Friday, January 9, 2009

Engine troubles in La Paz Pt. 1


We had to say goodbye to Chloe as she flew off from Cabo. Two three hour bus rides later that day we were back in our little boat and it was all business. Engine troubles. David is the master of all trades, but without the proper tools he is just sad. After a whole day of pulling apart then reassembling the engine the prognosis was a rod bearing problem. First he thought (and hoped) it just to be a stuck valve, but that hope was dashed quickly when he found other symptoms.

Lacking a metric socket set we set off the following day for Walmart. Yes there are many other places we could have gone, but I was in need of some DVDs. We got all the things we needed for the moment and went back to the boat. Another day of fiddling leads to the realization that the hub of the prop shaft wont budge therefore nothin' doin' until that gets removed. Eventually we got to a marina, Don Jose, and went in search of more tools. We found one at an Auto Zone today and so far so good. As I was sipping tequila and chatting with our dockmates, David popped the hub off. Hours later David is hunched over the small engine disassembling hoses and other various parts of so we can take it out and flip it over. Sound like a lot of work? It is. I am tired just writing about it. I should probably stop writing and start helping...well, it seems I can't help much so I guess I will just get him some engine disassembling fluid (beer).

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