June 2020: Routine Maintenance (Mostly)

Foreword:  We’re still hanging out in Fort Myers and still mostly lying low, trying to avoid the unmasked morons when we do get out.  As social unrest and outrage gets layered on top of a pandemic, the pandemonium amplifies.  And just when we thought federal & state governments couldn’t possibly get any more abject & inept, they managed to prove us wrong.  It’s like someone combined 1918 with 1968 and then put the inmates in charge of the asylum.  But as we predicted back in March, that's what happens in leadership vacuums.

The same caveat that led off last month's blog entry applies this month as well...it's all about upkeep and projects -- of interest only to boat geeks and perhaps some gearheads with time on their hands.  We've had no problem keeping busily occupied.

Regular Maintenance

The Main Engine's ZF Transmission with Dipstick and Fill Plug Removed,
Ready to be Drained.

First up was an oil and filter change for the transmission on the main engine.  The book says that comes due at 1,000 hours of run time or annually, whichever comes first.  We were nowhere close to the run time threshold, but it had been about a year, so it was time.  But thanks to the Reverso electric oil change pump and the way Nordhavn plumbed that, this is a pretty straightforward operation.  You do have to move a two-way valve on the main engine to direct the Reverso plumbing to the tranny (rather than the engine’s oil sump), but after that it only takes a few minutes to pump out the old oil.

While the ops manual for the ZF 280 transmission states oil capacity is 1.3 gallons we actually pumped out 1.5 gallons….that’s because on a continuous-duty diesel engine (in this case our Lugger 6108) there is a transmission oil cooler tucked under the usual heat exchanger and that additional plumbing requires additional oil capacity.  Rick wasn’t sure when the transmission’s filter screen was last removed for cleaning, so to be safe he purchased a new one and installed that before refilling with new oil.  The old one, however, looked almost pristine, so it went into the spare parts bin.

New & Old Tranny Oil Screens on the Left; It
Takes a Big Socket to Remove & Install.

We use straight 40W Shell Rotella T-1 motor oil for the ZF tranny (30W is an option for cooler climates) to stay compliant with manufacturer specifications.  While the Reverso system is capable of adding as well as extracting oil, Rick prefers to add oil manually through the standard oil fill port using a funnel….using the same Reverso hose that drains the unit might reintroduce used oil contaminants, so why chance that?

Verifying that you’ve added enough new oil back into the tranny isn’t exactly intuitive, however – the dipstick markings are calibrated without regard for the additional oil capacity that the oil cooler plumbing requires.  Thus one has to start the engine, pop the throttle handle briefly into forward and reverse to circulate the oil, shut down, and then within 60 seconds or less return to the engine room to check the oil level on the dipstick – before the oil cooler lines can drain back into the tranny, and that level should be at the normal “full” mark.  When checking the transmission oil level on a cold engine that’s been sitting it should actually be above that full mark, and it’s wise to note that level on the dipstick.

The Transmission Oil Cooler (Yellow Arrow) and the Two Oil
Cooler Hoses (Red Arrows).

Shortly after the tranny oil change trigger fired in our Wheelhouse software, so did the one for the wing engine – same deal, an annual reminder.  Any oil, regardless of quality or composition, has a finite shelf life….inside an engine (or an open container for that matter) the oil begins to lose its key lubricating and protection properties at about the one year mark, regardless of engine runtime hours.  Theoretically, at least, one could take an oil sample and have it lab tested for efficacy, and extend that interval given positive test results.  (And actually that’s a good idea at certain intervals anyway, since such a lab test can detect chemicals and elements that may portend internal wear issues.)  The problem, however, is you really don’t know for how much longer that oil with retain its protective properties…unless you keep testing it.  In the end, an oil and filter change is cheaper, easier and more reliable.  Why risk equipment that (depending on which engine) costs between $25,000 and $40,000 for the nominal costs of some oil and a filter?

Oil Change on the L984 Wing Engine; the
Yellow Arrow Points to the Oil Filter.

Once again the Reverso oil change pump made this a fairly simple task….flip a couple of switches, pump the old oil into a couple of empty containers, drop the old oil filter into a baggie, grab a new filter and spin it on, then add 9.5 quarts of Delo 10W-40 into the Lugger 984.  Done….all of that takes only 15 minutes.  Then there’s another 15 minutes for cleanup and disposal.

