Engine Test

Finally, we got permission to come ashore and complete immigration and customs paperwork at Crews Inn. It doesn't usually take this long, but apparently we were unlucky. There were a couple of guard pelicans on duty at the customs dock.

Every now and then we've been feeling some vibrations when running the engine, that just didn't feel right. They tend to happen when offshore in a strong current, so it's hard to debug and put a finger on them. But we were fairly confident that they were coming from something in the wet part of the drivetrain, under the boat. You could feel it below your feet, in the engine room.

So, one of the last jobs to do before hauling the boat for the season was to get an engine mechanic on board to try to hear and diagnose the issue. Then it could be dealt with on the hard.

Raymond, a local diesel mechanic, was happy to come out and have a look. We did a quick test drive, while he sat down in the engine room and listened to things. He was quite confident that the sound was just a worn cutlass bearing, which was something we were planning to replace anyway. A fairly straightforward job to do, out of the water.

Navionics Track