Onset MA: Mon 21 Jun - Sonia’s Birthday and A Diesel Lesson

Started the day off with an early telephone birthday wish to my best friend and wife, Sonia. I am not overjoyed at being away from home on her birthday, but sailing is a tough mistress. Besides, someone has to hold down a real job to support my lavish pleasures (yes, that just may be overdoing it). In fact Sonia will be joining me shortly here for a Boston holiday if all goes as planned.

Meanwhile the “diesel doctor” did make his rounds at Brewers and the diagnosis was close to what we suspected all along. It seems likely that I’ve been over-filling the diesel coolant overflow tank so that even the slightest expansion or pressure increase caused the coolant to flow through the tank pressure release fitting. Solution: drain a little coolant and maintain a lower level. That seems to have worked at least this afternoon because I left Brewers for Onset MA (right photo), a short 8 mile hop, and there was no coolant in the drip pan under the engine when I set the anchor. The price of this lesson: a mere 2 ½ hours of expensive yard labor at something like $95.00 per hour. Ouch, of course, but probably worth the peace of mind.

Brian, the mechanic, also helped with a few other Volvo details. Since the engine was new in 1993, I’d been trying to determine how to change the cooling system zinc. My main mechanic in Annapolis, Richard Vosbury, insisted there actually was no zinc in the system on this particular Volvo model. However all my manuals point out that is not the case and show a large bolt where the zinc is supposedly located. When Brian removed that bolt at my request, there was indeed no zinc. He also inadvertently located a weak electrical lug connection to the starter and replaced it before it shut us down at sea. I would say the Brewer service, while expensive, was of much value.

After some provisioning we headed over to Onset to wait on the tides at the Cape Cod Canal next morning.