Yesterday and Today

We finally took the time to get my new phone.  Here in the Florida Keys, K-Mart has a lock on the market.  The arrangement with the local city council is that WalMart is NOT allowed in the Keys as long as K-Mart is here.  Now I will tell you, K-Mart is NOT WalMart!!  By any stretch of the imagination.  The problem is, our phone service is with Family Mobile.  Who would have thunk that the nearest Walmart would be 100 miles away.  So we had to drive north to Florida City, just south of Miami, to get the simcard and new phone.  For those of you who have not heard, my new phone number is 281-301-9592.  Renne's stays the same.  So we were also looking for new wheel covers for the Camry.  Would you believe these are 16-1/2" wheel rims and you can't buy those even at Wally World!!  So we will have to order a set.  Looks kinda funky running around with only 3 on the car.  Who knows where the 4th fell off.

TRES BLONDES

Renne' and I met up with two other couples at Sunset Pier, just off Mallory Square.  As one of the guys is the Captain for the Glass Bottomed Boat, we all met about 9:30pm.  Renne' had a minor surgical procedure yesterday so she was a bit uncomfortable, but we all had a great time.  We are getting to know people around here, but it is really different for Renne' as she doesn't really know anyone here.  In the pic, Renne' is on the left, Rebecca center, and Cindy on the right.  We were supposed to join Rebecca and her guy friend Lou on a sail to the Dry Tortugas, but with the engine in sad shape now, we had to inform them we were going to be unable to go.  So they invited us to join them on their boat, so we will be going to Marathon tomorrow (Sunday) to help get the boat ready and we will leave this coming Thursday (I believe).  Back on the 23rd.  By the way, nothing I like better than having drinks with 3 lovely ladies!!

TODAY

Have I said ARGGGGHHHHH yet today??  After talking with the Perkins dealer, the Yanmar dealer and all of our friends new and old, I decided today I was going to have to make this engine work. So back down to Sears this morning to pick up a 1-1/2" socket to turn the crankshaft over with, over to Home Depot for some Acetone to dilute the transmission fluid in the cylinders to help get through the corrosion, and back to the base.  I filled the cylinders again with a mixture of trans fluid and Acetone, poured them liberally into the cylinders, disconnected the starter battery again, removed the starter, and loosened the alternator so the fan belt wouldn't provide resistance to turning the crankshaft.  Then the socket in place, I grabbed the 30" ratchet handle and proceeded to carefully turn the engine through.  This took every bit of strength I had.   When I had one full revolution of the crankshaft, I called Warren and we discussed the next evolution.  He was elated, encouraged me to turn it through two more times, and felt I would be close to home - reverse everything I had just loosened or removed and try to turn the engine over electrically.  So with much enthusiasm, I got on the crankshaft again and promptly broke the bolt off the crankshaft.  When I called Warren back, he couldn't hide his disappointment when he told me I was done.  The engine will have to be pulled completely and rebuilt again.  So Renne' and I have decided (again) we will replace the engine, repowering with a new Yanmar 54hp engine!  we are disappointed to say the least, but we should be back up and running by the middle of May.  We will probably cut our trip back to Houston short this time and leave shortly after Keels and Wheels.

All for now, we will see you on the docks.

JonNe'