It is Sunday, April 16, 2023.The ups and downs of this trip are like a roller coaster ride. The pictures that follow are a little out of order, but I will try to explain all of them.
I went through a tremendous thunderstorm last night and thanked my lucky stars I was tied up to a dock. I talked to someone today that was not far from me, but was at anchor, and they were blown to shore and sustained damage to their boat.
I took off under the red glow of the morning sun. A shrimp boat was off my starboard, and the seas were reasonably calm. About two hours into what was supposed to be a quick and easy trip from Apalachicola, to Alligators Point was interrupted by the sputtering of the engine. After going all morning without a hiccup, it would generate almost no power. Water in the fuel? Fuel pump? What could it be. I thought I had resolved the water issue with a fuel/water separator. The bowl attached to the device had no water in it. I drained the in-line fuel filter and there was no water.
I spotted a deserted island about a mile north so instead of panicking, I decided to do a little troubleshooting. If I did not panic when my airplane engine blew up over the everglades, I saw no reason to panic here. I pushed the throttle open enough to generate a little power to move me forward, but that was all I could do. As I approached the shallows of this island, I was escorted by a trio of dolphins. The site was exquisite.
I pulled up the keel and the rudder so I could get very shallow, and I beached the boat in 1.5 feet of water. The water was clear, and the sand was soft and white.
For the next hour I tore the engine down looking for any possible problem. I remember an ex-military guy telling me about the KISS principle. I had always thought that it meant to “kiss your ass goodbye if you had a problem. No, it means “keep it simple stupid”.
Indeed, it was a simple, and now obvious issue. Apparently the air filter had been submerged during the Mobile Bay crossing. That clogged the filter enough that over time it simply blocked the air intake. So obvious now. My fuel burn was too rich so I was burning more than expected, tilting the engine up to inspect things seemed to solve the problem temporarily, but all it did was knock some debris off the filter so it worked for a bit.
I happened to have a new filter. I tried to bring along two of everything critical. The reason I had not checked this before was because it is very difficult to get to the filter unless I can get behind the engine. I had not been in a position before to do so.
I traveled the next three hours to Alligator point with no engine problems. Is it fixed? Time will tell. The only other problem it might be is a high pressure fuel pump, but that is looking less likely, and that would defeat the KISS principle, and initiate the kiss your ass goodbye principle. If the high pressure fuel pump needs to be replaced, then I will have to put the trip on pause and resume at a later date. So, wish me luck tomorrow.
I am staying at a fairly basic marina with limited resources and a Florida sticker price. Gas was $6 per gallon. It is what it is. The food was good and Gnarly met a new friend.
I hope the conditions are good tomorrow. I may have another boat following me tomorrow. This interesting couple is docked next to me and heading to Tampa. It would be nice have a companion boat for this crossing. Stay tuned.