Project Work

Next up was a small project that had been on the “eventually” list for quite some time: to replace Ghost Rider’s anchor light with an LED bulb.  The reason is simple – in more normal times Nordhavns tend to spend a lot of time at anchor running on battery power only, and from sunset to sunrise the anchor light must be illuminated.  The LED bulb should last longer, draw a lot less battery juice and theoretically also be brighter than the standard incandescent bulb.  Unfortunately this project requires climbing on top of the radar arch and balancing there with one hand while using the other for disassembling the housing and swapping bulbs.  The trick is to buy a quality LED (we chose the “Dr. LED” brand on Defender), then pick a calm day, bring a ladder to minimize pulled muscles, and then proceed slowly and deliberately. Rick managed to pull it off without getting dizzy or falling.

The anchor light on Ghost Rider (red circle) is approximately 22 feet above the waterline.  Standing atop the radar

 arch is not something we want to attempt in a rolly anchorage.

Another project on the “eventually” list was getting to the less-optional stage, and that was to replace two duckbill valves in a very tight space located behind the clothes dryer.  These two duckbills are at the top of the anti-siphon loops for the black water pump-out and guest toilet thru-hull discharges, and these two were way overdue for servicing; a failure of an anti-siphon valve could result in an influx of seawater, perhaps even a backflow of effluent – either would be bad news.  While we regularly serviced the five other and easily accessible duckbill valves on the boat (master head, wing engine, generator, etc.) these two required some creativity to access them.

Access Panel Removed...Revealing the Back Half of the Clothes Dryer
that Prevents Any Kind of Access to the Well Hidden Anti-Siphon Valves.

First, an access panel in the guest stateroom had to be opened up, followed by removing nine anchoring screws for the dryer (front & back sides), and then pulling the dryer out about 12 inches into the stairway space that connects the pilot house to the stateroom level.  That gave Rick enough room to angle his shoulders through the small access panel and squeeze into the cramped space behind the dryer; removing the old intake caps and duckbills and replacing with new ones was the easy part.  Reassembly was mercifully undemanding.  Generally speaking the architects at Nordhavn are good at designing sturdy boats with thoughtful maintenance access to most serviceable components….but not in this case.

Unfastening & Pulling Out the Dryer into the Companionway.

With The Dryer Pulled Out We Now Had Access to the Two
Anti-Siphon Duckbill Valves (Yellow Arrows).

Yet another project (actually decision) coming due was what to do about an expiring EPIRB battery at the end of June.  The “Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon” is an indispensable piece of safety equipment, particularly when out of VHF radio range.  Capable of beaming SAR GPS distress signals via satellite (along with a Guard channel homing beacon) for 48 hours of continuous signaling, no blue water boater departs the dock without one.  The thing works anywhere on the planet.  Unfortunately the older EPIRB models utilize batteries that expire after five years, at which time they require servicing by an authorized dealer – the batts are technically not user replaceable.

Our Wet Locker is Pretty Packed with Safety
Gear.  Yellow Arrow Points to the New EPIRB,
the Green Arrow to the Old One in the Ditch Bag.

Given that the cost of that service is about half what a new EPIRB costs, and that the latest models have ten year batts which are user-replaceable, we opted to just purchase a new one, an ACR 2831 GlobalFix V4 model.  We mounted this one in the pilot house wet locker, where most of our safety equipment resides – life raft, ditch bag, signaling devices, first aid kit, life vests, throw bag, etc. – and still kept the old one in the ditch bag’s side pocket.  Both are registered with NOAA as Ghost Rider-specific SARSAT devices.  (LINK.)

Periodically we also have to pay attention to the ship’s navigation computer.  From a hardware perspective that’s a reliable device (a Silverstone 12 volt small form factor computer), but unfortunately its operating system is Windows 10 Pro – the TZ Pro navigation software won’t run on anything else.  And that is decidedly not a good OS for what is essentially a 24-by-7 mission critical system.  The Win10 OS likes to “phone home” rather frequently for all sorts of software updates, and we’ve mastered rather surreptitious techniques for bypassing that disruptive behavior while underway; but occasionally when time allows – as when we are stuck in port – it’s a good idea to backup that PC and then let it go through its update procedures…and then test the hell out of it to be sure it didn’t break anything important.

The Ship's 12V Navigation PC is Tucked Under the
Pilot House Console...Which is Fine Until You Need to
Take it Apart to Swap Out Memory (RAM) DIMMs.

So we allowed the OS upgrade itself to the latest release (dated April 2020), which took a couple of hours across several reboots, then regression tested, and thankfully most things looked good afterwards.  It did completely break the non-essential “Stereo Mix” feature that we like to use for our MP3 music library when at anchor or the dock (allows for concurrent use of hardwired and wireless Bluetooth speakers); and it disabled the Open Shell software (we use it to configure Win10 to look more like Win7); but at least all the important navigation features and interfaces remained ops normal.  Rick eventually dug up an older Realtek audio driver that restored Stereo Mix functionality, and then reinstalled the latest version of Open Shell to regain our preferred look & feel of the start menu and desktop.  Rick also took the down-time opportunity to tear into the computer’s innards and upgrade its random access memory from 8GB to 16GB, which should improve overall response time of the ship’s PC going forward.

