Date: 8 December 2014. Whew! Engine O-U-T.

Of late Seaweed has been strewn with s-t-u-f-f. Nothing is put away and it's nearly unbearable. I like order, a tidy home and calm. What I've had is workmen aboard, the disaster of the canning jars, and, well, chaos. I don't like it one iota, and have been concentrating on maintaining sanity while under construction.

Four dozen canning jars should not surround my Christmas decorations. It's not festive.

I'm not good at living like this and it's been weighing heavily upon my nerves. Almost anything can be borne if one knows it will end at such-and-such time on a specific date. During Tropical Storm Beryl, just knowing the speed of the bands was very helpful. The article Beryl Lessons tells about that situation.

But Beryl is neither here nor there. What's here right now is a mess.

First off, the coupler was pounded loose from Seaweed's shaft. That was loud and involved lots of banging with a sledge hammer and a wood block. I'm quite certain Patrick was well glad to be done with that portion of the job.

Plus I should have sprayed the coupler yesterday with CRC Silicone Spray which would have helped facilitate removal no doubt. I just didn't think to do so. Still, Patrick got the job done and with a cheerful attitude too.

Meet Patrick:

Steve (on left in next photo) and the new helper Patrick have been taking apart the old engine. Well, actually Steve's been offering advice and Patrick's been doing the heavy lifting.

But first, I removed what I could from the Volvo.

The BOB Volvo (spoken of in numerous articles) was a MD2. I'd bought lots of new parts in order to make it go, but unfortunately it didn't go nearly as far as anticipated. I blew a bearing and overheated the engine which scorched the cylinders and, well, does anyone want a mooring ball? Cheap. With the engine removal imminent it became important to lighten the load as much as possible. In that regard all adjunct pieces, plus the wires were my job to get rid of. By doing the work myself, I saved labor costs too. Basically, if a wrench and ratchet would cooperate, it came off. Most pieces were destined for disposal. However there were some parts that have monetary value and so those have been set aside. What I've removed included: Fuel pump High pressure fuel pump Water pump and impeller housing -- the whole thing. The starter-generator Make me an offer... all work fine and I've even got spares (fan belts, impellers, filters and more) available. janice@janice142.com

After disconnecting the coupler and shaft, next the transmission was removed from BOB.

As was expected, about a quart of oil came out. Bilge diapers (oil-catching mats) caught it all.

It was a mess. And oil got under my fingernails. Dirty fingernails is okay for guys, but not me. My beautiful long nails are now chopped off. They are also clean and growing.

So, the transmission is off. Next stage is to raise and remove the Volvo from Seaweed. To lift the motor a come-along, chain and hoist are required. Beast (the original gasoline engine) was removed with this set-up. The same will be used to remove BOB (the Volvo) and install Betsy, the lovely new-to-me Kubota.

Here's Patrick adjusting the brace. The Beck plate is opened so a chain can drop through the overhead.

Next, attach chains and haul up the BOB. It's a sad and happy day. I'm sad that the BOB Volvo didn't survive. A lot of time, effort and cash went into making it go, and while running I could not have been happier. Chugging along at five knots without a smidgen of a ripple is an amazing experience.

Plus, a piece of Bob was cruising, albeit in my boat. Bob was a special guy. You met him in the Time Stopped article.

In the meantime, I've got four dozen canning jars spread all over my pilothouse chart-table in and amongst the Christmas decorations. Oh and the Volvo is swinging in my pilothouse. If anyone wonders why I'm getting just a tiny bit cantankerous, the next picture along with the one at the top of this article ought to give you a reason, or two!

Life is good, and will get better. It'll be much better when a DOA engine isn't in the middle of the doggone boat. Engine swaps are not for sissies.

As for me, I opted to cancel sending Christmas cards. The chaos is too much pressure on my soul. Those that got gifts before the decision was made are fortunate. The rest, well, there's always 2015.

Are you living through chaos during the holidays?
Do you spend time with family or friends that have become your surrogate family? Or are both included?

COMMENTS:
 

Categories: Characters, In the Bilges, Money, Recommendations

Building a Locker (Part 1) ~ Previous Post ...   
... Next Post ~ Music aboard Seaweed (Alzheimer's too)