But at least we had a good time meeting a Danish and German family in the harbor. We had a nice potluck dinner and bonfire with them along with some other friends and other people with boats in the marina. We also had a fun time going to Trivia night on Friday at the Sandbar Grill & Bar. JR cleaned out the carburetor in the outboard engine and it began working without issue so we looked for another weather window. We were going to leave Tuesday night, but that day we couldn't keep our outboard engine running again! We were disheartened from our bad luck at being foiled the day we want to leave yet again. So I do laundry while JR goes back to Frodo to get tools to work on the outboard again. By the end of the day we get the entire carb assembly cleaned out and found a lot of crystals blocking the air vent tubes in the back of the engine due to the salt water exposure. We start the engine and it runs! But then we check Passage Weather and they predict bad weather (20+ knots winds) Abaco Islands, Bahamas. So we decide to wait until the next weather window. The Danish family decides to leave but then their outboard motor doesn't run at high revolutions so JR goes to their boat and help fix their engine. Within an hour or so JR got their engine running smoothly. It turns out it was their carburetor as well. They want us to leave with them, but when we see the weather prediction we decide to not go. They said they would rather be stuck out there than here and I agree, but we stayed to be on the cautious side. The current weather was also looking like thunderstorms looming and we didn't want to be caught in lightning. At this point, I feel like we are never going to leave Florida on our boat. I don't understand why something always goes wrong the day we want to leave. This is really testing my patience. I feel like I have been very patient because we were supposed to be in the Bahamas back in November of last year, but now it is 7 months later and we are still in Florida. I feel like I am wasting my time because I could have traveled to so many places with the time I have been stuck here. I have learned that if you really want to go somewhere, a plane or car would be less problematic methods of transportation. I have to remind myself that I am grateful for not having to work and still having some fun while on the boat. I can't get myself down just because we aren't going anywhere on the boat. We are "Living the dream..."
Friday, May 21, 2010
Going Nowhere Fast
I am sad to report that we have not yet left Coconut Grove, Miami after a few really good weather windows. I was in California for 3 weeks visiting my family and returned to Miami ready to make the trip over to the Bahamas. I was a little worried I had lost my sea legs from being on land for so long, but I was happy to find myself returning without any problems. I began getting the boat ready to make the journey across the Gulf Stream after a day or two of recouping from jet lag. We checked Passage Weather and found a weather window for the first week of May, but when we tried to go get water from the marina we found the inboard engine wasn't putting out any water in the exhaust. So JR spent the day figuring out and fixing the problem, which it turned out to be just the impeller from the water pump. But then he had to fix the fly wheel assembly because it was coming loose and the belt to the alternator would fall out of the track. So JR spent the next day fixing that issue. Then we decided to just get water with our dinghy the following day and found the outboard motor for the dinghy would not stay running. We take it to the Grove Harbor Marina's Mercury dealer on Friday because the motor is only 8 months old and it is still under warranty. They say they won't have time to work on it until next week and they are supposed to give us a call when they know what is wrong with it and if the work would be covered under warranty. We never get a call and we wait patiently until Thursday before we call them to ask about the progress of their work. When we get in touch with Allen, he tells us the engine is ready to be picked up. It turns out they couldn't find anything wrong with the engine and they changed the starter pull chord. They charged us $7 for the chord and an hour of labor ($120) for starting the engine, running it, and shutting it off. It wasn't covered under the warranty because they didn't find anything wrong with the engine. Supposedly they ran the engine for 50 minutes without issue. We are highly skeptical because we couldn't get the engine to start after it died the last time. Also the engine kept dying on us when we were running it, so we aren't sure why they didn't find a problem after 50 minutes. At this point we don't even believe they looked at the engine. So we go to the dealer and talk with Allen about the engine. He tells us it was operator error by us not having the air valve open and the fuel shut off valve closed when we were trying to run the engine. In fact, those two valves were closed for transporting the engine to the shop so no fuel would leak out on the way. Because we have no vehicle, JR had to carry the engine and walk over to the dealer. Luckily, the dealer wasn't very far and the engine wasn't ridiculously heavy. But it was an easy task even though JR may have made it look easy. Allen was surprised to hear that JR would be carrying the engine and walking back to our boat. It really made us mad to have Allen lie to our face about the engine and blaming us for not knowing how to use the engine properly. It doesn't make sense, after using the engine for 8 months without any problems that we just forgot how to work it properly. Riiight. When we get the engine back on the dinghy we find the starter pull chord to be a foot and a half too short. We deduce that Allen or his workers just cut the original chord where it was frayed and reattached the handle. There was no replacement chord installed, we paid them to cut our chord. Wow, talk about cutting corners and ripping people off. I am appalled at this kind of cheating business. It doesn't matter for car or anything else, dealers are thieves! They can't be trusted to do a good job and they will rob you blind! Honesty is not in their vocabulary, but I digress. While we waited for the engine from the dealer we missed another good weather window to cross the Gulf Stream. 
