Departed but Returned

 Well we departed.  But we are back in Sitka.  

We left as planned.  Went to the fuel dock stocked up on fuel and headed out of the harbor.  We were a couple miles out when we noticed the engine was running hot.  Water was still coming out of the exhaust so we investigated things below to see if a coolant line was leaking.  We could find nothing visibly wrong.  So we let the engine cool down a little fired her back up and drifted slowly back to our berth.

Investigations showed both strainers were full of mussels.  We didn’t check again after the diver blasted the hull (silly us!). How water was getting thru is a mystery.  But after clearing them we ran the engine in gear at the dock.  Engine was still over heating.  So we took apart the first heat exchanger (which is the transmission cooler and it was about 75 percent blocked.  Mark attacked it with one of Pauline’s knitting needles and then began to soak in vinegar.  That doesn’t look like it is strong enough so when the store opens today we will get some barnacle blaster.  While we are at it we will try to hook up some hoses to the main exchanger so we can flush and hopefully not have to remove the main exchanger.  What a chore for Pauline’s birthday!  Anyway departure is on hold for a while.  Maybe tomorrow if all goes well.  But probably early next week.