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Sunday, May 12, 2013

Days 23 & 24, Brown Out

Saturday Noon

I swear this boat listens to us. It seems that as soon as we talk about some piece of equipment, whether it be the 'I hope this thing doesn't break' or the 'isn't it great having that thing', kind of comment then whatever thing it is we are talking about packs it in.

Case in point: the tow generator. I mentioned this in an earlier post, how big a change it's been to how we run the boat. Well, Linda and I were discussing the same thing the other afternoon. Then that same evening when I was turning on all the lights for the night I noticed that the tow generator didn't seem to be charging. I checked the plug and gave the generator a good hard thump with my hand but it was clear it needed even more attention than we'd all ready given it.

So I removed it from its cradle, took it below, and opened it up. Out pours water. Huh, that's not supposed to be there. It seems the thing I thought was a shaft seal was really just a piece of string that had gotten wrapped around the shaft. I had sealed up the rest of the unit using caulking but didn't bother with the shaft because 'it has a seal'. Water must have been getting in at the shaft and sitting inside.

I completely disassembled the generator, cleaned everything with WD-40, reassembled it and sealed it up (this time making sure to do something about the shaft), and put it back online. Now it's charging away just like before.

One thing's for sure, I'm not talking about any part of this boat, good or bad, until we're at anchor.

John

{GMST}05|00|S|135|40|W|Mexico to Marquesas Day 24|Day 24{GEND}