Victoria, BC to the Sea of Cortez

ksanders said:

Well, I hope you are having a nice dinner in Gearbaldi, and hope you have a nice safe trip tomorrow

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We did! Ate at the Ghost Hole Pub. Good burger!

You were stuck for several days in Astoria, now you have good weather for a few days.

It looks like you are getting a hang of the bar crossing thing. If you leave at 0600 thats just before high slack

Looks to me like 60 miles bar to bar.

Are you going to try to get after it and make low slack at noon or thereabouts, or are you planning on putzing along and make high slack at 6:00 pm or a little before as the bar mellows out?

ksanders said:

You were stuck for several days in Astoria, now you have good weather for a few days.

It looks like you are getting a hang of the bar crossing thing. If you leave at 0600 thats just before high slack

Looks to me like 60 miles bar to bar.

Are you going to try to get after it and make low slack at noon or thereabouts, or are you planning on putzing along and make high slack at 6:00 pm or a little before as the bar mellows out?

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Unfortunately I don't have the speed to make slack to slack. Will do what I did today and assess if it's safe to cross on the flood, which it was today at Tilamook. If not, I'll loop around and wait. With first light around 0620 and bar reports every three hours, I'll get a report just before I arrive, around 1500, which adds reassurance.

In other news, just came up from the engine room. Lost another quart+++ today. The drip from the bottom of the flywheel housing lines up perfectly with the access port for the flywheel timing marks, and the fuel lift pump. I found a decent amount of fresh oil on the flywheel port and around the fuel pump. Out of curiosity I checked the bolts on the fuel lift pump and they were very loose. They're now as tight as I can make them and I stuffed a soak up pad around the pump to see if that's indeed the source. Fingers crossed it is but I'm not holding my breath. It always seems to come back to the damn fuel lift pump!!

In Newport now. Wasn't the fuel lift pump as there wasn't a single drop of oil on the pad I wrapped around it.

Spoke with a diesel mechanic in Newport and he suggested that maybe the valve cover breather was blocked, causing a buildup of crankcase pressure and blow-by of the rear seal. I took the breather apart last night and didn't see any blockage. I'll run the engine up this morning with the breather disconnected from the air filter to make sure there's air flow.

Anyway, I don't want to leave Newport until the smoking gun is found. Unfortunately it's Labor Day weekend so won't get a mechanic until at least Tuesday.

Yesterday we entered Newport on the flood and the bar was a non-event. It was actually near maximum flood current at the time.

Only $25/night here including power! Least expensive moorage so far.

VicTrawler said:

In Newport now. Wasn't the fuel lift pump as there wasn't a single drop of oil on the pad I wrapped around it.

Spoke with a diesel mechanic in Newport and he suggested that maybe the valve cover breather was blocked, causing a buildup of crankcase pressure and blow-by of the rear seal. I took the breather apart last night and didn't see any blockage. I'll run the engine up this morning with the breather disconnected from the air filter to make sure there's air flow.

Anyway, I don't want to leave Newport until the smoking gun is found. Unfortunately it's Labor Day weekend so won't get a mechanic until at least Tuesday.

Yesterday we entered Newport on the flood and the bar was a non-event. It was actually near maximum flood current at the time.

Only $25/night here including power! Least expensive moorage so far.

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What a fun voyage! It's early September, which can be some fantastic weather in Oregon.

Hope you enjoy the the town while you are there. Cheap moorage, a little coastal town, late summer weather... It doesn't get much nicer in my book.

If you continue your journey just like you are doing, you will see the sights and never have to experience the fabled rough waters of the Pacific Coast.

Thats the way to travel by boat. Leave the rough water driving to others. Kick back and enjoy the journey.

Between Port Angeles and San Francisco we stopped at 10 different places. Neah Bay, Westport, Astoria (and on to Portland), Garibaldi, Suislaw, Coos Bay, Brookings, Eureka/Humboldt, Noyo, Bodega Bay. We figured we might never make it back that way or at best would be years, maybe decades. That was the entire point to us of bringing a boat home on it's on bottom to see all we could along the way.

Hope you find your oil leak.....

Alaskan Sea-Duction said:

Hope you find your oil leak.....

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Fingers crossed we'll find the leak today.

