culprit found!

“I found it!” called Wil from the port engine room. It was like music to my ears, but yet too good to be true. When I asked what he’d found, he held out a small dirty rag in the palm of his hand. Was he being for real? Yes, he was. A small rag had actually been left inside the engine! Apparently, when Wil had acquired this engine to replace our old engine, the rag had been placed in the coolant water pump in order to keep bugs and dirt out during the transfer. No wonder the engine wasn’t cooling properly! In my mind, this is like a surgeon leaving a sponge inside of a patient! Yikes!

Regardless, we (especially Wil) are extremely relieved to have found the culprit to the overheating engine. It was late, but Wil still managed to put the engine back together, and we had it running. It did not overheat! We didn’t let it run for too long, but it was long enough to know the temperature wasn’t getting too hot. Tomorrow, he’ll double check that everything is in working order. Yahoo!

If all checks out, then we’ll complete all the last minute tasks for an offshore voyage. Top off water tanks. Attach jacklines. Put reefing lines back on the mainsail. Do laundry. Finish decluttering the cabins. Finish the abandon ship bag. Review the navigational plan. Watch the weather. We’re guessing it could take about two days for the final preparations.