More AFU'd
15 January 2013 | Kolonia, Pohnpei, FSM
Partly cloudy and cool.
Well, it just keeps on coming. While dismantling the engine, we found that the gear that drives the raw water pump was not rotating on center. The bearings appear to be going. New bearing will need to be ordered. A blessing I guess as it's better to fix it now than have it brake later when we are out some where and drop off and fall into the crankcase.
Now that we are ready to lift the engine, we found no real way to do it other than taking out the cockpit floor. So yesterday, we started in on removing everything that is connected to it in above the engine and then trying to get the 15 screws out that hold it to the boat. Three were tight enough that it required putting a set of vice grip pliers to the sides of the screw and getting them out that way. All three had at sometime broken down inside the deck. Peter(our mechanic) sat in the engine room slowing sawing with a hack saw through the seal that holds the floor to the deck. Then in goes a pry bar to make sure it is loose. By late afternoon, it was loose. While doing this, we suddenly heard a gurgling noise and found that the hydraulic pump that steers the boat had it's seals blowout and start leaking fluid down on the engine. Buckets came out and we cleaned up another mess. Now seals and bearing will need to be ordered to fix that. Gee, it just keeps getting better doesn't it?!?!
We have the cockpit floor all set to go or at least what may enable us to get the engine up but I have concerns that we may need to remove it entirely instead of just lifting it to slide in 2 X 4s to brace the lift mechanism. It may need to be totally taken out so the braces can sit on the seats of the cockpit instead of the edge surrounding the hole. Which ever, we hope that Mother Nature cuts us some slack and hold off on the rain. We can enclose the entire cockpit if necessary. at least the floor can be put back in after the engine gets lifted and supported by 2 X 4s in the engine room. Once it's lifted, we will need to turn it on it's side so we can get at the bottom to take off the crankcase cover and get at the crankcase.
So stay tuned. I'll let you know what happens today in the continuing saga of a boat called Zephyr.