Well, how did it go?

Are you still in Newport?

Actually if you are in Newport, or anywhere in the area, you're stuck in port for a few days.

ksanders said:

Well, how did it go?

Are you still in Newport?

Actually if you are in Newport, or anywhere in the area, you're stuck in port for a few days.

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Still in Newport. Had to call five different shops before I could get someone to come down to the boat. He says he can do the job but needs the approval of his boss. Hoping to hear tomorrow morning. We're proceeding under the assumption of rear main seal. Huge job.

We're stuck here until Tuesday for weather reasons anyway. There are 6 or 7 transients bound for Mexico that are here with us so at least we're making lots of friends.

If the engine isn't in pieces by the time the winds calm, I may just add some leak stopper to the oil and hope for the best.

Anyway, spirits are high and we're taking advantage of the time to get some chores done on the boat. It's all part of the adventure!! Unfortunately this repair will probably cost me a few grand.

VicTrawler said:

We're stuck here until Tuesday for weather reasons anyway. There are 6 or 7 transients bound for Mexico that are here with us so at least we're making lots of friends.

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Well, at least you'll have the problem fixed, which is good.

So...

Please tell us about the transients bound for Mexico. What kind of boats are they making the journey in? Are they boats like yours, or heavy blue water boats, or ??? I am curious.

Thanks!

Dang, so it is the ream main for sure?

Make sure to register your Epirb... Speeds up everything.

ksanders said:

Well, at least you'll have the problem fixed, which is good.

So...

Please tell us about the transients bound for Mexico. What kind of boats are they making the journey in? Are they boats like yours, or heavy blue water boats, or ??? I am curious.

Thanks!

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All sailboats but ours. Smallest is 33', of which there are a couple. There are a couple of 40 footers as well.

One couple got away three days ago and made it to Crescent City. They're currently en route around Cape Mendicino. Engine problems notwithstanding, looks like we're all stuck in Newport for another week. Nasty weather continung to blow through.

This is going to be a heckuva long voyage south!

Got a hotel room for tomorrow night. Re-caulked the shower today and it's going to take forever to dry in the marine air!

Alaskan Sea-Duction said:

Dang, so it is the ream main for sure?

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I'll know on Monday. Finally got someone to commit to at least investigate the problem, but they won't do the repair work if it's the rear main. I think I have another mechanic that would...

I have money to spend but nobody wants it!

stubones99 said:

Make sure to register your Epirb... Speeds up everything.

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Carrying a SPOT Tracker, no EPIRB. It serves the same purpose but it's a subscription service through a private company.

What about the guy you hired in Astoria? Might charge you travel, but if you still trust him, he already knows the history. Anyway, good luck my friend. Let us know if you need anything.....

You've made it this far...

You can always keep moving south and find a mechanic possibly in a larger town that will take on the job...

It is often said that cruising is fixing your boat in exotic (read strange) places. This is a great thread. Glad you are sharing your adventure. Best to you and yours.

Alaskan Sea-Duction said:

What about the guy you hired in Astoria? Might charge you travel, but if you still trust him, he already knows the history. Anyway, good luck my friend. Let us know if you need anything.....

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The thought crossed my mind. He is only an hour away if it comes to that!

VicTrawler said:

Carrying a SPOT Tracker, no EPIRB. It serves the same purpose but it's a subscription service through a private company.

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No, it doesn't serve the same purpose or have the same functionality and capability as an an EPIRB. I urge you to go buy or (rent) one before you head out again.

caltexflanc said:

No, it doesn't serve the same purpose or have the same functionality and capability as an an EPIRB. I urge you to go buy or (rent) one before you head out again.

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If I was really going offshore (i.e. more than 5 or 6 miles), I would get the EPIRB. Between the SPOT, VHF, and spotty cell phone coverage, I'm satisfied that I won't be lost at sea.

There is already a lot of debate on this topic which can be found with a quick Google search. I'd rather not get into it here. I've made an informed decision, even if some people might not agree with it.

Transmission is now off. Flywheel's sitting on the deck in the engine room.

Unfortunately the easy-fix parts all appear to be intact.

At this point I have three different mechanics all engaged and working to resolve the issue. Will have more details as to the way ahead, later today.

