2023-07-09 Heat Exchanger is dead, Surrounded by fireworks, Boat Projects

Monday morning we headed to the post office, and picked up the remaining engine parts to fix our heat exchanger.  Luck would have it, the post office employee was a sailor, and when he saw the package was "gaskets", he got quite lively talking about sailing.   Other folks in line were a bit upset, as our transaction took a bit longer than normal.

Back to boat, and installed fixed heat exchanger case, with new gaskets.  Filled with coolant, and - UH OH - leaking coolant.   Took everything back apart - and found the exchanger case still leaking.  Just too much material had corroded away, and the pitting inside must have been weakened with the heat from welding enough to spring a leak.  Can't get the welding tip inside far enough to fix, so Plan B.  Found a used one online from the Netherlands and put the order in.    We though about a new one, but they are on backorder - late August or September at earlies to get one.  

Welded up, but you can see a small puddle of coolant inside - too far to reach with welder.

Glad we have two engines.  

We had planned on moving east to see some fireworks, but that plan wasn't going to happen since we needed to now plan on getting our new engine part in Connecticut in a few days.  So we stuck around, and had a 4th of July in Port Washington.    We don't have a traditional lifestyle, but we did do a traditional meal - sort of.  Chips and dip during the day, and a big afternoon meal of hot dogs, beans and soda.

Dean's 4th of July all Americana dinner

We knew the town was not going to put on a fireworks show that night, so did not expect much, but pleasantly surprised.  The neighboring town did a show, and we could see it quite well from the anchorage.  All three yacht clubs also had small fireworks shows, and across the bay were two more shows.  That plus some of the homeowners having parties with smaller shows.   We sat on the boat and swiveled our necks for an hour watching show after show.  We were literally surrounded by fireworks.  Impossible to see them all, so we just picked the best shows, then the closest shows, then the further shows.  There was a constant rumble of exploding fireworks from around 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. without a break.  We could hear the rumble of the New York fireworks, even though we could not see them.

We were surrounded by fireworks

We had not cleaned the boat in a while, and it had the yellow stain "mustache" that we get every year when travelling north or south on the ICW, from the tannins in the water.   Dean decided it was time, and when the winds was light and the anchorage calm, he took the dink around the boat cleaning and waxing.

You can see our yellow "mustache"

Dean working on the side of the boat.

While Dean scrubbed, Kris worked on sewing new sun shades for the cockpit.  They are still not done, need some webbing to finish, and it is on order.

One last grocery trip, and we were ready to leave Port Washington.   It is a nice stop, convenient for groceries, and has a nice hardware store as well.  

Port Washington dinghy dock

We had hoped to sail up to Lloyd harbor, but it was a motor trip.  Pretty day on the sound though.

Execution Rocks Lighthouse

Tub pushing a barge, NY in background

Lighthouse in Lloyd harbor by anchorage

Next day, was a combination of motoring and sailing up to Port Jefferson.  When we see floating balloons we try to detour and pick them up.   This trip we got 2, but lost one.

Dean with his catch for the day.

Kris's catch, a very large one, might be over the legal limit

Port Jefferson is a busy harbor, but the anchorage is in a restricted speed zone, so it is not too bad.   

We took the dink into the dinghy dock, and walked up to the hardware store for some PVC pipe we will used in our cockpit shades.  Tide was quite low.

Steep ramp down to dingy dock in Setauket (town by Lloyd Harbor)

Went for a nice kayak trip, as the winds were calm.  One of the things about cruising that is interesting is seeing the change in geology, biology, and human culture as you travel.  Different vegetation, different sand and rocks, different animals, different architecture, accents, etc.

You would be hard pressed to find a rock like this near shore anywhere south of Maryland.

Nice boulder, left from last ice age (I think)

While Kris paddled away, seeing birds, turtles and rock, Dean worked on finding the latest leak in our dinghy.

Leak is located next to an already patched area

He found a leak, next to an area that we already patched, so now a larger patch is needed.   We keep hoping the dinghy will last a few more years, but it is showing its age - now 18 years old.

We will stay here today, and Monday head over to Fairfield Connecticut area, to pick up some Amazon items, and our replacement heat exchanger casing.  If this one doesn't work, then we would be up the creek without an engine for a while, so lets hope it works.