I called the mechanic that is going to inspect the transmission and he asked if we could tell if it was sea water or fresh water. If it was sea water, it would normally indicate that the raw water oil cooler had developed a leak. Marine engines cool the oil that runs through the engine by running it through a small cylinder that has sea water passing through it. Each is kept separate by the oil running inside small copper tubes and the water runs around the outside of the tubes. As long as the water keeps flowing, the engine stays cool. It would seem that one of the copper tubes that the oil runs in has ruptured and allowed salt water to get into the engine. With the engine running, it would allow some of the oil to escape into the exhaust. Wit hit stopped, the direction of flow would reverse and water would mix with the oil. It would explain why I saw oil from time to time in the exhaust behind Zephyr. The mechanics are checking it and will let me know wether it is bad tomorrow.
When we first tried to fix the transmission problem, it had been suggested that one of the likely causes was a faulty transmission cooler. It's the same as the main engine oil cooler. While taking to Jay off Moon Dancer in Newport, he told me the average life span was about 2000 engine hours before they break. I ordered in two--one for the transmission and one to replace the oil cooler as I had no idea how old it could be. Lucky that I ordered two as now it appeared I would need it.
I pulled out the pumper that sucks out the old oil and started pumping. Out it came--lots of water and then lots of grey oil, all quite slowly as the oil was cold. Off with the filter--more grey oil and then I disconnected the water lines to the oil cooler and then the oil lines--more grey oil. On with the new cooler and in with more oil--eight more quarts. On with the engine and quick checks of the pressure and the exhaust to make sure we were not pumping oil out the stern. All was well-- the pressure came up fine and no oil came out the stern exhaust. We let the engine run for a ten to fifteen minutes and shut her down. A pull of the dip stick showed it still grey but not quite as grey. Out with the oil a second time and in with new--eight more quarts. A quick start up and all appeared alright. Pressure was normal and again, no oil slick behind Zephyr. We stopped the engine a few minutes later and pulled the dip stick. It appeared just about normal so off we went for Los Angeles.
We motored off until we were out in some wind and hoisted the sails and took off in the wind. What a nice change to be actually sailing. The winds were in the mid-teens and we were moving along in 6.5 to the 7 knot range. Faster than being under motor and with a much smoother ride than under power. We made it past the shipping lanes(about 15 miles) and the wind slowly died. It dropped down to 5 to 6 knots and our speed dropped like a stone. Down came the sails and on came the engine. It worked fine though one of the oil lines leaked at the new oil cooler no matter what I did. I'll be replacing it(the oil line) once we get into shore. Even though it leaked, it wasn't bad enough to cause any problems. We still had lots of oil.
We passed the entrance to the harbor and made our way up the inner channel. From behind us came a big freighter bearing down on our stern. We pulled over and allowed it to pass us by. Over the past day, I had made numerous calls to marinas all around LA looking for a place to stay while the transmission was getting fixed. The mechanic had found me a spot at Colonial Marina at $60.00 per night. If this repair was going to take a bit of time, that can add up to lots of money. The last time it got repaired, it took two weeks. I had a list of the marinas and called and called and called. Most turned us down flat as few marinas have space for a 46 foot boat. I finally tried a marina that wasn't on the list as even having guest slips and they had space for us and at only $15.00 A NIGHT!!! That's the cheapest we have found so far and in LA. It was so hard to believe, I called back to verify the location and the price. Yup--$15.00 a night. They normally rent by the month but would let us have the space for as long as we wanted it for just a percentage of the normal rent. What a find!!!. We motored up the channel and pulled into the slip slick as a whistle. We were in for the night--or as long as we needed it.
Our new neighbor(Chuck) came out to welcome us in. We asked about the marina and the neighborhood. His reply--"Well, you are in Wilmington! You don't go out in the night in Wilmington." OK, now it was getting scary. Don't go out at night? What had we gotten our selves into? No wonder it was only $15.00. Apparently, Wilmington has a bad reputation and it's not safe to travel the streets after sundown. While there had not been any problems in the marina, we spent the evening pulling in all the electronics and any thing else that might look interesting to someone passing by. Our life raft is now sitting in the cockpit. We settled in for the night--snug in our "castle".
Today, Chuck gave me a lift to the marina office while we waited for the mechanic to show up and take a look at the transmission. He was to call Great Lakes Power with what he saw and they would give the go ahead. Two mechanics showed up and the decision was quick--it had to come out. They took off for lunch while I called Great Lakes Power and left my contact a message and then took out the exhaust system and several hoses to make the job easier when they returned to take it out. Fred, one of the mechanics showed up about 1330 and started the job. He was just about finished by 1530. Fred called to get help to get the transmission out of the engine room. Tom, the owner of the company showed up about 30 minutes later and between the three of us, out she came. During the haul out, I got some information about what SEA Marine had billed Great Lakes Power for the removal and installation of the repaired transmission back in March. Apparently, they hit them for 27 hours of labor!!! I'd taken out the exhaust system in about a hour and the transmission took about four-tops even waiting for Tom! To put it back in will be probably a bit more but not the 20 hour difference it will be between the two jobs. It's like I have said before, they are nothing but a bunch of crooks! When SEA Marine took ours out and put it back in in March, they were on the boat maybe a total of eight to ten hours. No where near the 27 they hit Great Lakes Power for. Fred and Tom loaded it up and off it went to the shop. They are going to run it tonight and repair it tomorrow and put it back in on Friday!!
We've reserved an Enterprise car for tomorrow and will be off running errands all over LA. Another mini economics stimulus package.
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