November, 2015
The fall season arrives and OMOO is under maintenance. And so is the Skipper! Mid October we were in the middle of injecting some engine cleaner and running the boat a couple of hours a day for 3 days (6 hours in total was the requirement), changing the antifreeze, engine oil, transmission oil, and testing a heat sensor that sets off a very loud alarm we’ve been tolerating (ALOT) every time the RPM’s go over 3000. While on the dock I got busy cleaning the bimini which had become a rich garden of mold and mildew, changing the joker valve in the main head (anyone who’s done this knows it’s no fun in spite of it’s name) and investigating nasty smells under the galley sink, thanks to a leak somewhere above. Moby Duck (the dingy) also had a slow leak that needed patching, along with a clean up that was about 6 months overdue.
Just for fun we threw in a couple of Doctor’s appointments for the skipper which led to an angiogram and a stent being placed in a 80% blocked artery. Turns out his engine wasn’t running at optimal performance and needed a tune up. It’s good to get all the maintenance done in the fall. In boats it’s crucial to stop all leaks of fluids and we had to do the same for Hershey. After the stent was in place he was on 4 anticoagulants to stop the blood clots from forming on the new metal mesh balloon inside of him. Everyday after injecting himself with the heparin needed to reduce clotting he squirted for awhile. We carried around our first aid kit and visited the marine supply stores we needed to get supplies for our projects. He only bled on one sales counter when he leaned on it in the same spot he was still leaking from, but the store owner was very calm and understanding. But that doesn’t slow down the boat projects!! After all, there’s next season’s cruising to prepare for. While he’s recuperating by occupying himself with replacing the through hull on the raw water inlet, I’m starting to research the new area we plan on cruising to next summer.
Life is good.
