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July 30, 2008
Family Weekend
We received news that Chis' twin, Eliz, would arrive from in New York from London via Ajijic, Mexico (dear South African friend Graham said "do you Canadians know what a map is?"), and that brother John-Mark and wife, Nancy, would arrive in Stamford, CT. All in time for the weekend, and with some luck, a sail or two with Prana.
Last weekend, we had left Prana in Huntington with the dealer. Yes, still experiencing some engine issues. We were reassured that things were running fine. Before leaving Huntington Saturday morning, we called Nancy & J-M to say we would be in Stamford by 11:30am. The engine started fine, and off we went.
There was less than a knot of wind, so we motored across the sound. About mid-way to Stamford, the high temperature alarm went off on the engine, and we shut it down. Chis went below to investigate. Our engine coolant had dropped. Not just a little. There wasn't a drop. It was all in the pan below the engine. We had no spare aboard, so we called the dealer and said "what #$&^%* now?". He called SeaTow, who came an hour later and towed us into Stamford. We arrived shortly after 2, and found Nancy & J-M standing on the dock waiting for us.
I asked the dock assistant to see if there was an engine mechanic nearby. Of course, they had all left for the day. I called the dealer and asked him to send someone over immediately. Not until Monday. I was livid. Spitting nails.
Sunday morning, Chis and I set to determine the source of the problem, and quickly discovered that the manufacturer/ dealer had not tightened the drain cock on the coolant, and so it vibrated loose and spilled it everywhere. We mopped it up, tightened the drain cock, and refilled the coolant. We started the engine, and sure enough, it worked like a breeze. No coolant leaks. Nothing. We decided to go for a sail.
Eliz had arrived Saturday night and had stayed in our apartment. We had touched base, and put her on hold pending resolution of our engine issues. I called her and suggested she get the next train to Stamford. She arrived to great glee and fanfare, engine running. Despite what was turning out to be a disappointing weekend, it turned out that we had a lovely sail and an even lovelier visit with all.
Here are a few photos from the weekend...
Nancy, Dave & Chis sailing Long Island Sound
Captain Eliz
Setting the Genneker
Nancy & JM
Posted by dave at July 30, 2008 07:32 PM