BROKEN BOLT

Today is Friday Aug 20 but this story is about Thursday, August 19 and the BROKEN BOLT that landed us in Saugerties, NY. A place that we had not planned on stopping at.

We left Hop O Nose marina in Catskill, NY after getting the mast put on. On the way south, we both noticed a different sound coming from the engine. Upon inspection, I noticed that the alternator belt seemed to be moving up and down while rotating a bit more than normal. Soon we discovered that the engine was starting to run hotter than normal and not charging the batteries.

We were on 10 miles into the days trip and so we pulled into Saugerties Marina and met KC and Chris. KC's father was the previous owner, so it is definitely a family run marina. I checked the water strainer, remembering how with the Frankos last year they had engine overheating due to a blocked strainer on the Erie Canal. No significant amount of stuff was in the strainer.

After examination of the engine compartment, we found that one of the bolts holding the alternator to the engine had broken and was the cause of our problems. We decided to stay the night and the problem was corrected. One of the joys in owning a 26 year old boat is that you know that eventually you will replace everything that moves, rotates or just sits there with a replacement part. The only questions are when, where, how long, and what's it going to cost.

Chris drove us down to the movie theater after dinner. They have a 3 screen theater right in downtown Saugerties. Joy went to see Eat, Pray and Love, I went to see The Other Guys. Both of us were glad that we went to see the movie we picked.

This morning we will do 20 miles to Hyde Park Marina in Poughkeepsie and hope to do some sightseeing before Jill and Matt arrive this evening. They will be with us for a couple of days and also parts of the next two weeks. The plan is to be in NYC until Labor Day.

Notice how large the galley is. It is definitely a one person work area.

Joe