April 1 .... Splash Down

April 1

Seriously, after 5 months in the boatyard, we draw April Fools Day as our launch date? 

I hate this part. Such an unnerving sight.

We didn't go far, about 200ft down the pier, but it feels so damn good to be back in the water again!  The dust of the work area has been replaced with a lovely anchorage.  And best yet is the bobbing feel that reminds you that you are on a boat! Hell Yeah!

View from our lanai!

We'll sit at the pier for a couple of days to allow the engine to settle
(after being raised to replace the motor mounts).

 

 

 

 

 

She looks good. No leaks. Engine started right up.

 

However, after 5 minutes, the engine temp gauge went through the roof.  Instead of a blissful 180 deg, the gauge was reading 245 deg!  Nooooooooo. This cannot be.  Everything that could have possibly contributed to our persistent overheating issues in 2013 has been touched: checked, changed, cleaned.  Two options were a faulty gauge or a faulty ground.  Neither of those were the issue. 

 

We borrowed an infra-red thermometer from a friend -- you point a red light anywhere on the engine and get an instant temp read ... aka, very cool tool and we're gonna get one now -- which told us that the engine was actually 175 deg when the gauge was reading 200deg.  Since the gauge is OK, we can now point to the heat sender (just below thermostat) as the culprit.

 

Moment of silence to savor that relief!

 

Dan found the needed part online, and we can pick it up in Jacksonville on Tuesday.  So until then, we hang our hopes on the sensor being the problem and enjoy our time bobbing in the water.



So, what's next?  We get asked that every day ... several times a day, in fact.  And you'd think after 5 months perched on jack stands, we'd have some ideas in mind once we had water under the hull again.  Actually, we did have several plans, but they all came and went with s/v Maja still up on jack stands.  Now it's April, and we're not sure if we should head south towards Marathon and Key West, which are new spots to us, or head north to Charleston, maybe NYC??  Before we can decide anything, we first need to first put some hours on the engine to see how Mr. Westerbeke likes all the recent improvements. Second, try some off shore sailing to try out the new sails.  Third, do we remember how to anchor?

In the meantime, it's Spring on the boat.

 

Happy Spring from our anchorage to yours!

 

And we hope the world pauses to contemplate the story of Easter.