The Windows 10 System Info Reflects the Upgraded RAM and the New Version of the OS.

Break/Fix Opportunities

Of course no month of boat ownership would be complete without some break/fix activity to drain the wallet and shame the budget.  We found two of those this month.

The first was yet another air conditioning system fault – rather suddenly we had no less than three air handler units intermittently tossing “HI PS” (high pressure) errors, which typically means low flow of raw water cooling to the compressors.  The pathetic dribbles emitting from the thru-hull seawater discharges confirmed that issue, but the question was why – or more precisely, where in the plumbing was the blockage?  Given the suddenness of the problem, and that we had acid washed the A/C plumbing just four months ago, plus the fact that the A/C strainer basket was clear of any obstruction, we were pretty sure the clog was in or near the thru-hull inlet….under the hull.

The A/C Thru-Hull...After Closing the Valve (Red Arrow), Removing the Hose
(Green Arrow), and Unscrewing the Elbow (Yellow Arrow), Rick then
Reopened the Valve.  Should Have Been a Geyser -- and Was Not.

Rick closed that valve, removed the hose and its 90 degree elbow, then slowly re-opened the thru-hull – what should have been a three foot geyser of seawater into the lazarette was barely the equivalent of a water bubbler.  Something was blocking flow on the bottom of the hull, and no amount of auguring with a screwdriver was making any difference.  Nuts.

We placed a call to our diver service (LINK) and requested an off-schedule visit, and a day later one of their divers arrived, dove under the boat and dug out a handful of detritus from the protective grate on the thru-hull intake: a few tiny fish, a small seaweed salad, some cellophane, and a plastic bag.  And that’s what restored normal flow and A/C operations.  

Lastly, we developed a surprise problem with the boat’s crane….and a nasty one at that.  On one of our periodic walk-around inspections of the boat we discovered a stream of hydraulic fluid leaking from the base of the crane, making quite a mess on the boat deck.  After removing the inspection panels on the base the culprit was immediately obvious: the hydraulic reservoir tank had rusted through in a fairly large area. 

The Polished Stainless Crane/Davit Looks Good on the Outside....

For now that leaves us with no mechanism for launching or retrieving the dinghy.  Rick has manually pumped out the remaining hydraulic oil (about two gallons) to prevent more deck messes, and is researching equipment manuals and potential service centers for help in figuring out next steps.  The solution is not likely to be straightforward or inexpensive.  But that’s a topic for a future post.

....But Inside the Base its Hydraulic Reservoir Tank Has Rusted Through.

But Ghost Rider Still Looks Good After a Thorough Shampoo and Rinse to Close Out June.

May 2020: Back in FMY - Fixing Stab Overheat

Foreword:  We and the boat are back home in Fort Myers and we’re still being diligent about social distancing and hygiene practices.  Hopefully that’s true for all y’all, too.  But here in the USA, with most states proceeding with “re-opening” without much regard for science, we’re also preparing for a long slog with multiple setbacks looking very likely.  If you want a historical analog, go study the Spanish Flu outbreak of 1918…along with how & why it continued into 1920.  Mark Twain reportedly once said “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”  It seems we’re destined to prove him right again.  But there is good news….have discovered if you keep a glass of scotch in each hand then you can’t touch your face.  That’s good hygiene.

This entry is all about a system repair and nothing else.  So unless you are a boat geek, or bored enough to seek almost any distraction, you’ll want to skip it.

Even though we’d had a very successful maintenance stop with Yacht Tech in Palm Beach, we still had ample boat projects to keep us busy on Ghost Rider.  But the priority problem-to-solve was the stabilizer oil overheating condition we had encountered at the midpoint of our journey back to Fort Myers.  After a few days at the dock we now had a much cooler engine room, allowing for a relatively relaxed and comfortable approach to troubleshooting…and the luxury of temporarily disabling the main engine without consequence.

The Red Arrow Points to the Main Engine's Heat Exchanger on the Port Side of the Maine Engine.  Tucked Under That, the Blue Arrow Points Out the Gear (Transmission) Oil Cooler.  The Yellow Arrows Point at the Pencil Zincs on the Heat
Exchanger.  And then the Green Arrow Indicates the Down Elbow....Just Underneath that a Small 5/8" Diameter Hose
Branches Off to the Cooling Circuit that Routes Over to the Stabilizer Oil Tank.

