Monday - May 16

I located the part on the internet but waited to talk to the local mechanic before ordering it.  Eric, the chief of all service related stuff here at the Indiantown Marina, called one of his "local" suppliers and as luck would have it, he had the part in stock.  Local for here was in Hobe Sound, some 25 miles away.  The local cab company, known only as Fred was a bit pricey but the motor yacht "Fortuity" we had come through the lock with on Saturday was also staying here and was preparing to get hauled for hurricane season and they were moving onto a motorhome.

Fortunately, they had a car and when I shared my predicament, they offered their car for the trip while they were working on getting their boat ready.  It was about 9am when I left and they just asked that I be back by noon.  Beth was still sleeping so I took off for Hobe Sound. I located Hobe Sound Marine quite easily and true to their word, the part was available and the right one.  Quite a hassle for a $12 part but a very necessary part.  I got back to the marina about 10:45 and started working on the motor.

The disassembly and reassembly went quite well even though the love bugs were swarming and very annoying.  The local gator kept a close eye on the repairs.  After everything was reassembled and there were no parts left, we tested it and it was perfect.  No leaks, running smoothly and consistently.  I resealed the port window that displayed a leak during the downpour then I redid the rudder lines as a permanent fix.  Once we were satisfied that everything was working properly, we took the dogs for a walk, checked out of the marina and said goodbye to some of our new friends.

Beth and I enjoyed a nice dinner of hot dogs and fries and played cards for a couple of hours then watched TV.  We plan for an early departure tomorrow to enter Lake Okeechobee.