Well the perfect storm has happened to me. Sorta. The Volvo Penta MD7A has a shiny new feed pump and injector pump to go along with the new fuel tank and lines. What it doesn't have is compression. One of the cylinders (of two) has been diagnosed as severely deficient in this regard and the way to correct this is an engine rebuild.
YIKES!
YIKES!
I had a clue when the air intake was filled with oil. Holding my hand over the intake, I could feel as much air puffing out as was being pulled in. Well it IS 35 YEARS OLD! I’m concerned about the water jacket too.
The engine went out of production in 1985 or so. So I turned to the mechanic I’ve been using and said, “what do I do now?” In his best “don’t panic and come down off of that ledge” voice he said he’d take a look around. I held no hope. I saw only a huge bill and a new diesel engine.
He called a couple of days later and told me he’d found a source for the parts and they were sending him a price list shortly. So the gloom went away but I still see a huge bill. Volvo is really proud of their stuff and apparently they don’t like to let go of it so they hang a HUGE price tag on it. The trap is set. Yes, it will be sprung. If it comes in under the price of a newly rebuilt engine they’ll get their money. The little buggar will be pulled out of the boat so they can work in air conditioned comfort and I’ll take that opportunity to clean and repaint the engine compartment.
The new jib will be delivered soon too. The original is a thirty-five year old 140% that is now soft as a bed sheet. Engines I've worked on. Sails are new to me. After doing some research online about these things I decided to go to the sail maker down the street and get their input. They were gentle with me. We agreed that the 140% was too big and settled on a 120% instead. It will roll on the furling better, hold a better shape when furled and be more effective when fully deployed. One of the concerns was that the 140% would overpower the boat and create too much steering effort. I asked about colors and was told I could have any color “as long as it’s white.” Echoes of Henry Ford. I had visions of paisley, maybe plaid, or even tie dye. Oh well. The price of conformity.
I’ll order the new main sail and cover later in the season.
So here I sit at the dock just waiting on contractors to descend and make things good again. My checkbook is at the ready. Because once I get this baby away from the dock I’m gonna be gone sailing. The fun starts with playing in the bay, anchoring out and getting sunburned messing with the dinghy, learning to live away from 120 volts and not being able to walk to the parking lot for just any little thing.
