COOLING OFF by Captain Chris
15 December 2009 | Inlet Cove Marina, Ponce Inlet, Florida
by Captain Chris

Heavy sigh! Chris discovers the transmission fluid pump is seized with corrosion.
Anytime one needs to modify an existing installation, you should expect some snags. We received the transmission cooler we were waiting on, and found it was designed for a Cummings engine with 1-3/4" connections on the water side. I couldn't find hose or fittings to adapt to our current installation, so I had to call the friendly folks at TAD and work it out with them to get a cooler with 1" connections. I had hose and fittings onboard, and picked up new hydraulic hoses in town so I was ready to go when it arrived.
Meanwhile, we decided to take the weekend off and head to the St. Pete boat show. We didn't get the snow that the Midwest has, but we did have a cold front come through, dropping us into the 50s at night. It was cold and rainy at the boat show and we felt like we were back in Wisconsin at South Shore Yacht Club with everyone walking around in their "foulies" (that's foul weather coats, for you landlubbers).
I had been having some frustration getting the correct parts to rebuild a Lewmar Ocean Racing block I had intended to use for the spinnaker tack line, so I said "fuggedaboudit" and picked up a great, reasonably priced, block from Garhauer at the show. We picked up some additional Bahamas cruising guides, and attended several of the seminars. It was different going through the show and saying "I have one of those", "I have that book", etc. and spending our time looking at how details of other boats and items that we might be able to implement.
Before heading back to Troubadour we enjoyed catching up with our friends Jesse and Tracy in Sarasota, who opened their hearts and homes to us for a relaxing evening.
Upon our return we spent a rainy Monday afternoon with our friends Steve and Lynn, who made us burgers on the grill at their condo, before installing the new transmission cooler. After installing the cooler and running everything to check for leaks, we were happy that there weren't any leaks. I had planned on changing the transmission fluid again, and after opening up the new cooler, saw there wasn't any transmission fluid in it. The likely culprit: the fluid pump, which, after removal, was easy to see that it was seized with corrosion. After several calls and internet searches, a replacement pump and gasket is on the way. Let's hope that is all that is needed!
Meeting and spending time with new friends and old seems to make these setbacks a little more tolerable.
Cruisers Frank and Debby pulled into the slip next to us and promptly asked if we knew of some place that could do canvas work, so Linda's found some spending money. It appears my article on refinishing the teak in our cockpit will be picked up by Southwinds, so perhaps we'll have beer money too!