Trouble and Success in Half Moon Bay

The moon was full.  It was a glorious evening and we were ready for an early morning departure to the Channel Islands.  The crew slept well and food was prepared for a three day passage. But apparently, this was not meant to be.  Our diesel engine would not start!  There has been no sign of not starting, so this caught us both on surprise.  Dan went right to town, researching starters, solenoids etc, as he figured that is what was causing the problem.

We spent the morning trying to get at the engine to remove the existing starter.  It took a lot of patience and working together to succeed in this task.  The bolts were in very difficult positions to get at.  Even though our engine has good accessibility as three of the four sides open up. (But not the side where the starter was).

We were very thankful this engine problem happened before we departed the dock and we were not in a really remote location.  After all, Half Moon Bay is a beautiful place to be "held up in".

We went right to town on trying to solve the issue.  The old starter was removed and it took both of us to accomplish this task.  A local mechanic was too busy to help us out, but suggested we bring the old starter to Rite Way in downtown San Francisco.  Neither Dan nor I wanted to drive to San Francisco but one does what they have to do, so we rented an Enterprise economy car for a day.  The rental agency picked us up at the marina and off we went.  Dan drove and I tried to navigate.  I do not have my sister Marji's talent for this, but I managed to get us in the general area on 6th street.  Dan walked the rest of the way, while I got to sit in the car and protect it from break-ins.  The starter was dropped off, Dan returned and I survived.  Back to  Half Moon Bay we drove, trying to keep pace with the California traffic flow.

The next morning we decided to do a few other chores while we had wheels.  One was to refill our propane tank.  It was a good thing we did, as it was almost empty and that was in 5 weeks time of cooking.  There is no way to really now how much propane we have, but we did learn a little trick from the man that filled our fiberglass tank.  In the correct light, you can actually see the liquid level through the fiberglass tanks.

We also visited West Marine and a Home Depot for a few tools Dan thought would be helpful in putting the starter back in.  It was a hectic travel day and I managed to miss a few critical turns.  We were just about ready to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge when I knew that was wrong, quick exit and we escaped that dilemma.  Dan picked up the starter and they actually ended up selling us a new one instead of rebuilding the old one.  Off we went, back to Malo in Half Moon Bay.  First we had to return the rental car and Enterprise gave us a ride back to the marina.

Here is the new starter, with all sorts of wires and the voltage tester.  You can also see below how messed up our nice salon gets when we are in the midst of a "project".

Dan thought it was best to try the new starter out BEFORE we tried to bolt it inside the engine.  This was a smart idea.  It started OK, but there was still something wrong with the wiring.  He took apart and cleaned the connections to the key switch, ignition switch and glow plug.   What a mess!

We spent a long day on this project and decided to call it quits about 7 pm.  I took a walk and ordered a pizza to go, which was greatly enjoyed by both of us.

I do not think Dan slept well, as I believe he was up a lot researching the latest dilemma.  In the morning, he thought we should call a mechanic.  I went to pay for another night at the marina.  Out of  a whim, I decided to stop at the Half Moon Bay Fishing Shop where the owner was very friendly.  I asked if she knew of any local mechanics in the marina.  Walter was getting a cup of coffee at the same time and suggested Chris.  Now I did not think this pirate was Chris, but he was hanging out at the fish store so who knows?

I returned to Malo, gave Dan the news and we continued to try to sort out the situation.  Dan and I were making good progress and actually had the starter back in the engine.  Then, my phone rang and it was Chris  wanting to get into the gate on our dock.  I gladly went and opened it for two - Chris and
Walter.  Here the three amigos are discussing the problem.

 
Dan was on the right track and actually had it all figured out by the time the two amigos showed up, but they were nice, seemed knowledgable and would've helped more if we were desperate.  But the situation was already solved.  Thanks Chris and Walter for your help!  Boaters are such cool people - always willing to help another boater.

The last step was to put the alternator back on, and run the engine.  It fired up easily and quickly, much better than before.

Prior to this latest dilemma (which I had explained in a previous post), we had the issue of the anchor line getting wrapped around the keel and wearing a hole through the edge of the keel.  The solution to prevent this problem is the use of a weight to lower the anchor line to the bottom, thus eliminating the current from entangling the line around the keel.  We walked to a small shop that sold assorted fishing hardware.  Here is our solution: a 35 lb. lead weight that will get attached to the anchor line.

I managed to get my SUP board out on one occasion.  Now that we will be here a few more days, I hope to get out a little more.  Here are some photos from that nice paddle.   The pelicans are everywhere and they especially enjoying sunning themselves on the stone breakwaters.  I tried to sneak up on them quietly, but they started to get scared and soon many were flying off.  The stench was quite severe as I paddled by.



I paddled up to the old fish house that once belong to my friend Angie's great Uncle.  It is neglected now, but has a feeling of a long and active history.  I wanted to go next to the floating raft that had a number of large sea lions on it.  I decided not to, as they were much, much bigger and better swimmers than I.  They were also starting to make a good deal of noise, so I thought it best to leave them alone.

I paddled over to a sandy beach in the cove and decided to land the SUP board to explore Pillar Point Harbor and the home of Mavericks a famous surfing spot.

Both Dan and I are pretty beat from the past few days.  We went for a pleasant walk after eating some of the "passage food"  I had prepared.  We enjoyed an ice cream cone and this beautiful evening sky.  A perfect way to end this blog.