Tuesday August 2, 2022, Kingston Yacht Club
I’m still dockbound.
I’m still dockbound. We left this morning to head to Rochester and then along the southern shore. The forecast was perfect for a 3 day sail. However, 4 feet from the dock it was apparent that the motor was not working in forward, so Matt leapt nimbly to get us back tied to the dock. I called Kevin, the motor mechanic and he arrived about an hour later and certified that the motor was working fine but that the propellor had an issue. When he was fixing the motor last week it seemed ok, but we didn’t fully test the whole system and I feel now that I should have taken him for an ‘end to end’ test on the lake. But that’s spilt milk.
The problem is that nobody has a complete solution. I need a tow. I need a haulout. I need someone to check the propellor (which means removing the propellor and taking it to “The Prop Shop” for fixing “because they don’t leave the store”. So numerous calls later with the insurance folks, a towing company, and the prop shop and I was no further ahead for having solutions to each step of the process. The guy who tows broke down and needed a tow himself. Another towing guy offered to tow us tomorrow, but the guy who lifts the boats out of the water was not in the shop today, and may not be tomorrow. And he has no workers who can take a propellor off. Confused? I sure am.
So 4:30 rolls around without a full game plan and I decide to have a rum and coke and try to look at the whole process. I look up the KiwiProp Canadian dealer and discover he is in Picton, about an hour away. He promptly returns my call on his answering machine and we talk about the process and the fix. So the best news is that he asked his service guy, Bernard, to take a day off his vacation in Waupus and drive down with snorkel and mask and look the propellor under water. If the solution is to replace blades, then chances are we are able to leave tomorrow afternoon. If the solution is to replace the whole prop, then it has to be ordered from New Zealand and will take a few weeks.
Here’s hoping for luck tomorrow.
The Kingston Yacht Club has been very understanding but I’m starting to feel uncomfortable after 11 days here. They are so nice and accommodating but I don’t wish to be the guest who stays too long. Here’s hoping for the second time in 4 tries for luck tomorrow.
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