The real issue is that the boat yard did almost absolutely nothing on their list while we were gone. The generator work, transmission leak evaluation and shaft seal work did not start until Thursday May 18, three weeks after Sum Escape went on the hard. Yes, I know, after repeated promises that things would be complete while we visited Michigan. I am quickly learning that you have to stay in town and be "in the face" of the repair facility. I have the feeling that as soon as we drove off they began to think "great, they are gone and we can focus on A and B boats now". The squeaky wheel sure gets the grease. I spent Thursday (5/18) and Friday at the boat and did get a lot going by being "in their face". And of course now major parts are needed for these (transmission oil leak was more serious than I thought...both port and starboard pressure plates were cracked with a piece broken out so they are both being rebuilt) so more delay...but this all could have already been accomplished had they stayed on task while we were gone. Just too little too late... regrettably, our Maine cruising is now scrapped for the summer. We had planned on travelling with our friends Carole and DeVere (Job Site). They were challenged with repairs too but are now travelling north. We hope to catch up with them in the Chesapeake in late June.
Oh, and I asked the Twin Disc transmission guy if he had ever seen this phenomenon with pieces cracked out of pressure plate. Here is starboard....port is almost identical damage.
In his 30 years, not on both at the same time. Transmission serial numbers are sequential and he thinks it was a pressure plate casting flaw...just 8 years too late for the 3 year warranty. And he also said they were quickly wearing other parts and the transmissions could have failed soon. And the funny thing is he said this kind of damage comes from a grounding, major prop strike, or severe vibration over a period of time, none of which we experienced.
I guess we are again blessed to not have an actual breakdown while negotiating a dock or tidal current, just a repair delay.
Also, "while the hood is up" so to speak, we had the CAT guy inspect the rear crankshaft seals on the engines and he determines they are starting to leak. Given everything is out of the way with transmissions out of the boat, we will have these replaced too.
We are staying in an old but clean timeshare efficiency apartment in Vero Beach, the Reef Ocean Resort. Road view originally, but we had to move to an ocean view....third move this week.
A rain storm blowing through
Our studio in not right on the beach but the facility has a pool, grills and convenient to shopping, restaurants, etc. We are taking nice walks around town but finding it is like winter in Michigan....no one goes outside but because it is too hot (in the 90's) not too cold! So we take the walks early or late to try to beat the sun and heat. Nice neighborhoods with live oak tree canopies, lots of beautiful homes and landscaping too.
We will not be able to move the boat till at least June 6, a full 6 weeks from going on the hard and 7 weeks from our return from the Bahamas, given the delays by the boat yard and now the lead time on transmission parts and rebuild. New ones were like double the rebuild price so we ruled that out. It could possibly be later due to sea trials, etc.
Part of me wishes we had continued to run north with the maintenance needs and had these items addressed in August when we go to Michigan for Jordan and Eliza's wedding. But another part says we are lucky to have the transmission issue discovered and corrected before a failure at an inopportune time. Murphy's Law usually has these things fail in a tidal current trying to hold place before a bridge opening, while docking near mega yacht, etc. So we believe God continues to put His hand in things and keep us safe.
Lots to put back together...where are the transmissions, starboard turbo, exhaust risers and mufflers???
We had to modify our insurance policy to cover us south of 31 degrees N latitude after June 1. We had to submit a written hurricane plan, of course pay an additional premium and the deductible for windstorm is 10% instead of the normal deductible in our policy. Once we get N of 31 degrees our old policy will resume.
We went to the Riverside Theatre free concert series on Friday May 26. A local band "The Jacks" were playing and were pretty darn good.
They especially did a good job with the blues set they played. They played classic rock, Motown, and blues. All were good, we may have to check out the bands next weekend too (free concerts every Friday and Saturday nights year around!). They have a food and beverage offering right on site that was very good too.
We will continue to monitor boat repairs, try to keep renewing our stay in Vero Beach (moving from one available timeshare unit to another) and will post a quick update once we get moving again....the adventure of cruising continues....
