28 Jun 23

We were up early in anticipation of getting the engine working. I was in the queue at Salty Pantry and acquired 2 cinnamon buns (for breakfast) and 3 lemon bars (for desert). John Wikan, himself (apparently Earl was indisposed), showed up about 10:15, with the new pump in hand. We had in installed and flanged up, although it fought back a bit, which was concerning, by 11:15. But, try as we might, we could not get the engine to fire up. A bit of tinkering confirmed that fuel was getting to the pump, but none was leaving the pump to the engine. So, we un-installed the pump to have a look. Unfortunately, somehow, the fuel control rod was no longer moving freely within the pump; there was a burr on the end. At 12:15, John took it back to the shop to see if he could figure out what was what. He showed back up at the boat at 14:30, having taken a file to the burr; everything was working fine now, but we were still at a loss as to what had caused the issue. A close inspection of the gasket between the pump and the engine block revealed that it was not quite symmetrical; we were able to confirm that we put it in upside down the first time and there was just enough of the gasket sticking out on the wrong side to foul the fuel control rod and scar the end of it. Putting it on right-side up, the pump went in much easier and the manual kill switch felt right this time (it had not felt right after the first installation). After completing the installation, we fired it up at 15:00 after only a few seconds of cranking (to get the air bubbles out of the fuel lines) and ran like a top; after several minutes of observation, we were happy that it was not leaking any fuel. The crew recall signal was sounded and, after only 4 or 5 more stories from John, we slipped the dock lines at 15:25 and headed out in a driving rain. Because we are on a schedule. To deliver Jake to Sitka by the evening of 1 July. Via Warm Springs Bay (and a visit to Baranof Warm Springs). Anyway, we got going and were soon headed NW in Frederic Sound, planning to head to Fanshaw Bay. Although the forecast was SE 15, we soon had SE 20-25. So, with the ETA at Fanshaw Bay looking like 20:15, we decided at 17:30 to bail out and head for Portage Bay, where we anchored in the south end at 18:44, in 9.2 m of water, in company with a couple of Nordic Tugs. It rained sporadically throughout the evening, although we did see a beautiful rainbow to the south for a few minutes. Early to bed to be ready for an early departure to Warm Springs Bay tomorrow.  

56-58.412’N, 133-18.077’W; Log = 23.0, Sum = 1175.5 N-m; Eng. hrs. = 4.3, Sum = 3297.7