We have sort of decided to head on up the ICW tomorrow after we have gotten the new alternator installed. The decision was made, influenced by several factors: first, we will have a free night at the dock - that's the deal here two nights paid one night free, and I hate to pass up a freebee; second, the high tide won't be until noon on Wednesday so we'll be pushing the current for 15+ miles if we try to head out the inlet vice having the current to ride all the way up through Brickyard Creek if we head through the ICW; and finally, I want to run the engine to see how she behaves after the attention that we have paid her.

While we have been waiting for the new alternator and JD to arrive, we have been busy changing the oil and filter on Paula Perkins. We had a look at the engine hours and we were exactly on 100 since our last change so the poor old gal was due. This has become a team operation with Barb handing me the bits and pieces and keeping the oil from dripping into the bilge and yours truly pumping out the oil, removing the filter and generally getting dirty. I took the opportunity to scrub off the calcium deposits on the outside of the heat exchanger and determine where the raw water input and output lines run to. They are conveniently quite close together so attaching the hoses to them to pump the Rydlyme through the system should be relatively easy, I just need to get a pump to use. They sell one but at $585US I think that I will use a spare or a cheap one that I will buy from West Marine and throw away afterward if the astringent damages it in any way. We got a telephone call from the manufacturer of this stuff (which you can check out at www.rydlyme.com, by the way) and got some idea of the cost and how to apply it. The ideal way is to run the cleaner through the entire system, but I would have to remove the raw water impeller from the raw water pump to get the stuff through it and I'm not sure if I want to do that, as it's in such an awkward place. She said that it wasn't absolutely necessary but part of me says that if I am going to do it we should do the full meal deal.

Shriek!

We have installed the new alternator and it still doesn't work! After a chat with the folks from Xantrex, who make the battery monitor and the shore charger that we have on board, it turns out that somehow the ground to the shunt for the monitor is not connected. Well Geeze! How could that happen? I traced the connection and it turns out that there is a fuse in the ground circuit (typical for 30 year old Brit circuits, eh?) and that fuse is blown. That must be what went when the positive side of the alternator was shorted to ground. On the plus side what that means is that the old alternator is probably OK so we now have a spare, but on the negative side we are out $400 and we have another short delay while we await another fuse.

Sigh!

Oh well, we had a great dinner and great company aboard Windspirit this evening. They have definitely laid down the cuisine gauntlet so tomorrow we are providing breakfast.