Weather is keeping us here until later in the week. Assuming I'm mechanically ready, we can probably leave on Friday. Reality is we'll probably be waving goodbye to our friends while we sit here with our engine in pieces. Not fun!

Just look at it as part of the adventure. Once fixed, that will be a stress point that will disappear. Rear Main?

Alaskan Sea-Duction said:

Just look at it as part of the adventure. Once fixed, that will be a stress point that will disappear. Rear Main?

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I think it's best to assume rear main and go for the repair. Last thing I want is to put it all back together and be no further ahead!

Well it looks like there is fresh oil in there est-ce pas? Where else would it be from? I'd do the same, fix it, button it up and one more job well done.

So, the diesel mechanic that said he could pull off the rear main seal job decided to back away and not take it on. No one in Newport was willing to do it. At least they got a hold of a place in Oakland for me that will be happy to replace the seal once I get there.

After 13 days, we finally left Newport, OR, yesterday. We left at 4:45AM to catch slack tide on the way across the bar.

The weather just kept getting better until about 2pm when the wind waves started to kick up; 3-4 feet out of the NW. We were contemplating running overnight to Crescent City but the updated forecast came out with a small craft advisory beginning Saturday morning for the area south of Cape Blanco. Though we probably could've made Crescent City before it got too nasty, once again we're not in a race and want to keep this as enjoyable as possible. Also, I don't have an autopilot, and find hand-steering in 3-4 foot following seas to be a giant pain, especially at night without a visual reference (note to self, next upgrade is autopilot!!).

We turned left and entered Coos Bay bar on high slack. We are now at the Charleston Marina and we're looking forward to exploring the area over the next few days.

Strangely, only 3-4 drops of oil came out of the flywheel housing over the first six hours of running. Afterwards, I had about one drop every 3-4 seconds. Dipped the sump when we got alongside and only lost about 1/2 quart over the course of 12 hours running. That's still *not good* but if the leak stays like that or improves, I may just forego the rear main seal job altogether. I can manage that much oil loss quite easily. I'm also catching it in a tupperware container instead of with soak-up pads, so there's far less mess to clean up. Some of that 1/2 quart is also being burnt, so how much am I really gaining by a $3-$4000 rear main seal job? Anyway, I will continue to monitor...

On another note, I installed a WiFi/4G antenna while in Newport. I went with "The Wirie" and I couldn't be happier (Marine WiFi and RV WiFi and 3G/4G solutions: The Wirie AP+, The Wirie pro, and The Wirie Ex). The installation was easy and made the WiFi in Newport actually usable, whereas the signal was too weak otherwise.

Three other boats that were with us in Newport are also here in Coos Bay. Getting to know other Mexico-bound boaters and traveling alongside them is also making this trip quite fun.

For those of you not aware, we have a Facebook page for the boat where I've been posting pictures and other updates: https://www.facebook.com/mvhalcyoni

That's great news Mark. Sounds like you could possibly wait quite a while before you HAVE to address the seal. I checked out your FB page as well- live the appropriate music while raising the bars and stripes!! Safe Cruising .


Forky
1983 Present 42 Sundeck
Twin Lehman 135's

Beautiful scenery in Coos Bay, but here is our "Don't Miss" for the area. Coos Art Museum. It's maritime themed. Even if art isn't your thing, you'll love it because of the theme. Otherwise enjoy the beautiful parks and scenery, the small shops such as the antiques and collectibles mall (and they do use the word "mall" loosely. Warning about the casino. No table games. And that's not even the bad part. Smoke. Not just smoke. Lot's of smoke. I even heard smokers say it was too much for them. We walked in, about 40', made a U-turn and out the door.

BandB said:

Beautiful scenery in Coos Bay, but here is our "Don't Miss" for the area. Coos Art Museum. It's maritime themed. Even if art isn't your thing, you'll love it because of the theme. Otherwise enjoy the beautiful parks and scenery, the small shops such as the antiques and collectibles mall (and they do use the word "mall" loosely. Warning about the casino. No table games. And that's not even the bad part. Smoke. Not just smoke. Lot's of smoke. I even heard smokers say it was too much for them. We walked in, about 40', made a U-turn and out the door.

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Thanks for the tip about the art museum!

No table games at the casino??? I'm out!