Chapter 5 - Day 5: Smoke on the Water...

6:50 am
Wednesday, 07, 1999
Day 5

Remember that comment I made about dealing with the challenges as they come?
Remember that short comment about the white smoke from the starboard engine when we pulled in the lock and I wondered what that was?

Well, we're about to find out!

Yes, we have engine problems. That little puff of white smoke I saw turned into a lot of smoke. First black, then white.

Here was our day yesterday:
* It was a little cool so I decided to let the sun come all the way up before we left.
* Darrell, and I washed the boat, filled the water tank (not all the way, because why carry the weight-this you will hear about later)
* At 7:15 we left the dock
* At 7:40 I got a call on the VHF Radio from Hoppie's Marina that they got a call from the place in Cape Girardeau where we were going to fuel that they were broke down, and we couldn't get fuel, as we had planned.
* 7:45-turned around and went back to Hoppie's to top off the tanks so we could go all the way to Kentucky Lake ---188 gallons at $1.30 @gallon
* 8:15 on our way-awesome day
* Deb, and Donna fixed a great big breakfast of bacon, eggs, potatoes, and toast
* It became a little windy, so we didn't go fast. We went about 1050
rpm/12.5 mph for almost 4 hours.
* 12:00 the wind had died down quite a bit, so I said lets pick it up and make some time so we can make it to Cairo. As soon as we started going fast the black smoke started to pour from the starboard engine. I slowed down immediately, and now the smoke turned white. While Deb drove the boat, Darrell and I went worked to see what different speeds we could go without any problem. There weren't any. What I found is that the engine smoked at all speeds, and above 750 rpm the engine started to shake. Houston---We have a problem!
* I talked to three different Detroit (the make of my engines) dealers, and got three different answers as to what my problem could be. I also talked to the dealer where I bought the boat, and directly to Cruisers Yachts (the boat manufacture). They were all very nice, but they did not know what to do.
* Soooooooo.........We idled on both engines the next 60 miles to Cape Girardeau, where we dropped an anchor in a little stream, at mile 48.6, just off the Mississippi.

That was yesterday.

Today (6:50am) we sit in that stream/river and wait to see what's next.

There are no marinas here so I'm not sure what they can do. There are also no marinas in Cairo, IL, our next logical stop. The next marina is Green Turtle Bay, on Kentucky Lake, 140 miles away.

We are ok on fuel, but remember that I didn't fill the water all the way? (I figured we'd be in a marina tonight, and why carry all that weight) Well, we're on water rations now until we figure out what to do. But it could be a lot worse, right?

It is a beautiful morning. As I type this I'm sitting on the fly bridge having coffee and watching the barges go by and seeing all the fish jump.

At 8:00 I'll start to follow up on my earlier calls and decide what to do.

If they think I won't hurt the engine any more I'd like to head for Green Turtle, but we'll see.
Thanks for all the e-mail responses, we enjoyed reading them. So far we have been lucky, and had cellular signal each morning so I could send these off, and receive yours. If some morning, you don't get one, don't worry, I may have to wait to get to a better cellular area.

* Randy, yes 630-235-8296, and the Mississippi is ok now. Anyone who has made this trip will tell you this is the worst part, and the Mississippi is a terrible river. I agree. But that said, it is low now, and the current is only 3 to 3.5 mph, so it is manageable. But there are no marinas, in fact no towns, or life to speak of, so it's not a great place for boaters.
(especially if you have a problem)
* Mando-I slept in today. 6:15 No where to go yet.
* Chris-yes this is the same route we took before, and we will be staying at most of the same places.

I'll keep you posted.......

BK