Nassau - revisited

After a successful (uneventful) trip up the Exumas, I got to Nassau Harbour (AKA civilization)... So the first order of business was to take care of some boat projects.

Battery issues
This was actually a non-issue, but still took a few hours to figure out.  It turns out that when I rewired my banks last time I switched some stuff around and I forgot about it... That caused me to be using the small bank that I have as backup instead of the house bank, which is designed to power the boat most of the time... Since the backup bank doesn't have as much solar charging it, I was draining it faster than it could recharge, so I was observing low voltage readings... The other problem was related to the way the voltmeter was wired... On the small bank it would read accurately, but it would read something way lower on my main bank... After I rewired it it started giving correct readings and I realized the main bank was perfectly fine, it was simply not being used.

Battery Charger
My two battery chargers seem to have broken (my generator being the main suspect), and I think it is almost a matter of safety to be able to recharge batteries through more than one mean, so I've been shopping around and I've seen all kinds of chargers, from $115 - $400!
So I haven't bought any yet...

While shopping for battery chargers, I found a shop where some tinkerer is building an amphibious vehicle, check the pics.

VHF
My Icom handheld VHF radio stopped working in the Exumas, I meant to go get a new battery or radio today, but I ended up just hanging out and learning from a friend who is fixing his engine.

GPS
My main GPS is a Garmin handheld that has worked very well throughout the trip, and it has been perfectly accurate everywhere in the Bahamas when displaying the charts... However, lately it has been turning off unexpectedly, especially when you need it most! It will sometimes turn off when it feels mild vibrations such as me placing it gently on the cockpit cushions! So I think it is time to get another unit, and hopefully it will be a Garmin, I'm willing to buy a third one (both of the current ones have the same issue) just to enjoy the accuracy of the digital Explorer Charts which Garmin reputedly bought.  I meant to purchase this today as well, but like with the VHF, I ended up doing something else.

Engine service
This is so far the most expensive and troublesome project.  Early summer last year, my impeller stopped working, so I had it replaced, along with the engine oil and lower unit oil... When I arrived in Nassau I went to a "Honda Dealer" called Lightbourne Marine where I found the staff to be super nice, they kindly directed me to go talk to Billy from the service department.  I walked across the street to the service department where I met with Billy to get a quote on the work.  I indicated that I had a sailboat, needed to have someone come by my boat, take the engine off, do a lower unit and motor oil change, replace a hose, and review the throttle issue for a more permanent solution than the one we rigged at Long Island.  Among the first few words that came out of this individual's mouth were "it is nothing against you, but I hate sailboats..." On and on he rambled about irrelevant things such as how Nassau was not a good place for sailboats, and why did I need an engine if I had sails... Obviously I was not about to answer/challenge any of his questions/comments, so after hearing his ridiculous monologue about sailboats, I reminded him that I did not come here for any sailboat-related assistance, only to get an outboard motor serviced.  I had to steer the conversation numerous times back on track until I got his commitment to come and pick up the engine the next morning at 9:00AM. 

Billy and his crew showed up in a powerboat the next morning at 9:00AM sharp and they helped me rig a crude cradle with which they lifted the engine out of my boat, and into theirs.  Obviously this did not occur without some close calls where the engine almost fell into the drink!

I went later that day over to the service department and checked up on the work progress, I was pleased to see that they were almost done, and had discovered the root cause of the throttle issue.  I paid, and arranged to come by the next morning to arrange a delivery back to my boat.  Again, they were right on time and we managed to put the engine back on (again, there were a few tense moments when I was sure the Honda was going to go swimming!).

I turned on the engine with the starter cord (I hadn't connected it to the batteries yet) and, as usual, it started on the first pull.  I let it idle for about a minute, and I started to notice something different about it, then it stalled.  I figured that since it had been disconnected from the fuel line, and I hadn't pumped the bulb on the fuel line, it was a fuel issue.  I got tired of pulling the starter cord, so I connected the cables to the battery, and started using the electric starter after pumping the fuel line bulb.  The engine turned on and started working fine, I throttled it up and down a few times and it felt smooth, I figured all my engine troubles were behind me.  Obviously that was not to be the case, this morning, I was going to move the boat to a better slip, when I noticed my engine was very difficult to start... I managed to start it a few times, but if left at idle speed, it would stall.  This fell much like a kick in the balls must feel.  I went to do preventive maintenance, and what I got is an engine with new issues!  Tomorrow is a new day and I'll spend some time troubleshooting this stuff with Dennis, a guy from a catamaran that is also having engine problems...

Hopefully I'll resolve these issues shortly so I can move on...

All this calls for a few drinks at Crazy Johnny's!