The design of the cooling circuit for our stabilizer oil tank is relatively simple. Ghost Rider is an exception compared to most Nordhavns….rather than being keel-cooled with a dry exhaust stack, our Nordy’s main engine is cooled via a raw (sea) water heat exchanger and uses a traditional wet exhaust.  That arrangement provides for a secondary cooling circuit that branches off at the bottom of the main engine’s heat exchanger and is then routed over to the stabilizer oil tank reservoir for additional cooling duties there.  After exiting the stab oil tank, that auxiliary cooling circuit empties into the sea via its own dedicated discharge thru-hull.  Except now we could not detect any outflow coming from that thru-hull opening….meaning no cooling flow.

The Stabilizer Oil Tank is Located in the Port Side Forward Alcove of the Engine Room.  The Yellow
Arrow Points to the Input Cooling Line that Branches Off the Bottom of the Main Engine's Heat Exchanger.
The Green Arrow Points to the Output Line that Goes to the Thru-hull Discharge.

So there is a minor flaw in that design:  while the heat exchanger itself is quite beefy, by necessity it utilizes two sacrificial pencil zincs (anodes) to prevent galvanic corrosion inherent with that salty seawater flow…and as those zincs decay (as intended) the shedding debris will descend to the bottom of the heat exchanger – right where that stabilizer cooling loop begins.  That loop uses much smaller diameter hosing and piping (5/8” ID), and occasionally is prone to clogging with that decaying zinc detritus.  When that occurs the result is hot stabilizer oil….rather than the normal 155F temps we were seeing nearly 200F on the leg to Marathon following the overtemp warning light.

Flushing the Line Going from the Heat Exchanger to the Stabilizer Oil Cooling Loop.  The Red Arrow Points to One of the Two Pencil Zinc Ports We Used for the High Pressure Flush Out.  The Yellow Arrow Indicates the Low Point of the Stab Cooling Circuit Where We Diverted its Feed Hose Into a Drain Bucket.

Rick decided to start the investigation where the stabilizer cooling loop originates at the bottom of the main engine’s heat exchanger.  After removing the two zinc plugs (they were due for replacement anyway) and disconnecting a segment of the hose feeding the start of the stab cooling circuit, he stuck a high pressure hose into the zinc ports for a flushing out.  While that netted some debris it certainly was not enough to cause a blockage or overheat issue.

After Disconnecting the Stab Oil Tank's Cooling Hose from the Thru-hull Discharge (Yellow Arrow) and Augering Out
a Significant Zinc Debris Blockage, We Observed a Good Cooling Flow from the Hose End (Green Arrow.)

After reassembling the main engine side of the loop, the next step was to check at the opposite end of the stabilizer cooling circuit, where it exited the boat via the thru-hull fitting.  It was a likely suspect since there was a 90 degree elbow where the outflow hose clamped to the thru-hull fitting – and in there Rick found enough stray zinc debris to form a very effective dam.  A stiff wire coat hanger server as a suitable plumbing auger, and in the end that blockage turned out to be the only culprit.  After clearing the clog and starting the main engine we observed good cooling flow exiting from the thru-hull discharge.

The Yellow Arrow Points Out the Resulting Normal Stab Cooling Flow from the Thru-hull.

The question now was whether such an event could be prevented in the future.  The zinc decay itself is a critically important feature that protects expensive diesel engine parts from dissolving through galvanic corrosion; it would not be wise to change that portion. One option was to design an entirely separate cooling loop for the stabilizer oil tank, which would entail a new intake thru-hull as well as a new electric water pump (and then sealing off the existing feed from the heat exchanger.)  But another path was just to insert a sea-strainer device into the existing cooling circuit to trap zinc debris, with periodic inspection and cleaning.  The latter sounded a whole lot easier and cheaper, at least as a first try.  So that’s the approach we’ve taken for now.  Rick installed a standard Jabsco PumpGuard strainer at the circuit’s low point, close to where it branches off the main engine’s heat exchanger.

The New Sea Strainer Inserted into the Stabilizer Cooling Circuit at its Low Point.  It's Positioned Just Under the Front End
of the Main Engine Where It's Readily Visible and Accessible for Cleaning When Necessary.

It was a relatively simple modification, but it needs to be sea-trialed to determine whether it still allows for an adequate flow rate for cooling the stabilizer oil tank.  A better long-term solution might also call for an inline shut-off valve just upstream of the strainer to allow cleaning of the strainer basket without having to first shut down the engine and drain the heat exchanger (that beast holds a LOT of sea water.)

