Day 385 Part two. Dead in the water again!!

We were up by 0445 to try and be underway by 0500.  Yeah, I know--that's darn early!!!  There was a reason for this madness.  It was not that we had that far to go today, it was the weather conditions along Johnstone Strait were to be the best in the morning with winds in the low teens--from the Northwest of course-the same way we needed to go and getting much worse 20 to 30 knots in the afternoon and we wanted to be where we wanted to be by that time.  So up we got and put on extra layers of clothes.   For being mid-May, it is still quite chilly up here.  If you add in the wind, it's cold.  Tracy had at least three layers of shirts and was smart enough to put on a second pair of pants as well as her Winter coat.  I had on two shirts and my Winter coat and a "Watch Cap" on my head plus insulated gloves.

I turned on the battery at the master switch for the "start" bank of batteries that are used to start the engine and pushed the button.  Just a bunch of clicks!!!  No starter!!!  Uh Oh!!  Down I came and into the engine compartment.  We'd had a few problems in the past with it being just a bit fussy to start, but I'd already taken the wires off the central hub of the solenoid and brushed with a wire brush and it had started the engine right up.  Not this time!!   Rats!!  Ok, out with the wrench and off with the nut again and pull the wires.   I'd already turned off the master switch for the "start" battery bank.  The last time I did this, I mistakenly touched the wires I was cleaning to the block of the engine and had sparks all over the place and it wasn't the Fourth of July.  There was some dirt and a bit of corrosion but nothing that could cause this failure.  I'd already checked to make sure that there was plenty of battery power.  Being the CEO of "Zephyr Power and Light"(not to mention Water and Sewage), I check the battery system many times during the day.  There is nothing wrong with being a bit paranoid about your systems on a boat while out cruising.  I got out my wire brush and cleaned them again and tightened them down again.   Back to the "start" switch(yes, I turned the batteries back on)and turned the key.  Just the rhythmic click of the starter again.  Off with the ground wires(yes, I turned off the batteries again).  Cleaned and re tightened.  Back to the "start" switch(yes I turned them back on again).  Again, just that annoying click- click- click of a starter that just doesn't want to engage.  There was only one wire left and it was the ground for the starter solenoid.  It looked alright(sort of dark but not bad) but I took it off--only a male to female type of attachment and slid it back on the male prong.  I turned on the key and Tracy pushed the start button on deck.  The starter turned but sparks flew from the grounding wire on the solenoid I had just re attached.  It was fried!!!

Finally an answer!!!  We were getting a bit concerned that here with no engine, it was going to be a long haul sailing back to a town that could get a good starter for poor Zephyr.  We typically have wind going the opposite direction from where we want to go.

Out with the rest of my electrical tools and wire fasteners.  This wire was at least 10 gauge which is good size but it has to handle quite a bit of power when it's in use.  I looked in my box of goodies and found ONE female fastener that would solve the problem.  Out with my new ratchet crimpers.  I snipped off the bad fastener and stripped the wire and slid on the new female fastener.  With only one, I made sure that before I started the crimping, the wire was securely in the hole in the fastener.  I would have hated to do the crimp just to have the wire fall out(I've done that before).  Not good form.  All the other fasteners I had were for much smaller gauge wires.   I engaged the crimper--really a cool new tool I picked up back in Seattle.  It makes a uniform crimp every time.

Bingo, it was on and tight.  You can see the new yellow fastener where it attaches to the solenoid with the red wire.   I turned on the key and Tracy pushed the start button on deck and vroom, Zephyr started right up!!  No sparks just a sweet purring engine.  Problem solved!!!  We were back in business and ready to go.  Thirty minutes late and with a bit of high blood pressure, but up came the anchor and we were off.

The two trawlers that had joined our anchorage last night had already left so only one sailboat was left as we pulled out.  With the engine pushing us at 6.5 knots we took off.  Of course the wind was straight at us as normal.  Down Sunderland Channel and into Johnstone strait.  Again, winds right at us.  While we had an ebb tide to help move us along, the wind slowed us down to the mid 5 knot range for the last part of the trip.  At least the waves were manageable--only about 1 foot for most of the trip.  Down the strait we went and pulled into Port Harvey on the North side and up Havannah Channel.  We finally dropped anchor in Boughey Bay(50 31.139N 126 11.125W)way down on the South side of the bay.  We were set by 1010.  A distance of 28 miles in just 4 hours 40 minutes.  Not bad.  

We got settled in and started going over charts for tomorrows trip.  We have another set of rapids up North to go through and needed to calculate the proper time(1340hours) to go into them.  We've gone through quite the learning curve on tides and currents since we started this trip.  You can't just set off any time you want--well you can, but it could make your trip a lot more scary and a whole lot longer fighting currents and tides as you try and go down some of the channels up here.

We figure on spending tomorrow night at Lagoon Cove off the Northwest shore of West Cracroft Island.  It sounds like a great place for the night.  Once that was setup, we both sort of crashed and took naps on and off through the afternoon.  It was cloudy and rained off and on so the best place to be was inside nice and warm.

Our "furr people" are settling in alright.  They have learned to no longer fear the engine when it starts but they still don't like it much.  Most of the time they sleep while we are moving.  Of course, they sleep once we stop also.  The thing they ALL hate is being thrown around by the waves we sometimes face as we move down the channels and straits.  We have made it a habit of closing off the door to the stern cabin where we sleep just to make sure they don't leave us little gift showing their dissatisfaction for what we are putting them through.  Many times while we are moving along--sailing or motoring, Snowshoe will come up into the cockpit.   Blue has just started doing the same thing.  Once we drop anchor, they are much better, coming up and out on deck for a stroll.  Snowshoe has taken over beneath the dingy as his personal "clubhouse".  He spends a great deal of his day out there just snoozing away.  Blue is always on the hunt for something else to get in trouble with--bug, bird or her brothers, she doesn't care but she is of the firm belief that this is her boat and the rest of us are all just her guests.  We have tried to arrange our day trips to put them through the least turmoil and waves and reassure them.  We are normally only on the move for 5 to 7 hours a day and with proper planning, it isn't to bad for them.  Yeah, we feel a good bit guilty about what we are putting them through but we can't imagine not having them here with us.  We've been told that life would be much more  simple for us once we left the United States if we left them home but we can't imagine life with out them on board.  

We don't know how long poor Shadow will be with us.  He's now 17 and gets thinner every day.  He can still get up the stairs and on deck for a tour when he wants but he mainly stays below.  He's happy and purrs all the time and that is what matters.   We know he is on borrowed time but it's great having him here with us.  Of all the three, he has gone through the biggest transformation since we moved on board.  Where he was once stand offish and would only let you pet him under his rules and timing, he now craves it all the time and we can't sit down without him joining one of us for more affection.  He has become quite the sweety.

Well, it's dinner time so I'll close for now.  More to come as we press northward toward Alaska.  We finally moved past the chart books and are now onto individual charts that we bought in Nanaimo a few weeks ago.

Have a great week everyone.