Power to the People

Sorry for the delay in our blog updates, we experienced an electrical issue yesterday, and didn’t get it restored until this morning.

I guess I’m understating things (a bit) to say that we ONLY had an “electrical issue.” What REALLY happened, was that as we made our turn from the Mississippi River up the Ohio River, shortly thereafter, we lost BOTH of our alternators. (You see, the advantage of having two engines, is that things are set-up in redundant pairs.) But, when you buy/own an OLD boat, your gauges don’t necessarily work properly… I think we were already one alternator shy when we departed Alton (down to only a single alternator.) But, I didn’t worry too much, because we had an extra/spare one aboard. Also, diesels aren’t supposed to need electrical power to run. So, not having an alternator shouldn’t be too big of a deal… PLUS, we have a diesel generator aboard (triple protection.) So, even if we lost BOTH alternators, we could simply fire-up the Genny, and she would provide us with abundant electrical power for as long as we needed.

Then, Murphy paid us a visit, and taught us a few lessons about HIS laws…

So, after losing the alternators (and only really knowing so, because our power invertors for our laptops started to beep at us,) we fired-up the Genny (as planned.) But, about an hour later, the power invertors for the laptops were beeping at us (again) – not good – NOT good at all!

I ran down below, and opened the hatch to the engine room, and jumped down inside with a flashlight to find my WORST nightmare – OIL SPARYED ALL OVER THE PLACE!!!! Something apparently went REALLY wrong with the generator!!! So badly, that it sprayed oil all over the hot water heater and the AC units and the walls/floors of the bilge (just on one side of the genset.) Did we throw a rod through the case?!!! It was too dark and oily to diagnose underway (and noise with both diesel motors still running.)

All we could do now, was weigh our options…

Again, diesels can run all day/night without electric. As a matter of fact, you only need electric for the starter (to start them,) and then for the shut-off switch (which happens to be electrically-controlled.) Fortunately, there is a manual override for the shut-offs, too.

So, it was only 3 pm or so, and we had already passed Cairo, IL. The next major towns ahead of us were Metropolis, IL (about 30 miles upstream,) and Paducah, KY (about another 8 miles further.) Neither town has a marina, nor is known as a place for boaters. As our cell service skipped in and out of roaming carriers, we called each of their respective Visitor & Convention Centers. Metropolis was closer, and seemed to have the services we needed, plus was within daylight cruising distance.

(The plot thickens…)

You see, once the sun sets, you need to turn on your navigation lights. Not so much so YOU can see, but so other boaters (barges/tugs/tows) can see you. So, we needed to make a landfall before sunset. And, our batteries were now COMPLETELY drained. So, once we turn our motors off, they are going to remain OFF until we can either get some shorepower (electrical outlet at a dock,) or get our generator fixed (which will recharge our batteries – if ITS battery holds out,) or rent/buy a portable generator.

The sun had just set as we went under the train bridge and the Harrah’s Casino boat in Metropolis. Our waiting dock was at a State Park (old waterfront fort) just about ¾’s of a mile ahead. We pre-called the Park Ranger, and he gave us permission to use the dock overnight.

We arrived just in time, and tied up for the night.

Another note for non-mariners: When you are moored at a dock, you can turn off ALL of your lights. But, when you are anchored overnight (sleeping on the hook,) then you have to display a white “anchor light” all night long. Since we have no power, we NEEDED to find a dock!

We were tied-up by 8 pm. We had left that morning at 8 am. So, we motored a full 12 hours on Monday, to cover almost EXACTLY 100 miles – much of it upstream. We had covered almost exactly 100 miles the day before (Sunday,) but in only nine hours (because we were running downstream all day.)

Once safely at the dock, we called a few family/friends to inform them that we arrived safely, and tell them a bit about our issues. (We didn’t want to alarm anyone, so we played our cards pretty close…) We weren’t really in any “danger.” But, we all know how parents can worry…

Safely in port, I checked the alternators as best I could (in the now COMPLETE darkness,) and I couldn’t see them producing any voltage. The generator was still an oily mess that I didn’t want to confront, because I was fearing the worst…

So, we essentially “camped” Monday night. Fortunately, we had purchased a propane-powered BBQ grill before we left. (We have actually been cooking with it every night.) This night would be the same – BBQ pork steaks, plus one of Kelly’s knock-off Pasta House salads – and LOTS of rum! ;-)

We would need to put in an early/busy day on Tuesday to make repairs, and get back underway. So, we turned in early Monday night.

Flashback to the night prior: Sunday night was our first night “on the hook.” It was really quite pleasant. After covering nearly 100 miles in only 9 hours, we felt GREAT! When I awoke Monday morning, there was a slight hazy fog lifting off of the river. (See the pic.) It was pretty breathtaking…

Outside of our power issues, the “cruise” itself was “interesting.” There were TONS of floating trees/debris in the Mississippi for awhile I felt like I was running a slalom course. There were also a few fast “chutes” at bends in the river. At times, they pushed my normal cruising speed of only 9 knots, up to 11.5 knots! It was truly like surfing the current – being PUSHED along – it made steering “interesting” – you had to stay on your toes.