Just What is a Heat Exchanger?  The Schematic Above is Generic, but is a Good Illustration.  It's Basically Like a Car's Radiator, but Instead of Outside Air Cooling the Antifreeze that Circulates Through the Diesel Engine, it Takes in Seawater to Perform the Same Function.  On Ghost Rider a Portion of the Seawater is Expelled Through the Wet Exhaust, but Another Portion is Routed to the Stabilizer Oil Tank to Perform Cooling Duties There.

April 2020: Cruising Back to Fort Myers

Foreword:  Ghost Rider became our very own containment vessel for the few days it took us to cruise back to Fort Myers, staying offshore and stopping only at a couple of anchorages along the way.  There are worse ways to practice social distancing, and not many safer.  We would like to salute the front line medical workers and first responders who continue to put themselves in harm’s way. To once again quote Mr. Churchill: “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”  Of course he also reportedly said something like “Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing…after they have exhausted all other possibilities.”  That one is looking dubious.

First Leg: Palm Beach to Rodriguez Key (Near Key Largo)

With Yacht Tech mostly shut down we had definitely reached a point of diminishing returns on the east coast of Florida, so on Tuesday, 14-April we departed Loggerhead Marina in Palm Beach Gardens and pointed Ghost Rider south.  Joe and Carole (from N40 Barefoot Girl) helped us with dock lines, which was much appreciated as our assigned boat slip wasn’t an easy one for Chelle to dismount and remount the boat, especially with a very stiff breeze from the southeast pushing us off the tall fixed dock.  Our planned itinerary included an overnight run south to the Rodriguez Key anchorage near Key Largo, then a shorter day trip to the Marathon anchorage, and finally another overnighter from there to home port in Fort Myers.  The planning logic was simple: there weren’t any marinas taking transients, so anchorages were our only option; and we wanted to get past the mainland and down to the Keys quickly enough to avoid a worsening weather forecast for areas north of there.

We departed just after 1500….timed such that we would reach our first anchorage shortly after sunrise the next day.  It was mostly sunny, humid and hot with the temp hovering at 90F, but the stiff breeze coming off the slightly cooler waters helped keep it comfortable on the fly bridge.  By the time we reached Lake Worth winds were at a steady 20 knots but we had timed the two ICW bridge openings perfectly and made good time.  And somewhat surprisingly, when we punched through the inlet and into open ocean, the ride wasn’t too bad – two to three foot square waves with plenty of wind chop on top, but Ghost Rider seemed quite happy to be moving again.  However that hefty wind (with higher gusts) regularly kicked salt spray clear over the fly bridge and up to the satellite antenna dome.

Pilot House View at Dusk Near the East Florida Shoreline

We had planned our initial legs down towards Miami to be about three miles offshore, the thought being we would avoid most of the near-shore fishing grounds, along with the busy inlets and anchorage areas at Fort Lauderdale and Miami.  Unfortunately, while NOAA was reporting the western edge of the Gulf Stream ten miles out, that did not appear to be the case.  After the turn south we found ourselves bucking a current of at least three knots.  Following an hour of crawling along, sometimes under five knots of SOG, we hung a hard right, detouring two and half miles to the west.  We began hugging the shoreline about a thousand meters off the beach and that gained us two more knots of forward speed for a while.  But come night fall we once again swerved back out to the three mile limit line, mainly for the traffic avoidance and safety factors near the busy ports….and back into that nasty current.

Chelle took the helm for the early night shift (1900 to 2130), then Rick took over for the graveyard shift through 0430, followed by Chelle again for the final four hours.  It was after 0200 on Wednesday, 15-April before we got around Lauderdale and Miami – and their offshore anchorage fields looked like parking lots. There was a lot of stranded tonnage there, collectively with enough lights blazing to totally destroy everyone’s night vision.  

Radar Screen Capture as We Skirted the
Lauderdale Offshore Anchorage Area

Overall the night running was mostly without stress, but approaching the Miami area Rick had to hail one cruise ship on the VHF to clarify safe passing logistics.  The big vessel was lingering about a mile to the east of the offshore anchorage, but unlike all the others its AIS readout did not reflect an “anchored” status and it showed a few knots of movement; we did not want to get run over….a distinct possibility at our reduced ground speed.  It turned out he was “drifting in place” and we agreed on a passing protocol satisfactory to both vessels.

Once south of Miami’s Government Cut shipping channel we again cut back west and closer to the mainland to join Hawk Channel and run inside the Keys’ reef tract.  Even there we were still bashing into a current, although one not nearly as strong as the Gulf Stream’s fire hose.

