Day 484 The cooler is in.

I got a call from the marina office early this morning that the new transmission cooler had arrived.  I guess it really pays to have these things shipped overnight.  It may cost a bunch, but it saves you some money in that we won't have to stay here more days than necessary. 

I'd ordered two so that I would have a backup as the Ford Lehman engine uses the same cooler to cool the engine oil and since the expected life span on one of these things is only about 2,000 hours of operations and God knows how long ago if ever the oil cooler was changed, it is better to have one on hand than be out some where and need but not have it.  Hey, that's what storage on a boat is all about.  It's not necessarily about storing food, it's storing anything that might be necessary some where done the road.  The new cooler is the gray gizmo above with all the hoses going into it.  I had it all installed by about 1300 hours and the engine started for testing.  We had to make sure Zephyr was tied up to the dock well as we had to slip her into gear to make sure the transmission pump circulated the oil through the cooler and that there were no leaks.  So far so good--no leaks.  Once we had tried it out, I had to shut off the engine and check the fluid level and top it off as a good bit of the oil had gone into the cooler and needed to be topped off.  With this piece of equipment installed, with luck and good weather, we will be off tomorrow for Crescent City down South.

We've stowed just about everything and will fill the water tanks just before we leave in the morning.  We'll hold off on the diesel fuel since the prices in Crescent City are only about .02 cents different and with weight always being a factor, it can wait till we get there.

We stowed things and actually took a walk around the dock this afternoon and I actually sat down a read part of a magazine.  We had dinner aboard Moon Angel with Jay and Benita whom we met back in January up in the Port of Brownsville near Silverdale.  Great people and far more knowledgeable about boating than we are.  

After dinner, we walked over to see Ted and Judy.  They live aboard their boat and have for several years here at the marina.  She was the masseuse that took care of my back and few days ago.  One more quick job on it tonight since we expect to be leaving in the morning and I'm a lot better than I was earlier.

All in all, a nice day.  Sunny and warm enough I changed into shorts this afternoon.  One of our new friends left earlier this morning for Crescent City so we expect to see them there in a few days when we arrive.  Mean while, it's off to bed.  Morning is going to be busy getting the last things done before we shove off.  At least if the weather is still good.  I'll let you know.

Stay tuned.