(Sailing Day 6) This morning, my favorite star, Venus, was incredibly brilliant! I can’t believe how bright it was!
We’re still motoring. Seas have been calm and winds less than 5 knots. The new engine has been working nonstop for days. John changed the transmission fluid after running it for the first 24 hours. We switched the RPMs up and down every hour for that initial 24-hour period. Since then, we’ve set the RPM between 1500 and 1800. John thinks the performance is best at 1700 RPM. During my watch, I check the engine monitor to confirm the temperature stays under 160 Fahrenheit, pressure around 60 PSI, and voltages between 13 to 14. It looks like we will be sailing in about 12 hours.
The other day, John found a minor water leak (dripping) from the area behind the generator, where we can’t see. We were very concerned but relieved when we found the cause. It’s coming from the thru-hull glue between the generator exhaust fume pipe and the boat hull. This thru-hull is located above the water level. However, when the boat heels a lot while sailing with strong winds, this thru-hull gets submerged and brings water into the boat. The glue between layers around the thru-hull is old and needs to be re-glued with 5200. It’s better not to fix it in the open ocean. We decided to repair it in a safe and calm place. In the meantime, I put a towel to absorb the water when it drips. While motoring, the boat moves without heeling, so there’s no leaking.
PS: We struggled to bring a Yellowfin Tuna on the hook at sunset yesterday. I couldn’t poke the fish with the gaff. The fish won; it broke off the line and disappeared. I wished it would be okay, even with a hook and line on its mouth. Sorry! I became happier that we didn’t have to clean the fish on the deck. It was getting dark, and I didn’t want to sacrifice my bedtime for it, not to mention feel sadness watching it die. The cats were excited for fresh Sashimi. But we’ll wait until next time, when we get a smaller fish!
