After a week of sitting still, we prepared to get underway. Having a knawing doubt about the reliability of our engine is eating away at me. We’ve always tried to own cars that we had the highest level of confidence in. Now we’re wondering what back water our engine might fail us. Not a good feeling.
I chatted with a Ford Lehman expert who explained all the sophisticated tests that should be done using sophisticated diagnostic tools (photo-tachometer, infrared heat gun, manual oil pressure gauge, etc.) to determine the root cause of my back pressure problem that could have its root cause in something big. He gave me a simple test to eliminate one potential cause. OK, that I can deal with. After a full day’s running, and the engine is good and hot, in NEUTRAL (when the exhaust isn’t submerged below the surface), rev the engine up to higher RPMs and see if we still get water coming out of the “piss valve”. If we don’t, then the problem is indeed simply a matter of back pressure being created when the transom “hunkers down” at higher speeds, and the solution is to simply slow down (which we did yesterday) and at some point, get the exhaust port relocated higher on the transom. We performed the test, and of course, we still got water coming out of the piss valve at higher RPMs.
Diesel Dale called and related an issue on another boat on which he worked, and said it could be an exhaust hose delaminating and bulging from the inside out. Dale, I checked all the hoses and they feel fine EXCEPT the short length immediately after the engine exhaust elbow. I felt two soft spots, almost immediately opposite each other. They almost felt like small low blisters. That hose clearly gets replaced once we reach Aqua Yacht Harbor (another 80 miles and one lock, i.e., two days from here). I’ll also have the exhaust elbow inspected. If there is a substantial build up of carbon, that could be a pretty big deal to get fixed. Brian, the Lehman expert at American Diesel, was doubtful if it was carbon since one of the few causes of that is if an engine is improperly “prop’d” (wrong propeller for the engine). He said I can tell if this is the case if I can’t get at least 2,450 RPM at WOT (wide open throttle)I expressed doubt since I told him I’ve never been able to achieve that. He indicated I should NOT trust my own tachs but to have a mechanic measure with a photo-tach. So something else to get checked.
The run down from PI was very pleasant and uneventful once we shoved away from the dock. Before leaving, I had to take a boat hook and push away what looked like a piece of the Sargasso Sea – heavy floating vegetation at least a foot thick and ten feet square. Nasty.
Lots of water foul to be enjoyed, nice scenery, our first lift bridge of the trip with plenty of clearance. We noticed that the water is about 3-4 feet lower than what is normal here.
It was our intent to stop at Jim and Ellie’s river house and dock at mile marker 137.5 on the Tennessee, but we reached that too early and had the opportunity to anchor with several other loopers so we opted to press on for another couple of hours to Double Island.
We spent a wonderful night at anchor and will have either a short six hour day tomorrow if we have sufficient depth at Wolf Island, or a very long 10+ hour day if not to get beyond the Pickwick Lock and Dam which is notorious for delays.
Slow internet today out here, so pics at some point future.
Stats for the day: 52.8 miles, 8.2 engine hours.
Planning on getting underway at sunrise, so gotta sip some coffee while checking OTCS (oil, trannie, coolant, strainers)
Later ‘gators.
