While You’re in There

Over the summer, we discovered that our tranny (“tranny” is short for transmission … what were you thinking?) was leaking into the engine bilge. After review by a specialist, we learned that as long as we kept topping off fluid, all would be well until we were able to haul the boat and remove the transmission to be resealed.

Though we hadn’t initially planned to re-haul the boat so soon, it made sense to make a three week stop at Stingray Point in Deltaville, VA (where Moment had spent the 2016/17 winter) and take care of this and some other items in the engine zone. The “while you’re in there” slogan seems to come up again and again when maintaining the boat. It is quite logical to service multiple items at the same time as it often takes so much to access them. The problem is the work list often grows to something much larger, costly and time consuming than anticipated. That all said, while we were in there, we pulled the shaft out, installed a new stuffing box, cutlass bearing, rebuilt/resealed the transmission, installed a new oil cooler pump, had an alternator pulley retooled for better alignment, and touched up the engine paint for good measure. This is all on an engine that is only ~4 years old!

While we were in Deltaville, we decided it would be a very good time to get our cockpit fully enclosed with clear plastic. We were very pleased with the bimini work done by Bob at Phase 2 Canvas This would allow extended time above deck when it is cooler out, rainy or rough sea conditions.

While we were in Virginia, we used our local sources to recertify our fire extinguishers and life-raft.

Lastly, while Moment was hauled, we decided a fresh coat of bottom paint and shaft paint would be a good idea to start the winter off right.

You see how the thought process goes and the work list grows? Despite the ever-growing list, we were able to sail away and make our November 1st deadline into Charleston Harbor. Read about our passage to Charleston here.