I wish all boat problems were this straightforward.
The raw water intake problem was a blockage. I opened the strainer (empty the lazarette of sundry stuff, climb in, close the seacock, unscrew strainer, all while sweating a lot in the cramped, hot quarters) this morning and found…a box fish! Yup, the poor little guy got too close to the intake and got sucked in. That must have been the little “burp” I swear I heard the engine make right before the cooling water stopped coming out of the exhaust. There are a bunch of them swimming around the dock, so we’ll have to keep our guard up. This is why you never leave the boat with the engine running. Five minutes or less and the engine would have been cooked if I hadn’t heard the “dry” exhaust sound and shut down the engine!
A box fish by the way looks like a box with a tail on it. Unlikely looking thing.
Anyway, on with the waiting. I think we’re going to send Ann up the mast later this morning to have a look at the rig. We have the time and she’s getting bored, so why not?
Glad it was an easy fix. Will watch with a bit of anxiety as you make your way back to New Zealand. Hoping for smooth sailing–you deserve it after those two bumpy rides!
OK, I’ve heard of bird strikes shutting down jet engines and putting one famous flight into the Hudson. But box fish?? Messing up a sailboat engine?? Nope, never heard tell of such a thing.
Glad it was a simple solution. Do box fish like boxes? Maybe if you hang one over the side under water they’ll all go hide in it and stop trying to swim upstream into the motor. New book title, “The Box Fish’s Revenge.”
Careful when Ann goes up the mast. At the rate you’re going she might get hit by a flying fish! 🙂