Stories
Here are a few of my own stories. Perhaps you have some too. When this booklet is published online there will be a place for you to tell you tales of “Boat repairs in Exotic Places”
Belts
A couple of years ago I had been having problems with my alternator belt wearing too fast. We were motoring up the Jemseg river, about to enter into Grand Lake when I noticed that my battery was no longer charging. I knew what the problem must be…. That alternator belt had failed! David Peer was traveling behind me so I radioed him to let him know I would be stopping to tend to the belt. I was not sure that I had a new one but perhaps there was a used one that would let me at least get to Douglas harbour. David radioed me a few minutes later saying that he had a number of belts that I was welcome too. It just so happened that he had the exact one that I required. We were under way about 15 minutes later! It is always good to cruise with other boats!
Transmission difficulty
A couple of years ago on the second day of the cruise I was rafted up with a newer cruiser. When he came alongside, he said that he was having some difficulty with his transmission shifting in and out of gear. He happened to be a very competent mechanical person and with the loan of a 1/2 inch wrench he pulled the top plate off his transmission case and was able to spot the problem and effect a repair. He got under way that evening and headed for home. The next day when it was time for us to depart, I put my engine in gear and…. Nothing. How could that happen? Coincidence or transmission/boat gremlins? I was able to spot the problem fairly quickly and reinsert the prop shaft in the drive flange. It was an eerie feeling for sure.
Bow Roller
When cruising in the Bahamas in 2018 about as far away as I have ever been on the boat our anchor roller split in half and dropped into the water. I made a call to the cruisers net the next morning to see if anyone had a spare and one was dropped off on my deck that evening!
Note: Please add your own stories in the comments
There are many of you who have stories that would be helpful to new cruisers. Please post them here.
Concrete Decision had developed a broken engine mount in the creek to Foshay’s without a lifting tool. After several inquires from the fleet of few dozen boats, there were no pry bars or jacks with us. My son-in-law and I went ashore to cut a large enough tree branch to us as a pry bar to lift the engine. After several hours of sweet and grind we repaired the broken engine mount. We now carry a 2 ton hydraulic jack in a plastic carrying case, with the hope that we will never have to use it.