Hi All!
It’s mid April and the weather has been beautiful!
So glad we have been able to be here in Beaufort SC this time of year!
Sooooo much better than what we went through in NH last year this time!
Troubleshooting:
We’ve been able to get out on the water at least once if not twice a weekend since launching Over Easy down here.
Our rental slip is very much appreciated!
Finally deinstalled our errant ‘within the hull’ transducer with the side scan capabilities.
(As some may recall it went AWOL a while back and as a stopgap I robbed the little 4” chartplotter and transducer from our runabout Scrambled and installed it to Over Easy.)
After getting it out I rigged it up on some strings and placed it over the side while in the marina slip.
Lo and behold it’s still working… Now why did it go AWOL?
Possibly a pinched wire? I dunno……
I’m thinking that…. As involved as it was to install it and deinstall it that I just might get a simpler new transducer for the ‘within the hull’ function and make a slide bracket to deploy the fancy side scan from the stern when desired. That way we’ll have a primary transducer for depth and general bottom mounted ‘within the hull’ and a back up in the water off the stern when desired as a “spare “.
We want to have the bigger/better chartplotter for trips to map out our routes in advance when possible.
It’s also a whole lot easier to read too!
For the immediate future (until we haul out) I believe that I’ll leave the small system installed (as a backup) and just add the larger chartplotter/side scan sonar with the in water slide mount back on.
Maintenance:
We did our 1st 100 hour oil & filter change this past weekend while in our rental slip with the help of a vacuum extractor.
We got the extractor from Harbor Freight for about $100.
It worked like a champ!
Simply removed the engine cover, checked the oil level (which was just at the top mark on the dip stick), ran the engine at idle for 2to3 minutes just to stir things up, then shutdown, opened the oil fill port, insert the siphon line into the dipstick port and apply vacuum with the integral hand pump.
The used oil is evacuated and stored into the integral holding tank in about 5 to 10 minutes.
It did a great job of getting all 3 quarts of oil out.
Then placed a couple paper towels under the side mounted oil filter, removed the filter with a ratchet and socket, lubed the seal on the new filter and installed it.
Refilled the engine with 2-1/2 quarts, restarted the engine for 2to3 minutes at idle to fill the filter, stopped the engine, checked oil level, added the remaining 1/2 quart, restarted the engine at idle for 2to3 minutes, stopped the engine, checked oil level which was now at top mark on the dip stick ( which indicates that the extractor did indeed remove all the relevant old engine oil).
No drips, no spills at all!
No need to haul out, through, easy to use, easy to transport with integral handle, easy to cleanup by pouring old oil from integral canister into gallon jug to drop off at local transfer (or gas) station for proper disposal.
Great investment!
Note: For those concerned about any ‘sludge’ remember we are changing our oil every 100 hours along with the filter, we extracted 3 full quarts of capacity of old oil and replaced with 3 full quarts of new oil, we also stirred the old oil (by running the engine) before removal and ensured that the new filter was filled (by running the engine) before topping off the oil level. Regular oil and filter changes are the best way to help a long and productive engine life.
I also replaced the original start battery that came with Over Easy by our very nice POs that had a date code of 04/2019.
It was getting weaker and not holding a charge as well as it had been.
We replaced it with a slightly larger capacity dual purpose marine start/store battery from West Marine to match the secondary battery we previously installed in the spring of 2021.
Aside: I may try to “rejuvenate” or “recondition” this old battery as an experiment. It wouldn’t hurt and might be interesting to see if it actually works out like some have claimed. If it does then it could be a good secondary battery for our runabout Scrambled.
Performance:
We’ve taken several day trips specifically in mind to check out our new Suzuki DF60AV engine performance.
At near WOT we get about 6 hours of run time per 12 gallons of fuel at about 15 mph ground speed via GPS with full ballast, two adults, one dog and pretty much our standard anticipated cruising equipment. This yields a rough 180 mile range with 24 gallons aboard (two 12 gallon tanks) or roughly 7.5 mpg.
At 2000 rpm we get about 12 hours of run time per 12 gallons of fuel at about 7 mph ground speed via GPS under the same old conditions. This yields a rough 168 mile range with 24 gallons aboard or roughly 7 mpg.