Throughout the sortie the winds never let up, and the atmosphere remained warm and muggy all night – temps never dipped below 82F.  So when we reached Rodriguez Key and tucked in behind it just before 0900 and dropped the hook, the generator and A/C came online fairly quickly.  That anchorage is one of our favorites in the Keys – good protection, fairly isolated, plenty of swing room, just enough depth with mild tidal changes, and always clean, clear water.  But we had never seen it so empty.  We tended to some minor chores, napped, read and caught up on the news (blech) via satellite TV, then slept like stones that night.

A Shot of the Rodriguez Key Anchorage Near Sunset.....It Was Pretty Empty

We were not in a big hurry the following morning, Thursday, 16-April, since we only had a short six hour sortie down to Marathon in the mid-Keys.  It was still warm and muggy outside even at 0830 – temp and humidity both in the mid-80’s – but we had kept the genset and A/C running all night, so had slept well.  After our coffee, email and news checks we cranked up Ghost Rider’s systems, hoisted the anchor and were back underway by 0930. 

Our Track from Rodriguez Key to the Marathon Area

Hawk Channel waters were docile, generally about a foot, and since the wind had diminished considerably overnight to around 10 knots, featured just a light wind chop on top.  We had to dodge occasional strings of crab pots, but otherwise traffic was light apart from the occasional pod of dolphins that would glide in the boat’s bow wave.

Water quality was as good as we’d ever seen it inside the reef.  No debris, and bottom features readily visible in varying shades of blue, green and turquoise.  We had read reports the same was true all along the coasts of Florida following beach and facility closures that had reduced human activity to nearly nothing.  Perhaps a silver lining in the Covid cloud.

The Anchorage Near Marathon & Seven Mile Bridge

But around 1400 the calm of our peaceful cruise down the spine of the Keys got interrupted by a bright red warning light on the stabilizer control panel – for “High Temp.”  Nuts.  Rick went to the engine room and used the infrared temperature gun to verify the oil tank temp was high (it was, well above redline), then centered and pinned the stabilizer fins, and shut the system down.  A quick check of the manual revealed it had absolutely nothing to say about troubleshooting this error, so Rick pinged James Knight via SMS text for his input. James called back within minutes, and had Rick check the relative temps for the cooling input and output lines at the stabilizer’s oil reservoir (both normal), and also verify that the output line’s thru-hull seacock was open (it was.)  Seas were still quite gentle and forecast to remain that way for the final leg home, so the absence of stabilization wasn’t a big deal.  Conferring with a few other N50 owners gave us a pretty good idea as to cause (clogging debris in the cooling circuit, likely from zinc anode shedding); that will require considerable disassembly and flushing, so we decided to leave the system disabled, and wait to address once back in port.

We turned the corner at Boot Key and pulled into a mostly empty anchorage near Marathon around 1530, and had the hook firmly planted shortly thereafter.  Initially we left the generator off and the boat open for a few hours to let the engine room cool down a bit, then ran genset and A/C for a spell and recharged the batts.  By late evening the predicted cold front shifted the winds to a northerly flow bring slightly drier air, making it comfy enough to shut down and sleep with natural ventilation.

Chelle Cooking up a Spicy Taco Dish at the Marathon Anchorage

By 0800 on the morning of Friday, 17-April the winds had clocked around to the southeast once again and the breeze helped as it was already quite humid with a bright tropical sun gradually amping up the heat.  We started the generator around 1030 and let it charge the house batteries and enjoyed some cooling A/C.  Our goal was to be underway by 1530 – enough daylight remaining to pass through some of the more dense crab pot fields visually, but not so soon as to arrive at the Caloosahatchee River in Fort Myers before daylight the following morning.  And that’s what we did, weighing anchor at 1515.

Our Overnight Track from Marathon to Fort Myers

Once Chelle had steered Ghost Rider under the Seven Mile Bridge and into Florida Bay we found smooth water, mainly just a light wind chop, and we were grateful for that with the stabilizer system shut down.  We weaved our way around Red Bay Bank and then aimed the pointy end north, settling down for the long run up to Fort Myers.  As expected we were dodging the crab pots in the southern part of Florida Bay, and we managed to pick out most visually and on radar, although the wind-chopped surface made the latter erratic at times.

We manned the helm with the same shift schedule as the previous overnight run, with Chelle driving at the sunset and sunrise portions, and Rick in between. (His stay-alert technique: two mugs of coffee and a whole box of Girl Scout cookies.  Thank you Grace and Alice.)  It was a black, moonless night, the proverbial “boating in an ink bottle” run; looking straight ahead you could see absolutely nothing….not even the Nordhavn pennant fluttering a short distance away on the bow.

