Life at 23 feet
- Thread starter Bad Obsession
- Start date
Today I got my outboard back from Chesapeake Bay Boat Basin. The total pai was $181. The worst part is that I caused this. Apparently I had my mix too rich. I have no idea how I did this because I am careful about mixing. None the less it was the major problem and I have new spark plugs and my carb was cleaned. It was a painful learning experience. Oh well, I am set to go and I will leave Indian Creek tomorrow morning.
Most single handers don't breach this subject but I will tackle it. I am a bit homesick. I have a lot going on back there and I miss it. My wife has been patient and she will have to remain that way for a while. I still have a ways to go to get to home. I will probably cut the cruise short a few days. Oh yeah, my cruising kitty is gasping for breath too! Either way I am loving this trip despite a few hardships. I have had some lovely spinnaker runs, epic ones. I have also tested the skill of this helmsman and the metal of this boat and both stood tall. My Stingray Point story checked out and I went through five foot waves! It was t even close either, I never was really concerned or had thoughts of turning back.
The funny part is that I want to go home and as soon as I get there I will be dying to get back out here. Finding the correct balance is tough. I doubt that I will ever totally find it.
Most single handers don't breach this subject but I will tackle it. I am a bit homesick. I have a lot going on back there and I miss it. My wife has been patient and she will have to remain that way for a while. I still have a ways to go to get to home. I will probably cut the cruise short a few days. Oh yeah, my cruising kitty is gasping for breath too! Either way I am loving this trip despite a few hardships. I have had some lovely spinnaker runs, epic ones. I have also tested the skill of this helmsman and the metal of this boat and both stood tall. My Stingray Point story checked out and I went through five foot waves! It was t even close either, I never was really concerned or had thoughts of turning back.
The funny part is that I want to go home and as soon as I get there I will be dying to get back out here. Finding the correct balance is tough. I doubt that I will ever totally find it.
I still own a compac 23/3. I've had afun with it but I recently moved to a cherubini 27
If anyone is interested please contact me at jdominguezcpa@gmail.com.
If anyone is interested please contact me at jdominguezcpa@gmail.com.
I have sailed from Toms
River, NJ twice to New Bern, NC and have had great times, weather was great and would have liked to have stayed on the boat. I have a 27 foot Hunter, love it.
River, NJ twice to New Bern, NC and have had great times, weather was great and would have liked to have stayed on the boat. I have a 27 foot Hunter, love it.
Today was an amazing sail! In total I sailed over 35 miles, all under sail, 28 under spinnaker. Top speed was 6.2 knots on a surf.
I left Indian Creek at 8:00am. I made it to the Coan River in the Potomas by 5:00pm. I managed to run the autopilot with the spinnaker up for a while and I did shoot some video of it.
The only minor issue was that I was defended down upon by a plague of black biting flies. It was too warm to wear a lot but the constant bites was maddening. I guess they jumped on while I was going by Reedsville.
I am back in the Potmoac. I will probably make one more stop and return home on Saturday. This has been a good trip overall.
I left Indian Creek at 8:00am. I made it to the Coan River in the Potomas by 5:00pm. I managed to run the autopilot with the spinnaker up for a while and I did shoot some video of it.
The only minor issue was that I was defended down upon by a plague of black biting flies. It was too warm to wear a lot but the constant bites was maddening. I guess they jumped on while I was going by Reedsville.
I am back in the Potmoac. I will probably make one more stop and return home on Saturday. This has been a good trip overall.
Yes, somehow I had too much two cycle oil to gas.
Another irritating bout with Murphy, my anchor light which is new and newly wired quit working tonight. I have no idea why since I don't have a bolt meter aboard. This is irritating. Ugh
Another irritating bout with Murphy, my anchor light which is new and newly wired quit working tonight. I have no idea why since I don't have a bolt meter aboard. This is irritating. Ugh
Wow, I just don't understand you guys who like single handing. I've had to do it several times and it's just not as much fun as sharing the experience with someone else, especially someone I love, IMO.
A friend of mine sailed one and a half times around the world alone, non-stop and we had some long talks on the subject. In the end, I believe he just liked himself more than I do.
Great report.
Regarding this point; but sorry you can't be a true single-hander! ;^) Missing the dirt NOT ALLOWED.
