August 13, 2010
Atlantic City, NJ
Dock “H”, State Marina – Trump Marina Tower in background left.
So, in preparation for our adventure, Pat asked a mechanic come out to look at the old Volvo Penta diesel aboard Shaboom. Here’s the thing: Pat had paid Bay Shore Marine in Annapolis over $600 to check out the engine. All we could tell was that they replaced the Racor fuel filter and didn’t do that correctly. Oh, well, no harm, no foul as it was an easy correction and Pat has plenty of spare filters on board.
EXCEPT, they apparently didn’t do anything else! Going up the Chesapeake and coming down the Delaware, we had heating issues, which I resolved by removing the thermostat from the engine. I found it to be old and rusted; it came out in pieces. Obviously over looked during the service call.
Then, when the engine died, I asked Pat about the fuel pump and filter. Other than the Racor fuel filter, Volvos have a primary filter built onto the fuel pump, something simple every Volvo Penta mechanic should know. Pat pulled the filter and found it plugged with gunk – certainly not replaced in Annapolis. Bay Shore Marine gets the “Boat Bastards” award for this trip.
So, here we are in Atlantic City. The mechanics from Mid Atlantic Marine here in Atlantic City just left. Nice guys; very professional. They found a clogged fuel line and got everything up and running right away. “Engine runs fine, but it sure does move around a lot. Shut it down. I wanna check something,” said Mark the mechanic. Sticking his head back into the engine room, he found that the three of the eight bolts attaching the engine mounts to the block had sheered clean off – something else even a rookie mechanic should have know to check. It seems that Bay Shore Marine dropped the ball and has really put the brakes on our trip. They’ll be getting a nice visit from Pat when he goes back to Annapolis to get his car.
So, we are spending another night at Trump Marina, which is interesting. I’m on a boat and next to a casino. All the comforts of Vegas without being in Vegas. Now if we could just trust NOAA Weather Radio to accurately predict the weather.
– Steve