Warm salt water is hard on metal. Sailing in the Caribbean, where water temperatures before entering the motor are already 30-31 degrees Celsius (86-88 F), the heat and salt eat away at the motor. Although Lulu doesn’t have a lot of motor hours considering that she was built in 1991, the motor needs lots of TLC to keep in tip top shape.
On our way from Santa Marta, Colombia to Shelter Bay, Panama; Magnus discovered that the saltwater cooling system had sprung a leak and was filling our motor compartment and bilge with salt water. We hadn’t heard the bilge pump because the motor is so loud and the bilge pump is relatively quiet, plus when Magnus discovered the problem there hadn’t been too much saltwater yet. The amount of water grew as we used the motor, which we had to do as the winds died and we had countercurrent against us. By the time we arrived in Shelter Bay, Magnus was emptying the area under the motor on an hourly basis. Unfortunately, the drips landed on the propeller axel, so saltwater sprayed all over the motor compartment as the propeller axel turned, resulting in a salty crusty motor compartment.
Getting spare parts for a motor built in 1990 isn’t easy, especially as the original manufacturer (Volvo) no longer makes them. There are companies that salvage used parts from other motors, but it means paying a premium for something that isn’t even new. Plus the added expense and hassle of getting the spare part from whatever country it is located in, to the country you happen to be in. With the motor out of commission, we can’t move the boat. So we are stuck in Shelter Bay Marina until our newly purchased spare part arrives.
Things could be worse – Shelter Bay is a nice clean marina, the area is quiet, we have friends nearby, and access by bus to the town of Colon. We are able to utilize a freight forwarding company to obtain shipments, so hopefully next week sometime our spare part will arrive. It does gall a bit to spend over 200 US dollars on a 3-inch long piece of copper pipe, but we can’t get the workshop to repair it for us so that’s our only choice outside of buying a whole new motor.
Since Magnus had to take the motor apart to work on the cooling system, he is also looking at the turbo system and has removed it for cleaning, plus he is looking at the heat exchanger. Friends of ours had to replace theirs, and we may buy a new (used) one to have as a spare as things will be even harder to source once we sail into the South Pacific. We haven’t given a lot of thought to the the “rest” of the motor – we have diligently changed the impeller, filters and oil and Magnus has checked the belts regularly etc. Now the back side of the motor is getting a thorough review.
Just to keep us on our toes, the toilet also plugged while we were on our way in. We only have one, and when we can’t flush it, we need to use a bucket. In rolling seas. That made the long and difficult passage in front of the canal in 21 knot headwinds and 2,5 knots of countercurrent even harder. We were threading a passage between all the commercial ships, and finally put heavily reefed sails up (I know, but we were tired) and managed to make it into Shelter Bay. When we limped into the short entrance canal, a big motorboat barreled by us, causing a wake that almost tipped Jodi into the water as she was hanging out the fenders for entry into the slip. So the marina made us go back outside while they took care of the big motorboat, because they could only manage one boat at a time. We said a few words about big motorboats.
We have offered to help some friends as line handlers on their transit of the Panama Canal, as it will be a good chance to learn about the canal and get a feel for the transit before we go through in February. Thus even if our motor part arrives, we plan to stay here for another 10 days or so, until we have finished the canal transit. After that we are going to San Blas to sail the archipelago, it is rumored to be absolutely fabulous and we have plans to meet up with several other boat friends and celebrate Christmas and New Year’s.
That’s our thoughts on 29 November 2024 from Shelter Bay Marina. Safe harbors to you all!