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Summer Cruise June 09 - 8 days, 300 miles.

How not to moor a boat !

At -2 1/2 HW the Axe tide is flowing pretty fast upriver - so its not easy to get the boat on facing upstream. Generally, you have to get it by the stern buoy and grab it really quick and get it on. Easy said - not so easy done !

We came into the bay about 9pm - so sorted the mainsain cover and blew up the dingy and towed it to save time whilst still in the bay. I can get up the river about 2 1/2 before HW - maybe three in the lower Axe.

We were all packed - just pop her on the mooring and in the dingy back to Uphill .... hmmm -

First we grabbed the guest line, with the stream really fast at 2 hrs before HW, and the extending pole parted company ( it was a B&Q decorating pole - sorry, lesson learned, not again. ! )

We then went aground at the bow - it was pretty shallow this early.

Since we were towing the dingy, Ian got in with an oar and tried to make it to the mooring. Its only about 15ft, but proved difficult.

Why, in hindsight, didn't we put the outboard on the dingy there and then - we had to use it anyway to get back up the river. I could then have put a long line on the downstream painter back to the stern starboard quarter and winched us in !

I think we were just tired out.

As it was Ian got a line on the upstream bouy and we pulled ourselves back - but facing the wrong way, but she swung around eventually with some difficulty once the stern quarter was attached to the downstream buoy.

We'd done it - then i saw it !

What ? - the dingy, floating rather gracefully up the river. It was a about the last straw and Ian was about to dive - but I shouted not to. "We'll drop the mooring and chase it in Lena".

Once retreived - it was, by then, pitch dark.

We had to turn her in the stream to get back, then turn her again to approach the mooring. I turn her around then and its the wrong buoys ! ( Its surprising what you can't see in the dark ! - When I put my new mooring number on the buoys its going to be a distictive, big white circle with 76 on it - something distinctive )

Around again for a second approach - miss her again, but this time I just resorted to the 'reversing strategy' - which is usually what I do anyway when on my own, coming in early before HW.

Lena will reverse quite well, and into a strong stream against the stern, she stays quite straight, if touchy to steer. So I reversed her aginst the strong current, down to downstream buoy and got the stern attached. Job done - just short of midnight !

But I could have done that in the first place when we touched bottom just past the mooring !

I relaised, that when tired, you really do not think straight at all.

If Ian had gone swiming - he's good swimmer - but he wouldn't have been able to do anything with the dingy anyway - I'd have had to drop the mooring to get them both back !

We were piled into the dingy about midnight. Three times I checked that I had my keys ! - I was expecting the outboard to fail - everything else was going wrong.

Thankfully, I know the river pretty well, and what boats are where - so the dingy trip in almost pitch blackness went fairly well. Not easy though to sort out just where you are.

Ian kept making idle converstion all the way to Bristol in the car - probably corncerned I was about to nod off.

I was really tired. Two consecutive days at 3.30am start took their toll.

Four days later -

Just come down now to the boat ( Thurs ) to do some work on the engine.

Covered in mud from the mooring attempts, so washed her down. The missing mooring warp was still tied to the upstream buoy riser - and jammed fast in the split of the galv thimble in the soft eye of the painter. Managed to get it out.

Engine work.

On a few converstions with Marine Power ( online Yanmar bits ) et al - I was advised to check the exhaust elbow, air vent and fuel filters.

Just in removing the exhaust elbow - I noticed fuel on my fingers around the outlet of the lift pump banjo !

Why, why why didn't I see that when I was sailing ? It was obvious - the bit of dribble of water that was in the bilges from the extensive running on engine had obvious red in it. Yet, at the time, I'd figured it was the high temps causing the stern tube grease to melt a bit !

Somehow, when I'm sailing, my mechanics hat does not fit !

A slight leak past the lift pump would not drop back to the tank, causing a total air lock, but maybe be enough for a tiny amount of air to get in the line on higher revs - causing intermitent missing ?

Anyway - I went right through it all - it was a lovely day and she went down on the mud with little heel.

Checked the air vent, changed the prefilter element, main engine filter, removed and checked the lift pump.The outlet banjo was 'loose' and leaking. Re anneled the washers and retightened

Had the exhaust elbow off. Choked with soft carbon deposits and worse still, a small hole in the water jacket right by the flange. An expensive hole that -£135 for a new elbow. It could possibly have been welded - but its pretty thin there and it was showing deep pitting all over. Seemed 'electrolytic' rather than a shot weld ( they are stainless )

The sooting up of the elbow may have be the result of water getting in - or maybe not. Maybe I should look at some extra ventilation of the engine compartment. I'm thinking, a standard 12v 'petrol engine' type evacuation fan, but blowing air in. As it was - I washed the air filter ( foam ) thoroughly.

I'm fairly sure the rev problem was the fuel line leak - but I'm glad I found the elbow problem. A large leak there can toast the engine. Deisel's have high compression and only less then a mm above the piston top on the compression stroke. Any water getting in there whilst running can cause severe damaged to both piston and con rod.

I had bought a new injector - but decided to leave it as a spare for now, after finding the leaking banjo. See how it goes.

If she was still giving me 5.3 kts with all that soot in the exhaust elbow it can't be bad.

While I was at it - I had all three batteries out and checked the electrolyte.

Really - to properly clean out the exhaust port you need to take the head off. Its very difficult to scrape it out without bits dropping back inside. Maybe this winter - I have a new head gasket I bought years ago.

Maybe if I make up a special little stick with some 60 grit emery stuck to it I can get it a bit cleaner further in before fitting the new elbow.

A least the weather is blowing up a bit now while the engine is out of commission - so I'm not missing any glorious weather. I'm hoping to get off again on my own for another cruise shortly. Maybe down to Milford agin, but stay around longer and explore a bit - I like it down there.

Geoff - July 09