Days Events:

Wx - TSM rolled through at 05:00-06:00; forecast is 78/48; wds W at 5+, p.cloudy, occasional TSM.

Travel - as Marg noted, decided to have Instacart deliver groceries today; arrived right on time.

Marina - lines are all intact! Adjusted them though and added an opposing spring line to stop too much movement which doesn't help the 'chop vertigo' -- now much more steady [no tides to worry about, tied to a fixed bulkhead].

Photos - Marg continues with her night time skulking - couple of neat ones of the marina/restaurant.

[Note: photos we upload to the current folder will often be available for viewing before the days posting is published; they are supposed to be linked so if someone is looking for more information about a pic, you can hopefully find it later when we finally publish that evening.]

-- one showing the air filter and its regulator above it [the black cylinder which looks just like the big one - only much smaller] which was puzzling me - see below.

-- one of the waterfall immediately across from the marina - it drains a large 'basin' to the east.

-- Marg took one surreptiously of diners in the restaurant next to us - they are sitting literally about 10ft from the boat, so Marg was thinking of asking them to 'pass the salt'! There is a water reflection on the port window of the pilothouse - looks weird.


Admirals Desk:

Its cooler and rainy today and a good opportunity to use the oven. So I'm going to use up some of the stuff in deep freeze. I made a mixed fruit crisp this morning [Capt's comment - and it is indeed delicious - I had to have a 2nd helping to make sure the 1st wasn't a fluke!] and will do pork tenderloin and Greek lemon potatoes later. I think the canned and sealed packaged stuff should all be ok to leave over the winter. The boat will be stored in a heated facility.

I wore real shoes today for the first time since the end of March! I've only worn flip flops, and those only when off the boat. But you have to climb up a ladder on the dock wall to get off the boat and flip flops weren't going to work.😁 I Ubered to a liquor store for beer and wine. Liquor stores in NY don't sell beer!! Only grocery stores and beer stores are licensed to sell beer. So I bought Rob a very nice bottle of Scotch instead.😇

The wind really picked up in late afternoon. Three boats arrived here and the wind made docking interesting!! Rob went out to catch some lines. They would have had some real trouble without his help. Boaters always assist other boaters.

That's all for now.


Maintenance:

Air filter - did some research, and my ignorance has been reduced a wee bit; the Cummins has a CCV [Closed Crankcase Ventilation] system which captures oil mist, diesel by-products, water vapor, from the crankcase environment and takes it to the turbo inlet so that the by-products can be burned and not contaminate the engine room air, etc. This can allow oil or other liquid byproducts to collect on the bottom of the hose and drip out through the seals; this hose has a vent that looks similar to the air filter one, only much smaller, and is T'd into the air inlet past the air filter and before the turbo intake.

Lifted the hatch over the air cleaner/regulator and coolant reservoir area. What is on the underside of the CCV regulator is only a drop of reddish liquid; I guess could be diesel byproduct concentrating and dripping [gravity can only move it in one direction :) ] but I worry it could be coolant and that would logically NOT be a good thing -- but I am totally ignorant about what is 'normal' here. Also a small amount of oil inside along the bottom of the housing just past where the air filter attaches [see photo]; since the filter itself is quite clean and light shines brightly through it, the oil is likely a normal amount coming from the crankcase - or from the turbo?.

Coolant - added a liter of 50-50 mixture, using distilled water, to the stbd reservoir; as suggested by mechanic Pete at Shady Harbor. Should always see some in the reservoir -- if not, where did it go??

Strainers - after all the crud/plants in the water yesterday, checked the strainers and only a bit of leafy litter in the a/c and the diesel ones. Will check again at Brewerton once we are done the Erie Canal and likely clean them there.

Travel Planning - looking at the wx for tomorrow & Thurs, the winds will be Westerly at 10-15mph every afternoon for next several days; and we will have to cross Oneida Lake which is 25 miles on an East-West orientation, offering a long 25 mile fetch to build up -- too long! The mornings show winds of only 4-5mph at 06:00 [and only 2-3 during the nights] rising to 10mph by 11:00. So we will go 28 miles to Sylvan Beach free dock tomorrow, at the lakes eastern shore, overnight there and leave early Thurs. before the waves can build up. This, according the sage advice of those who've gone before us and to whom we are indeed grateful.


Tonight - will have margaritas to -go from the restaurant [and pay for our 2nd night of docking - same bill].

That's all for today.

Stay safe.


Comments:

Ernie R. - 26 Aug 2020: Rob, does not look like enough room for “little” air filter to be mounted upright so oil vapor will collect and drip out of it until you clean it again! Disappearing coolant is probably a hose/clamp leak or weak radiator cap, or god forbid heat exchanger leak! Would think having to add that much you would see it in bilge! Could also be head gasket issue but you would notice engine performance difference but maybe not so much at low rpms. Enough potential bad news! Anyway, plenty of time to fix everything in storage! Great pictures!

Robert & Margaret - 27 Aug 2020: Ernie, thanks for the observations. There has been no change in the coolant level in the reservoir since I added it yesterday - maybe it was just low? The air cleaner/CCV regulator installation instructions say to keep it >15 degrees above level to stop liquids from dripping. It does appear to be >15 degrees. Not sure why the 'red' liquid though - the coolant is orangy-red; diesel is red; my pocketbook is in the red. I'll discuss with the mechanic at Horizon Marina for sure. Need to check the heat exchanger/aftercoolers anyway [Shady Harbor Pete said to just remove the screw on the top and the bottom, shine a light up and you can see how many ports are clear or not.]