Toes: We steer our boat more with our feet than our hands. The captain’s chair has a foot rest that is strategically placed at the PERFECT height/position for your heels to rest on the foot-rest, and your toes to rest on the lower-side of the ship’s wheel. We steer so much with our feet, I think I’m getting calluses! But, here’s the icky part of it… When we are steering with our hands, we are essentially grabbing a wheel that 30-years worth of OTHER people’s feet have been dancing on!!!! Ewwwww!!!! Athlete’s fingers!!! Toe jam!!!!!

Back to cruising…

I was surprised by the LACK of tugs/tows again (this time on a Monday/weekday.) Maybe the amount of debris was keeping them off the river? I wish they WERE on the river – they act like big Roomba’s and push the debris out of the channel, and chop it into smaller pieces as well (easier for my boat to digest…) Pre-chewed roughage.

We got GREAT fuel mileage with the PUSH downstream. I don’t know the exact amount (yet.) But, the tanks looked like they hadn’t lost a single gallon since we topped off at Hoppies Marina.

The Mississippi River is VERY twisty – more so than I had imagined or expected. It truly felt like a float trip at times. I just wanted to make sure we made it through the turns and chutes before any barges came from the other direction. Down by the Missouri boot heel, the Mississippi almost makes a complete loop to the left, before then doing ANOTHER complete loop to the right. At times, we were heading “north” going downstream.

As the Mississippi River meets the Ohio River, the differences in water coloring is pretty significant. The muddy Mississippi truly earns her name. The Ohio River was a deep green (by contrast.) The two swirled and mixed together and the confluence (the Mighty Mississippi eventually winning the color-battles, and turning the green Ohio waters muddy brown…

But, as we turned to head up the Ohio, it was surprisingly wide, green, calm, and straight. It was like boating on a REALLY long/straight lake (except for the current we were now battling…) While we were making a steady 9 knots down the Mississippi River (with occasional bursts up to 10-11 knots,) we were now only making 5 knots upstream.

When the alternators died, I increased our RPMs a bit, to make about 6 knots (so we could make it to Metropolis before sunset.) And, with the Genny running, too (for awhile there,) we were making the WORSE fuel economy that we will likely achieve during this whole trip (three diesels pounding away – gulp, gulp, gulp…)

But, the Genny soon died, and we were back to our two primary motors. And, I didn’t want to tempt Murphy to teach us any ADDITIONAL lessons for the day, so I throttled-back to only 5.5 knots.

Note to would-be mariners: Driving UPSTREAM is WAY easier and more controllable than being SHOVED down the Mississippi River!

Along the Ohio, we were blessed with several other treats along the way. We saw a pair of Ospreys hunting, and our first wild Bald Eagle as it swooped down towards a fish as well, and then flew past us.

I also saw something that looked like a muskrat or river otter or something surfing the wake of a passing barge – just in front of us. As we approached, it dove under/away.

We have also seen some HUGE deal fish (I think they call them whitefish???) HUGE!!!!

We are moored at a state park that is an old French fort overlooking the Ohio River. The people here have been very kind to us and considerate of our situation.

I installed a new alternator, and a new voltage regulator on the motors. I found the issue with the generator, too! Fortunately, it was an inexpensive/easy fix. The line to the oil pressure gauge had burst off of its fitting (apparently over-tightened in the past due to a slight leak that it had.) Over-tightening it caused it to weaken and then snap-off entirely.

Also fortunately, this boat has a top-of-the-line generator (for its day.) It has an automatic safety switch that immediately shuts it down if the oil pressure or oil level gets too low. This prevents the motor from seizing up.  The motor only lost about a quart of oil before it automatically shut itself down. (But, the spray of one full quart of oil all of your engine room wall LOOKS like a complete disaster!!!!) With all of our batteries completely dead, and no shore power here, there was no way to start the engines or the generator. So, we had to either rent a portable generator for the day (to recharge our batteries,) or buy one. We chose option #2 and bought one (and thus we now have a FOURTH layer of safety/protection.) I figure that we will just sell the portable generator once we get back to Florida (people down there are always buying them for hurricane protection.)

Our only possible sacrifices due to the electrical issue was our frozen foods. Some of them may have thawed out, so we are putting them into the fridge, and will cook them ALL up during our next BBQ (to night) and store the cooked meats in the refrigerator, and re-heat them later. But, all else appears fine…

We toured the fort, rode out bikes into town, and generally just spent the day getting things shi-shape. We don’t think that we can make it to Kentucky Lake before nightfall, and there is a storm approaching as well, so we are going to hold-out here one more night (and depart early tomorrow/Wednesday) morning.

Oh, and I have now graduated from diesel mechanics 101 class, to a Sophomore-level class. Before we departed, I fixed our fuel supply issue/s (and they have been FLAWLESS on the trip – knock on wood.) I also rebuild the raw water impeller on the genset before we departed.

At Hoppies, I replaced a water pump on the port motor (spare was already aboard and ready.) And now I have replaced alternators/regulators plus fixed the genset oil leak.

Ah, it’s just boating… If you aren’t prepared to turn a couple of wrenches, bust a few knuckles, hang upside down in a hot engine room in the dark, and get smelly/oily/dirty – DON’T BUY A BOAT!!!!! -- especially an OLD boat! ;-)

Venture Out – still venturing out…

Nite all.