2023-07-02 Engine issues, made it to New York

Well our plan to head north and time the currents worked exceptionally well, except for the wind.   We had a pleasant motor down the Delaware Bay, and even got a little sun in.  Did not see much large boat traffic and current in our favor for almost the entire trip.

Passed by a large ship.  It is neat to see how much water is pushed by the nose bulbs of the ship.

When we got to the end of the Delaware, the winds started to come in so we decided to push on.  We got in around 8 hours of good sailing, then the wind died.   We motored offshore, and timing worked well, that we did not stop, and hit the Verrazano bridge at right before tide change.

Cool cloudy day approaching Verrazano Bridge

The clouds stayed with us, so not one of the more scenic trips through NYC that we have had.

Statue of Liberty can be seen over barge, cloudy smoky day.

Interesting how some clouds are lower than the tops of the buildings

Current was in our favor, so we motored on one engine down the East River, and noticed that our white smoke issue was back on the port engine.  Oh well, we have two engines, so switched back to only the starboard engine - so happy current in our favor.

It is always an interesting trip down the east river.  We enjoy looking at the different buildings and architecture with a different view than most people ever see.

Always take a photo of these buildings,  they are just funky and fun

Can you imagine the architect on this thinking "I know, I will turn part of it sideways"

They are building a new building inside the old Domino Sugar building, keeping the exoskeleton

Enjoy the mix of architectural styles

On irritant on the trip is the fast ferries, that really make the water choppy during parts of the trip.

Lots and lots of buildings

We get a different perspective on the bridges than the normal New Yorker

Eventually the city fades away, the trip is less scenic and more industrial looking.

Within a matter of less than a mile, the riverside property goes from expensive buildings to run down factories.

We made it into Port Washington, which is one of our normal stops, as it has a very nice grocery store, dinghy dock, hardware stores, and marine stores all within easy walk.  It is also a protected anchorage, and has a bit of boat traffic that is fun to watch as well.  

Kris still worried about the white smoke started to work on the engine the day after arrival.   Took the mixing elbow off the heat exchanger case of the engine and found some corrosion, but did not see any holes where coolant could be leaking into the exhaust.

Heat exchanger case where mixing elbow attaches. No holes apparent.

Kris decided to clean it up a bit, and took a scraper to it, and quickly found the issue, when the scraper punched through the thin cast aluminum.   At that point, it was decided the heat exchanger case needed to come out.

Case removed, and you can see the large hole now.

We called around and found a welder who could work on the case, and took an Uber ride to his shop.  It was actually a sign shop, that does signs and flagpoles, but they work in aluminum,, and it seemed the guy new what he was doing.   He cleaned the case up even more, exposing two other holes, and making the other one even larger.

Case cleaned up, and holes now fully exposed.

The welder even helped to remove the studs, and polish the finished welds flat.

Not pretty, but structurally sound, and all holes filled in.  We will polish a bit more, paint and install.

Getting the part welded only cost us $250, plus almost $100 in Uber rides, but well worth it, as it seems the part is no longer made, so a replacement is not easy.

We have to wait on new gaskets before we can re-install, so we will hang out here in Port Washington, until those come in to the local post office - care of general delivery.  Kris is really hoping that this is the cause of the white smoke, and that she can be done with engine repairs.  We will have to see.

Time to move onto another project - cleaning all the yellow stain off the hull from the trip up the ICW.

Dean working on cleaning the lower steps.

We will work on the hull when the winds are calm, and some other projects.  It has been nice, and so far have seen some fireworks almost every night since we arrived.