But at least we had a good time meeting a Danish and German family in the harbor. We had a nice potluck dinner and bonfire with them along with some other friends and other people with boats in the marina. We also had a fun time going to Trivia night on Friday at the Sandbar Grill & Bar. JR cleaned out the carburetor in the outboard engine and it began working without issue so we looked for another weather window. We were going to leave Tuesday night, but that day we couldn't keep our outboard engine running again! We were disheartened from our bad luck at being foiled the day we want to leave yet again. So I do laundry while JR goes back to Frodo to get tools to work on the outboard again. By the end of the day we get the entire carb assembly cleaned out and found a lot of crystals blocking the air vent tubes in the back of the engine due to the salt water exposure. We start the engine and it runs! But then we check Passage Weather and they predict bad weather (20+ knots winds) Abaco Islands, Bahamas. So we decide to wait until the next weather window. The Danish family decides to leave but then their outboard motor doesn't run at high revolutions so JR goes to their boat and help fix their engine. Within an hour or so JR got their engine running smoothly. It turns out it was their carburetor as well. They want us to leave with them, but when we see the weather prediction we decide to not go. They said they would rather be stuck out there than here and I agree, but we stayed to be on the cautious side. The current weather was also looking like thunderstorms looming and we didn't want to be caught in lightning. At this point, I feel like we are never going to leave Florida on our boat. I don't understand why something always goes wrong the day we want to leave. This is really testing my patience. I feel like I have been very patient because we were supposed to be in the Bahamas back in November of last year, but now it is 7 months later and we are still in Florida. I feel like I am wasting my time because I could have traveled to so many places with the time I have been stuck here. I have learned that if you really want to go somewhere, a plane or car would be less problematic methods of transportation. I have to remind myself that I am grateful for not having to work and still having some fun while on the boat. I can't get myself down just because we aren't going anywhere on the boat. We are "Living the dream..."
But at least we had a good time meeting a Danish and German family in the harbor. We had a nice potluck dinner and bonfire with them along with some other friends and other people with boats in the marina. We also had a fun time going to Trivia night on Friday at the Sandbar Grill & Bar. JR cleaned out the carburetor in the outboard engine and it began working without issue so we looked for another weather window. We were going to leave Tuesday night, but that day we couldn't keep our outboard engine running again! We were disheartened from our bad luck at being foiled the day we want to leave yet again. So I do laundry while JR goes back to Frodo to get tools to work on the outboard again. By the end of the day we get the entire carb assembly cleaned out and found a lot of crystals blocking the air vent tubes in the back of the engine due to the salt water exposure. We start the engine and it runs! But then we check Passage Weather and they predict bad weather (20+ knots winds) Abaco Islands, Bahamas. So we decide to wait until the next weather window. The Danish family decides to leave but then their outboard motor doesn't run at high revolutions so JR goes to their boat and help fix their engine. Within an hour or so JR got their engine running smoothly. It turns out it was their carburetor as well. They want us to leave with them, but when we see the weather prediction we decide to not go. They said they would rather be stuck out there than here and I agree, but we stayed to be on the cautious side. The current weather was also looking like thunderstorms looming and we didn't want to be caught in lightning. At this point, I feel like we are never going to leave Florida on our boat. I don't understand why something always goes wrong the day we want to leave. This is really testing my patience. I feel like I have been very patient because we were supposed to be in the Bahamas back in November of last year, but now it is 7 months later and we are still in Florida. I feel like I am wasting my time because I could have traveled to so many places with the time I have been stuck here. I have learned that if you really want to go somewhere, a plane or car would be less problematic methods of transportation. I have to remind myself that I am grateful for not having to work and still having some fun while on the boat. I can't get myself down just because we aren't going anywhere on the boat. We are "Living the dream..."
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