Funny that the range at near WOT & @2000 rpm are so similar…
… but these numbers don’t necessarily account for River and tidal flow currents as we are using the GOS over ground speed and not the actual through the water hydrodynamic speed.
For extended trip planning purposes we’re gonna plan on 100 mile legs between refueling stops (or less) as that should give us an additional 1/3 range capacity to help with any SNAFUS from becoming FUBARS.
Trip Planning:
That leads us to the aspect of the Admiral and I discussing the potential of a week long trip from Beaufort SC up to Charleston SC and back next month.
The waterway ground distance from our slip in Port Royal/Beaufort SC to Fort Sumpter Charleston SC is about 100 miles each way.
That roughly allows for 2 to 3 days out, 2 to 3 days back and 2 to 3 days for cruising around Charleston/Battery Park/Fort Sumpter and other ground based sightseeing.
Near Term Future:
- Get a current player chart of the ICW between Savanna GA and Charleston SC.
- Get a ICW travelers guide of the ICW between Savanna GA and Charleston SC.
- Get stern slide bracket installed for side scan sonar transducer & reinstall bigger/better chartplotter
- Finish & install of the “Blow Ballast!” System I’ve been putting together
SC Home Projects:
Installed a 120 foot long 16 foot high spring/cable & pulley dog run in the backyard for my daughter’s dogs. One has a great big playful gentle 60+ lb Cattle Dog and the other has a beautiful energetic Standard Poodle. This will give them each room to be outside to romp and play when they are visiting to their hearts content.
Now that we’ve removed about 6 compressed minivan sized bundles of vines from the front and rear yards (and have recuperated from same) it’s time to get back to finishing the resurfacing of the back deck, benches and build the new stair sets. I’ve delayed finishing this deck project for too long.
🫣
After finally getting three reputable quotes we’re having the polybutylene plumbing that was originally installed when our home was built replaced before the end of the month! Boy are Plumbers proud of their work! (They have every right to be considering how involved this actually is to accomplish!) I had been seriously considering doing it myself but when actually laying out the work to be done in the locations it needed to be done within and iven my limited dexterity nowadays I thought better of it. The professional licensed referenced staffed plumber we selected is capable of getting the complete job done including the finished drywall work done in one to two days for a 2 full bath, 1 half bath, kitchen, laundry room and three outside taps along with a new infeed valve w/ new ground box. This is a sizable fraction of the time by an order of magnitude it would have required me to do the same work. Plus being done by licensed experienced plumbers who have done similar work dozens of times they will know what to do that isn’t readily apparent to someone like me until things get opened up. The extra bonus is my homeowners insurance company is gonna be happier with the professional plumber as well. Fingers crossed but it should be well worth the investment.
We also finally got three valid reputable quotes in for getting several of the most needed windows and doors replaced.
Wood trim/frame windows and exterior doors just have a really hard time holding up down here in the hot humid weather of SC.
This again is something I had been actively considering doing myself but again, getting the quotes from reputable companies changed my mind. They can get the right products installed with an experienced team in 1 to 2 days after the widows and doors arrive. This is a fraction of the time it would take me to do it myself. Also a lot safer for me given my limited dexterity nowadays. (Ahh…to be younger and stronger again…
).
In both projects the actual cost/time/benefit/hassle analysis has come out in favor of having reputable contractors accomplish the work needing to be done. Older but wiser…..
Holding off on the kitchen renovations for now until the deck/bench/stairs, plumbing and windows & doors projects are finished….(and financial recovered from… gonna be a sizable but worthwhile dent in the bank vault
to be sure)
Best Regards,
Over Easy
… chores to do…
got spark 
no vrrmmm
🫣) & put them in
wonder why???
.
.
).
).
too! After completing our loop in about 7 hours we continued on to the public dock in Beaufort and had a nice supper at Panini’s before going back to our slip in Port Royal landing in the dark. It was a really nice day on the waterways.
, no pictures as we were having such a nice relaxing time of it we plum forgot to take them. We’ll try and do better on today’s excursion.
