Engine Checks and Dragging Boat

When I stuck my head out of the cabin this morning the first thing I noticed was that a boat that was slightly upwind and east of us was out of position. The wind had been moderate from the north during the night at it appeared that the boat had slowly dragged its anchor and was slightly downwind of us. The boat is has a ferro cement hull, poorly equipped, and quite frankly looks like it is on the verge of being a derelict. It appears to be the perfect candidate for a catastrophe during the coming season's storms.

I reported the boat to La Paz Marina by VHF radio and a few minutes later the girl called back to inform us that the dock master's opinion was that the movement was caused by tide flow and there was nothing to worry about. Arnold watched the boat for another hour in which time it dragged another 10 meters. I called the marina office again to insist that the boat was moving. The dock master came on and gave me the routine about the La Paz waltz and how boats move in unexpected ways. I responded that we have been anchored in this position for at least 5 days, are familiar with the movement of the boats, and this boat has definitely dragged anchor and is out of position. His reply was brilliant: Call me back if it drags another 50 meters. The boat was downwind from Pachuca and the tidal currents were unlikely to push the boat our way so we decided to let the matter drop. If the boat does drag another 50 meters I'm sure that there will be many other people calling in.

We did some checks on the engine that Colin had requested. I checked the crankcase oil and it was jet black and at its normal level, giving no indication of water in the oil. This was good. We also established that there was no water leakage between the upper water chamber of the manifold and the lower section where the exhaust gases came out of the heads. This was also good. Also, the gap between the top of the piston at its highest point and the top of the cylinder is .039" (.9991 mm). I reported this to Colin and he will check that gap against the specifications in the manual. If the gap is OK it will indicate that the conn rod has not been bent.

At this point it looks like I will have to sit tight until next week. On Monday Colin will put the head in for machining and I won't expect a result until maybe mid week.

Monday is the 12th of April which is when Arnold will fly back to Seattle. It is spooky how fast time flies. He has four more full days here then he is off! I will go with him to the airport which is 30 of 40 km out of town to see him off.

Once Arnold has gone my situation here will change and there will be profound changes to my psychology. I'll be in Lone Sailor mode and will spend my time methodically attending to all sorts of things both minor and major. I will also spend a lot of time visualizing the sail to Costa Rica. The door of human companionship will have closed for a while and I'll have to step into the threshold of self reliance without qualms or reservations because this is what I signed up for many years ago when I was still managing a computer center and planning my escape.

The photo shows the offending anchor dragger at the left and thankfully downwind from the prevailing winds. The strong current runs parallel to the coast so that should not be a problem to us either.