Chelle Steers Ghost Rider Towards the Seven Mile Bridge

Looking up, however, it was a different story.  With zero light pollution that far out in open water, the night sky was a star-studded palette of brilliant pinpoint lights.  To our west Venus was initially bright enough to leave a narrow wake of reflective light on the bay, and nearby Sirius was almost as bright.  To the east Ursa Major stood out, pointing dutifully to Polaris. Rick’s “Star Map” app could be distracting, and it took some discipline not to continually scan the sky and stare at that thing.  Way off to the northeast distant flashes of lightning would occasionally strobe out far enough for us to see, but our XM weather display told us the cluster of storms that spawned them were at least 75 miles away and moving further east.

Duel Radar....Totally Void of Any Traffic

In the blackness Ghost Rider’s Furuno DRS X-Class radar served as our eyes.  As is our habit we ran one radar display at close-in range and the other looking out a few miles further, with a two mile Guard Zone set up.  This night we also ran with the autopilot in “Track” mode, also known as “Nav” or “Auto-follow” mode on some pilots.  In open water on long, nearly straight stretches it’s a no-brainer to let the computers drive the vessel on its intended course.

We did not see another boat on the water from Marathon all the way up to Naples, either visually or on radar.  Throughout the night our conditions stayed comfortable, with following seas at about a foot, temps in the low 80’s, and humidity close to that.  The breeze turned from southeast and around to the northeast just before midnight, which also helped with better airflow in the pilot house. 

XM Weather Display Showing the Cluster of TRWs
Between Lake O and the East Coast of Florida

On Saturday, 18-April, we arrived at the Sanibel Causeway around 0730, and at that point we finally witnessed a normal level of boating activity on up to Fort Myers...plenty of small leisure craft getting early starts toward the fishing grounds.  We coasted upriver on an incoming tide and pulled into Legacy Harbour Marina at 0915, docking without any drama in mostly calm conditions. Then we spent two hours hosing off several layers of salt from Ghost Rider, unloaded gear and food, drove to our condo, and called the journey complete.

Sunrise Over Fort Myers Beach as We Approached the Sanibel Causeway

Overall Ghost Rider had performed very well.  Apart from the stabilizer oil temp / cooling issue, the only other thing to break the entire way was the starboard side (green) navigation light; we carry spare bulbs so that was an easy fix (although Rick did cut himself when the old bulb shattered in his hand; nothing new there.)  And our dipstick leak repair was so far holding up very well.  While it was disappointing to have to skip the planned Bahamas cruising, the maintenance depot stop at Yacht Tech was satisfying, as was the safe journey back home.

The Repair on the Dipstick Housing Oil Leak Seemed to be Holding Up

Our Complete Return Track -- From Palm Beach to Fort Myers -- as Seen on Google Earth

April 2020: Final Maintenance, More Madness

Foreword:  We’re stilling hanging in there, practicing the recommended distancing protocols, and keeping busy.  And we are reconciling with the reality that things will be this way for quite a spell.  While leadership is hard to define and impossible to teach, the absence of it eventually becomes obvious….and costly.  Churchill once said, “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak, it’s also what it takes to sit down and listen.”  We don't have a Churchill.  Of course Sir Winston also said “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”  So there’s that.  Keep on going.

As if We Weren't Spending Enough on the Boat, the
Condo Got a New Fridge / Freezer.

By this time we originally had planned to be in the Bahamas, but for obvious reasons that wasn’t going to happen this year.  So during the second weekend of our stay at Loggerhead Marina in Palm Beach Gardens we took care of a mix of personal and boat business.  Charmaine (Chelle’s mum) drove down from her winter home in Frostproof, FL, and we loaded up her car with supplies and food.  Chelle and Char then drove back over to Fort Myers to our condo and got Char settled in.  Unfortunately, as they were stocking the freezer they discovered it wasn’t cooling; that had happened before, so we decided we were done with that (LG) unit and had a new one delivered.  LG may make decent televisions, but their refrigerators are crap.

Rick had a couple of projects to attack over the weekend as well.  The first priority was tracking down a slight water leak somewhere on the starboard side of the forward engine room compartment.  That turned out to be the strainer lid for the main engine’s raw water cooling loop; it wasn’t loose or cracked, but it was missing one of the two o-rings that provide the seal between the acrylic screw-on lid and the strainer’s bronze housing – an easy fix.

Strainer Baskets Leak a Lot Less with
the Correct O-ring in the Lid.

