Monday, June 29th arrived. We expected to have the boat towed over to the boat yard to have the new engine craned on board. Nope. Too windy. Well we can understand that. You can't control the wind, boy do we understand that! We did get to go over to the shop and look at it though. Immediately we had some concerns about the engine. We have a V drive so the engine will have to be put in backwards to be able to hook it up the transmission. No problem, except now the oil filter and dip stick are on the side which is next to bulkhead. How are we going to check the oil every day, if we can't even reach it? No problem they said, we will make it work. I thought that the engine was too big, no problem they said, we will make it work.

Tuesday, June 30th, too windy, can't tow you. Wednesday, July 1st, national holiday, no one works on Emancipation Day. Thursday, July 2nd was the day. First thing in the morning, John came over with his boat and towed us to Bobby's Boat Yard. The engine and crane were waiting. Within an hour and a half, the engine was craned on and put in the engine room beside the mounts. We were then taken back to our slip at the marina. Now we were cooking with gas! That afternoon, they put the engine in place only to realize that the existing engine bed was too high. It would have to be lowered by about two inches. Not a difficult job, except that once you lowered the engine by two inches, it would be sitting on the shaft seal. Our shaft seal is a wet seal, and requires adjusting every once in a while. With the engine lowered, we would have to remove the engine every time we needed to tighten the seal. This was not going to work. After an hour deliberation, no problem, they said, we will just replace it with a waterless seal. No adjustment required. Great. That's enough work for one day, so off they went. Friday, July 3rd was dedicated to removing the old mounting plates, cutting down the old engine bed by two inches, and giving it one coat of paint on the raw wood. They left the can of paint and a brush, requesting a couple more coats over the weekend and off they went.

On Monday, July 6th, a couple of the guys showed up at 1345 and mounted the new brackets where the mounts were going to sit. They then put the gearbox on, put the engine in place, took the gearbox off and moved the engine off to the side. One step forward, two steps back. Grrrr. The morning of Tuesday, July 7th, one of the workers cut out a piece around the oil filter so Greig could get his hand around it. Remember, no problem mon, we'll make it work! They were right, changing the oil filter is awkward, but doable now, they made it work. That afternoon, Greig and mechanic Greg went shopping for fittings, washers, bolts and piping. This is how they stay within quoted budget. They get you to pay for all the parts extra. Sneaky, sneaky. Wednesday, July 8th, Greig went out and purchased a piece of black starboard first thing in the morning and had it waiting for them when the workers arrived. They took the starboard away and came back with a manufactured backing plate for the control panel in the cockpit. A ten minute job, took all morning. We understand island time, but come on..... That afternoon, Greg (the Mechanic) pokes his head out of the engine room and tells us that we are going to have to replace a few more pieces. First, the pipes that go to and from our hot water heater from the engine are all floppy and need to be replaced. Marvellous, considering they were brand new last August, when we had the new water heater put in. Second, we needed to replace the salt water strainer. The one we had was only 1/2" and the "specs" require 3/4". Cost to replace a perfectly good strainer...$310 US, that's just for the item, that we had to buy separately, from the quote. No wonder, these guys keep saying they'll come in on budget! Thursday, July 9th was a great work day. There were two workers on board all day, and they worked their a**es off! When they left, they thought that we may be able to start her up the following afternoon. We were cautiously optimistic. Good thing we were cautious, because we didn't see anyone until 1600, Friday, July 10th. Greg arrived onboard with a jury rigged exhaust elbow and the new waterless shaft seal. He installed both, then took half of the exhaust elbow off again and took it away with him as he was wishing us a great weekend. Heavy sigh! See you Monday!