.  It had been a long day and did not go as we had planned.  Thomas took it in stride, while disappointed he was in decent spirits.  The plan was to head out in the morning with the rental car with me taking Thomas to Jacksonville to pick up his truck and me continuing back to Ellijay. 

Friday 04/27/2012

I said goodbye to "Second Chance" and we headed north in the rental car.  Thomas and I had a good road trip north and we parted in Jacksonville.  I wish him all the best in his journeys.



Over the next month or so Beth and I will be readying the RV so stay tuned or follow us by email by filling in your email address in the box below.

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