Wednesday at Hinckley’s in Melville

It rained throughout the night and most of the day today. There was thick fog most of the morning and we never did see the sun. It didn’t make much difference since today was the day that we had the oak engine shims replaced with ones machined out of aluminum stock, special made for our boat. It sure looks solid. The shaft is now aligned to within three mils, to spec.

Ann spent the day painting. She took photos earlier since she likes to paint from photographs. She used her computer for cropping and altering with Photoshop and we transferred them to my computer for the on-board printer. So while the mechanic was lifting the engine with his palm sized hydraulic jack for shim replacement, Ann was painting away. I could see where that small hydraulic jack would come in very handy on a boat.

Yet to be done is to return the engine in running form with replacement of the fresh water pump with new seals and the replacement of the heat exchanger after it passed pressure testing. Then it’s on to the Panda genset for replacement of its fresh water pump and a few other sundry items. With all this, we ought to be ready for our September 15 departure down the ICW.

The rains finally stopped and we paid another visit to the Melville Grille, a recommended stop for anyone in the area. They have unusual dishes not found elsewhere, interesting.