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From: Norm of Bandersnatch (no email)
Date: Mon Jun 11 2007 - 13:04:47 EDT
All,
We were just about to make the turn north to start the last leg of the
river approaching the southern end of the Alligator-Pungo canal when the
main engine made a surge then stopped.
At first I suspected the secondary fuel filter had some sort of
catastrophic failure since when turning on the electric fuel pump the
gauges showed 7 psi, the maximum output of the pump. The engine sputtered
a bit but refused to run when I hit the starter. So I changed the
secondary, this brought the fuel pressure down to about 3 psi but the
engine still sputtered and would not start, while white smoke poured out of
the air intake too. I was scared. I removed the air intake ducts and saw
that the blower rotors were not moving when I bumped the starter so I knew
where the problem was. We were dead in the water.
I sent up a silent and very sincere prayer of thanks that it had not
happened during the previous three day's offshore run from Fernandina Beach
to Morehead City.
I went back topside to check our position and found we were drifting into
good water. I rigged the trailing dinghy into the davits but still in the
water. I rigged lines tying the bow and stern of the dinghy to the side
deck holding it close to the hull. I rigged a line from the inboard stern
dinghy lifting eye to a cleat on the corner of the big boat's transom.
Then I lashed the outboard tiller arm amidships, started the motor, and put
it in gear.
Bandersnatch started moving toward the channel but almost immediately we
ran aground. I unfastened the dinghy and used it to push at the bow of
Bandersnatch until I got it off the mud.
I relashed the dinghy and this time got Bandersnatch into the channel. We
settled down on course for Belhaven at 3.5 knots.
I suspected the "spring pack" had failed because I had read somewhere long
ago that it was a spare Detroit Diesel motor owners should carry.
We arrived in Belhaven and anchored around sundown. The next day I
investigated the problem and discovered the blower drive shaft had
shattered into four pieces. This shaft is 6 1/2" long with splined ends
3/4" diameter. I was lucky to find all four pieces. The shaft connects a
drive gear driven by the gear train that turns the camshafts to one rotor
of the blower. The two rotors are connected together by a pair of gears,
one on the end of each rotor. The second gear drives the governor weights.
The shaft is enclosed by a metal piece that looks like it might have been
intentionally made to contain the pieces of a broken shaft rather than let
them fall into the gear train and cause catastrophic damage to the gears.
Very clever if so, and another prayer of thanks went up.
We called the Detroit dealer in Jacksonville and he is FedEx'ing a new
shaft to us via the marina here. We should be underway tomorrow.
Jan and I went ashore last night to the marina at the River Forest Manor to
celebrate our eleventh anniversary. We were picked up at the dock in a
golf cart and carried on a very short ride to the Big House. There we met
the owner, Axson, who told us the kitchen was closed but he would ask
Carmen to open the bar. We got our drinks and started looking around when
a group of five men arrived asking about local restaurants. Axson told
them about a couple but then said that if they wished he would open the
kitchen for us.
We then started a memorable dinner. Our new friends were all very
interesting, my favorite being a ship's pilot for Ft. Lauderdale! The guys
wanted to watch the season closer of The Sopranos so tables were set up
facing the TV. Carmen and her daughter Nichole began doing their magic in
the galley and soon a series of delicious dishes began to appear, starting
off with one of the best salads I have ever had at any restaurant (all of
us cleaned our plates!) soon followed by shrimp, ribs, veggies, baked
potatoes, stuffed mushrooms and finished off with apple pie with ice cream.
Wow! What a wonderful time we had. Highly Recommended.
www.riverforestmarina.com
The Manor itself is a wonder. Construction started in 1899 and finished in
1904. Italian craftsmen were called in to carve the ornate ceilings. With
lead glass windows, crystal chandeliers, tapestries, the house was ornately
decorated in the Victorian manner. We went on the tour and were astonished
at the beauty of the place.
So with a little luck our new shaft will arrive tomorrow and in due time we
will continue on our way to Norfolk. We are still open to visitors when we
arrive there.
Norm
S/V Bandersnatch
Broken Down in Belhaven
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