Just kidding of course, but there is an interesting quote from the wife of Bernard Moitessier, the famous French solo sailor. She said;
'I always knew this was going to be very hard. I missed him when he was with the sea, and when he was with me, he missed the sea.'
Consider yourself one luck dude. I remember the C30 part of your life, but you still have a boat, right?
All the best, fair winds, epic trip, thanks for sharing.Sorry about the outboard problem. Seems you got hosed (like most of us do) on the cost as labor, new plugs and fresh mix should have been no more than $50. Chief
I know a couple of small engine mechanics, and neither of them live in castles. Just regular guys trying to make a living in a world. That price seems totally fair.
The problem here is all that needed to be done is drain old gas and change the fuel/mix and put in new spark plugs (clean the original plugs) and then charge for much more that likely was not done or necessary. (I am an ex-Yamaha dealer/mechanic) Chief
Chief, how do you expect anybody to stay in business if all they do is charge for their specific job-related expenses? You eat, have a roof over your head when you sleep, have a dry place to work, enjoy a vacation now and then, and even put a little money away for retirement, right? You don't get to have those things if all you do is cover the cost of the task at hand. Why would you expect a mechanic to do it? What about all the down time that the guy has to absorb while he waits for somebody like Bad O. to come in with a problem to fix. $181 sounds like a bargain to me. It certainly doesn't cover an hour of my time and I charge extra for expenses.
Bad O, there are a number of potential reasons why you may be over-doing the oil. The obvious is that your math might be wrong when you calculate the amount of oil to add. Or, you might not be draining all your gas. If you routinely fill your tank utilizing those pre-determined oil mixture bottles and you have gas in the tank when you do it, the oil mixture slowly but steadily increases. Also, if your outboard runs on 50:1 and you are not careful, you might be adding the contents from those small bottles that are sized for 40:1 based on a pre-determined fuel capacity.
Not reading the label got me in trouble when I filled my wife's leaf blower one day. She was buying those bottles from Sears and Home Depot that have the gas and oil already mixed at 50:1. She also had some of those little bottles that were just straight gas. A day after she got her leaf blower back from servicing at Lowes, I added straight gas from one of those bottles, by mistake, and gave her the blower to use. 5 minutes later it crapped-out and she returned to Lowes in a huff to complain about their service. They figured out that the straight gas broke the motor and she returned from Lowes with a new leaf blower ... and she cursed me out with some pretty salty language when she got back. The original service probably cost $250 and then she had to buy a new leaf blower after all. I hate those damn things. I can't stand the noise and the oil-rich smell of the gasoline, either!
Bad O, there are a number of potential reasons why you may be over-doing the oil. The obvious is that your math might be wrong when you calculate the amount of oil to add. Or, you might not be draining all your gas. If you routinely fill your tank utilizing those pre-determined oil mixture bottles and you have gas in the tank when you do it, the oil mixture slowly but steadily increases. Also, if your outboard runs on 50:1 and you are not careful, you might be adding the contents from those small bottles that are sized for 40:1 based on a pre-determined fuel capacity.
Not reading the label got me in trouble when I filled my wife's leaf blower one day. She was buying those bottles from Sears and Home Depot that have the gas and oil already mixed at 50:1. She also had some of those little bottles that were just straight gas. A day after she got her leaf blower back from servicing at Lowes, I added straight gas from one of those bottles, by mistake, and gave her the blower to use. 5 minutes later it crapped-out and she returned to Lowes in a huff to complain about their service. They figured out that the straight gas broke the motor and she returned from Lowes with a new leaf blower ... and she cursed me out with some pretty salty language when she got back. The original service probably cost $250 and then she had to buy a new leaf blower after all. I hate those damn things. I can't stand the noise and the oil-rich smell of the gasoline, either!
Scott: The point is he paid too much for such a simple problem. Its what the job is worth not what you think you or your business is worth! I have a BS in Business (CSU) also and they didn't teach us to rip off people.
Chief
Chief
I'm stuck on this part. Your wife's leaf blower? and you f'd it up?
We need to sit down and discuss this one over a beer, on the dock by the bay. (clever ain't I)
I took my 3.5 Nissan to the local small engine guy and asked if he worked on them... His reply:
"I have, and therefore, I don't." Thus began my steep learning curve on an engine without valves.