There were also two other minor items that Rick had been putting off for a long time – and time was one thing he currently had available.  The first was cleaning, lubricating and adjusting the three sliding doors on Ghost Rider – two small ones in the pilot house, and the big beast at the rear of the salon.  Another item was the anchor’s blocking pin on the bow pulpit.  That’s a beefy stainless steel rod that serves as a mechanical brake when the anchor is stowed, and it has worked well enough except for the way that Nordhavn fashioned its safety line tether: a length of wire rope attached to the bow roller pin, whose rotation tended to twist and wrap that wire into a gnarly and tangled ball.  Rick cut off the wire rope, tossed it in the trash, and replaced it with a much more flexible segment of paracord, attaching that to a fixed stanchion instead of the roller.  That’s one less thing to worry about when deploying or retrieving the big Manson Supreme.

Maintenance – Part III

Yacht Tech reappeared at the boat on Wednesday, 08-April, to begin tackling our next project, which was to replace some of the aging and increasingly odiferous black water hoses.  If there was ever a maintenance item worth offloading to a third party, this was it.  It’s a difficult, messy and smelly endeavor.  But parts of Ghost Rider’s black water plumbing was showing its age, and while we had no leaks (thankfully) some of the older hose runs were permeating.  If one opened certain compartments or inspection plates a distinct sour odor would start to waft around.  It was time for action….or a divorce according to Chelle.

It Isn't Difficult to Tell Which of These Two Hoses is the Smelly One....the Bottom (White) One is Still in Good
Shape, but the Top (Yellowed) Hose Needs to be Replaced.

Dan & Paul drew the short straws at Yacht Tech, or were on James’ shit-list, we’re not sure which.  They wore gloves and masks, although this was an endeavor that called for that regardless of CDC guidelines for the current pandemic crisis.  We decided to go with James’ recommendation of Shields Poly X sanitation hose (at $22.50 per foot, or $30 if you’re crazy enough to buy it at West Marine), but pulling old hose lengths and running new ones is not for the faint of heart.  We decided to focus on the oldest (yellowest) hose runs and ended up replacing about 40 feet in total.  And, since one of those hose runs was the one going from the master head toilet to the black water tank – and that required disassembly of the toilet – we also replaced the toilet’s base and sealing gasket, using a spare kit that Rick already had onboard.

Paul (with the Heat Gun) and Dan Looking Less Than Happy Pulling Out Old Black Water Hoses.  This is a
Project That Warrants Hazard Pay.  The Heat Gun Was Needed to Remove Some Hose Ends that Had Been Glued.

While they labored on that delightful project Rick tackled one of his own down in the engine room.  The dipstick housing tube on the main engine, a big Lugger 6108A2 diesel, is a rather poor design – it features a sleeved fitting that wasn’t particularly tight and would seep small amounts of oil after a few hours of run time.  It certainly was not serious, but it annoyed the hell out of Rick.  The consensus was a whole new replacement tube would be just as problematic.  Bob Senter (aka“Lugger Bob”), the NOG’s resident Northern Lights expert, recommended removal, a thorough cleaning, a light sanding with a 3M Scotch-Brite pad, then a coating of either Permatex or Loctite Blue before reassembly. We had both sealants onboard but Rick chose the Permatex, since it tended to be less brittle after curing.  Reassembly was fairly straightforward, and testing will occur whenever we sortie back to Fort Myers.

The Dipstick Housing Removed from
the Engine Block.

Then, on Thursday, 09-April, Yacht Tech decided to shutter its operations.  Some neighboring shops were starting to report employees with suspicious symptoms and James did not want to take any chances with his employees and customers. He got no argument from us, it was the right thing to do.  Together we had made good progress on the Ghost Rider punch list, with only two items left outstanding – the rub rail replacement on the port bow, and the Triac heat cycle switch on the A/C compressor.  The former is just cosmetic, and Rick thinks he can figure out the latter item on his own between now and the next time we need heat on the boat.

Chelle drove back from Fort Myers to the boat on Friday, 10-April, this time in our own vehicle.  Eventually we’ll return to fetch it back home.  Her only stop was to fuel up ($1.69/gal at Costco) and also brought along a few fresh food items that we needed to restock on the boat.  Then we began to plan our escape from Palm Beach.  Right now it’s looking like we’ll have a decent weather window to get back underway on Tuesday, 14-April, with the rather modest goal of simply getting back to our home port in Fort Myers.  That will be an interesting journey since there are no marinas along the way accepting transients, but we’ll figure it out.  We’ll have more on that in the next blog.

In the meantime take care of yourselves and each other.