Titusville FL - Boat Projects - Friends - Waiting for DisneyWorld

It's now nearing the end of April 2012.  We're in Titusville FL, secured to a face dock at Westland Marina.  We're waiting here for the time to meet Ruth, Matt, Charlie, and Billie for the Disney World trip at the end of the month.

Mike and Donna on Mojo heading out of mooring field.
Titusville FL

Mike and Donna Dailey sailed north with us, practically from Marathon Keys to Titusville.
They were with us in the ocean when we had the oil leak problem.   We also rafted with them at Vero Beach for about a week.  Great time.   They were from Amherst NY, (small world).

Donna and Mike from the s/v MOJO
Sailed with us from Miami up to Titusville.

We've been here at Titusville for nearly a month; keeping busy with boat projects, and visits with friends.  Brian and Sheila are here with their s/v Moonshadow secured in it's more or less permanent home on a dock by the office. 

Steve, and Dean playing guitar at the Crab Shack (Westland marina).
Steve from the s/v John Ray.

Music night at the crab shack - after pot-luck dinner.

One of the first priorities when we got here was to have NAPA's machine shop make four new hydraullic lines for the lube oil coolers for the main engine, and the Borg-Warner transmission (all of which were getting questionable as far as reliability.)   One hose on the main engine lube system sprang a leak while we were in the ocean, coming north from Port Everglades to Lake Worth... and almost cost us an engine.   I was luck to have been watching the pressure gauge, at the time it fell to nearly zero pressure (no oil left in engine!). 

Steve (from John Ray) and Dean

Jane from the m/s Old Rosie doing a Gordon Lightfoot song.

After looping the one good line around and just recirculating the lube oil (eliminating the oil cooler) we moved up the coast, using the engine to a minimum, or at least low rpm.

The second nagging problem we've been having dealt with a 'sticky' starter motor solenoid.  It would get tempermental when the engine was hot...and wouldn't "pull-in" the starter motor, unless tapped with a hammer (not normally a good idea, or ideal in a crisis situation!!!).

AB at anchor in Lake Worth - taken by MOJO.
Day of oil leak problem while in the ocean.

While here in Titusville, Brian Strutt introduced me (dean) to a fellow mason, Daryl Lenz (an automotive electrician).  Daryl rebuilt Brian's bow-thruster motor last year...and did a wonderful job on a very wierd, and old motor.  Anyway, I had Daryl take a look at our starter.  Result: about an hour after I had dropped the starter off, he called me and said "Dean, the inside of teh starter looks like 'new'; bearings are clean and tight, brushes look like new. So we'll just throw a new solenoid on her, and she'll be ready to go".   Wow!  What service. 
He was right so far...  The starter seems very reliable, at least here at the dock... with multiple starts (cold and hot). 
Fingers crossed...  The problem being sailing along and trying to restart the motor after running the engine to get out of a harbor... once hot the solenoid was tempermental... so our option was to sail the whole leg including 'sailing the anchor IN', or use the two person tap routine - one a the key, the other person tapping the solenoid with the hammer... NOT GOOD.

Jamie, and Joe on m/v Lady Lee at Dinner Key
Joe was from Buffalo, NY.

Jane, and Ben from the m/s "old rosie".
Jane and Ben from Owen Sound, Ontario.

Sheila and Brian Strutt at pot luck supper - clam shack.

Anyway... we've had fun here... Lot's of music... lot's of new acquaintances, like Steve, and Michelle (from the s/v John Ray), and Jane, and Ben (from the motor-sailer Old Rosie).