Month: July 2015

We got up bright and early today for the 2nd leg of our trip to Annapolis.  We timed our departure to take place during slack tide so that it would be easy for me to turn the boat around to head back up the canal. However, when we woke up, the fog was so thick that you could barely see the boat next to you. In fact, it was so bad that the Coast Guard closed the C&D Canal to all traffic. We were stuck!

With not much better to do, we spent the next few hours cleaning the boat and waiting for word from the Coast Guard. And as we waited, I watched the beautiful calm waters of the slack tide turn into a progressively stronger current that scared the heck out of me. By the time the Canal was re-opened, the current was so strong that there was no way I was going to be able to turn the boat around without running into an adjacent boat.

Fortunately, the dock-hand had been through this a thousand times. They have developed a technique whereby they can turn your boat around without your even leaving the slip. Basically, the push your stern off the dock and then walk your bow line up stream while the current pushes your stern around 180 degrees until it is back at the dock. It worked perfectly, and we were ready to go. Except it was now 12 o’clock noon, and we were 5 hours behind schedule.

It was a 7-8 hour ride to Annapolis and we might not make it by nightfall. This was an issue with us since we had never driven the boat at night. We decided that we could still make it, as long as everything went our way. Of course this did not happen.

When we got to the C&D we found that the current was now heading towards us at about 4 or 5 knots. If we had left on schedule, we would have had the current to our backs, but now, we were going to be traveling the 14 mile canal at about 4 knots and losing two hours in the process. There was no way we were making it to Annapolis by nightfall. Good thing we were not in a hurry!

The C&D Canal is a joy to travel. There are several nice Marinas along the way and we were fortunate not to meet up with very many commercial vessels. One thing to be aware of though; if you enter it when the current is emptying into the Delaware, like we did, you will hit some strong, swirling currents at the entrance. Nothing to be alarmed about, but it caught us off guard. We were traveling at idle speed, taking our time, and got whipped around sideways. All we had to do was crank it up to about 15 knots and power through it and all was well, but is was scary for a moment.

After getting through the canal it became apparent that we were not going to make it to Annapolis on time, so we decided to spend the night at a marina, on the Chesapeake side of the canal, called Great Oaks Landing. That is where we learned a lesson about looking for markers at the entrance to a new marina.

We saw the entrance from across the bay and headed in what seemed like a good approach. What we did not realize is that, just before the entrance there is a shall, and you need to hug the southern coast for the last 100 yards. Our draft is only 3 feet, so we got lucky and skimmed right over it. A fisherman on the other side shouted out that “We had a horseshoe up our ass,” and laughed as we went by.

By the time we got there it was after 6:00pm and no one was around. When we spoke to the dock master earlier in the day, she told us to use the gas dock as our slip, so we knew where to go, but everything was shut down. Even the restaurant was closed, which surprised us. We had read great things about it, on our tablets, while crawling through the  C&D, and it was the main reason we chose that marina. It looks like a fun place, with Tiki Bars and beaches, but it was a ghost town to us. And since it is in the middle of nowhere, with no other choices, we had a martini and went to bed, hoping to get an early start the following day.

 

For our first big trip we decided to go to Annapolis. We were there for the boat show last Fall and enjoyed the restaurants and bars, so it seemed like a interesting place to dock the boat for a couple of days.

We were a little concerned about the heat problem on the starboard engine, but since we planned to take our time, and keep the speed around 8-10 knots, we figured we would give it a go.

At that speed, we knew we could not make the trip in a single day, so we made arrangements to stay at the Delaware City Marina, at the C&D Canal. It was approximately the halfway point, and we saw some very good reviews about the helpful staff and dock hands.

We had a great weather, and good luck with the tides on the way down and made it there in about 6 hours. When we got close, we radioed the marina and they gave us instructions on entering the small canal where they are located. It is not difficult, but anyone going there should definitely radio ahead so that they know the best approach. The canal is rather narrow and shallow during low tide. It feeds into the larger C&D Canal and has a strong current when the tide is coming in or going out. Fortunately, we got there at slack tide and it did not really matter.

The dock hand was at the fueling dock to greet us and help with the lines. Since the canal is narrow, and has a low bridge at the far end, all boats tie up on one side and are required to turn around to head back out the way they came. This made me a little bit nervous but the dock hand said they would be there to help if I needed them. After fueling, I planned to go to my slip and turn the boat around immediately, while we were still at slack tide. Only one problem – the boat would not start!

The batteries were fine, and the starter turned the engines fine, but they would stall immediately after I let go of the ignition key. I tried repeatedly. The dock hand even came on board to give it a shot. Someone on the docks suggested we might be vapor-locked, and perhaps letting the engines cool down might help. So, one of the marina employees towed us from the gas dock to our slip and Lyn and I walked down the street to the local pub for dinner – hoping for the best. It was Friday night, and the marina’s mechanics were off until Monday. If the boat did not start we might be stuck there for 3 days.

A kielbasa sandwich, a martini and two beers later – we were back at the marina with our fingers crossed. Both engines started! It was as if there was never anything wrong to begin with! Perhaps they were right and it was vapor-locked. But both engines at the same time – it just seemed too unusual.

The following morning, while standing in the marina store getting ready to pay my bill, I noticed the gasoline additives sitting on the shelf. Damn, I had been forgetting to put in the additive the last two times I got gas. Could that be it?

We have been trying to figure out why the starboard engine is running hot above 2000 rpms, and why we are getting steam out that side of the exhaust. It seems obvious that we are not getting enough water running through the exhaust but we are not sure why.

From my research on the web, the usual suspects are the Heat Exhanger, the Riser and the Oil Cooler. The Heat Exhanger is the easiest to get to, so we thought we would try that first. We took it off the engine, which was very easy, just a screw driver for the hoses and a wrench for the mount straps. We then took it home, where we had prepared a bucket of muriatic acid.

We took the ends off the heat exchanger and inspected the inside. It  did not look that bad, so we were not hopeful that cleaning it would help. Still, we let it soak for two days.

For the first day a plenty of bubbles came up and it seemed that maybe we were wrong, perhaps there was more blockage than appeared visually. When the bubbling stopped on the second day, we reassembled the exchanger and re-installed it on the engine.

We took the boat out for a test run …. no luck. The temperature was slightly better, but not where it should be. I guess we will be trying the riser next.

We took a ride down to Penns Landing today. It was our first time seeing the city from the river and the views were fantastic!

We decided to spend the night and contacted the Phila. Marine Center, by phone, on the way down to reserve a slip. The woman who works there is very nice and helpful (I believe her name is Barb) and she instructed us as to where our slip would be.

I was concerned about entering the marina from the river, because of the current, but it was really no problem at all. Getting into my slip was a different matter. She had us docking near the entrance and there was really plenty of room to maneuver the boat, I just miss-judged the effect of the slight current in the marina and the wind. As I was attempting to turn my boat around, to back into the slip, I got too close to the already docked boats. The wind was pushing me and I underestimated how much room I would need to turn. As I was passing, I clipped the anchor of one of the docked boats. It was the type of anchor that hangs off the front pulpit, as opposed to inside the pulpit, and it brushed up against the side of our boat. I barely noticed it. Until we got off the boat and noticed that the letter “C” was missing from the “Carver” logo on our starboard side.

I felt terrible. It was my first real mistake, and to make matters worse, I dropped my Armani glasses into the water as I was tying up. I was now depressed and the world was blurry. Trying to cheer me up, Lyn pointed out that we were now pirates. Because of the missing “C” our boat was now and “AAARRRVER!” Made me smile.

The Phila Marine Center is only a few blocks from Olde City Philadelphia, one of our favorite places in the city, so we spent the night bar hopping. Soon, I forgot all about my missing “C” and glasses.

Spending the night at this marina was a little different than at our home base in Neshaminy. Although there was really not much of a current in the marina, the swells from passing ships pushed the boat around a lot more than we were used to. Not so bad that it could cause any damage, but enough to make us throw on a couple extra fenders.

It was low tide when we woke up the next day and we were amazed to see that a large part of the marina was no longer covered in water. You could actually walk across parts, and there was a dry spot not far from our bow. We decided it was best to wait for the tide to come in, which gave us another excuse to visit  Olde City for lunch!

This was the second marina in Center City Phila that we found had dredging issues. The other being Piers Marina.

The trip home went perfectly and we were very happy to have had our first real over-nighter in the boat. We also learned a couple of things on this trip; never underestimate the wind, and never visit Phila Marine Center at low tide.