Installing new Yamaha T9.9 engines

About a week out of Pensacola the port engine developed a hiccup that wouldn't go away... it would run at full throttle, then one cylinder would mysteriously die. Our starboard 9.9 was a 2004 model with over 1,200 hours on it, and the lower unit was from a 2003 motor. The port motor came from Ed Ellis in Soldier Creek, a 2003 that we fixed up with parts from our other 04 model, and it had an unknown number of hours on it.

Since we had basically no confidence in either 9.9, the decision was made to get new outboards. Best prices on the west coast of FL are at Ingman Marine in Port Charlotte. We purchased 2 Yamaha T9.9 GPXR outboards. The new models come with power tilt, which is nice, but they are designed to be steered off a bigger outboard, so they don't have a friction lock. We don't want our engines to turn at all, so we had to figure out a way to keep them fixed. The 14-piece Yamaha part kits that comprise the friction lock lever was only available in Japan or California, and we didn't want to spend more $ and wait a week to get them. The solution would have been easy if we had 1/4" thick, 2.5" angled alumium... but we only had some 1.5" stock, so it took a little cockpit engineering to get everything lined up. At the end of the day, we fabricated and installed the pieces on both motors, and they cannot turn.

The new R models have a 10-pin wiring harness instead of the old 7-pin (extra wires are for remote power tilt switches), so we had to purchase new wiring harnesses. We also got new Yamaha control cables, a pair of 10' and a pair of 14 footers. Since we don't have a Yamaha binnacle, we also had to get 7-pin pigtail adapters to wire into the old neutral safety/tachs/hour meters/key switches.

Once everything was installed, the throttle cables were 2" out of alignment... hmmm... after much headscratching, I finally figured out that the 2004 engines had a pull-pull throttle/shift cable arrangment, while the 2008s have a push-pull setup, so the throttle cam in the Morse/Teleflex binnacle had to be turned 180 degrees. Once that was done, the engines actually work as designed! The power tilt bracket is much longer than the old manual tilt model, and it hangs down below the nacelle, almost into the water.... so the next time we have access to the bottom side of the bridgedeck, we'll have to fabricate new nacelles to keep debris and water off the bottom of the bracket.

On our way . . . full throttle

Gasparilla Marina, where we spent a week while Morgan repowered the boat, has its good and bad points (no wifi), but overall it remains somewhere we will stop in the future, primarily because of the people we have interacted with. Jeff, the dockmaster, had his boat on the same dock where we were and was extremely helpful and accommodating. He and his wife were amused each time one of our Mutineers sauntered down the dock with or without us. Saturday we needed to get to town to hit the post office and a grocery store, so we stopped by the Waterside Grill, a brand new restaurant in the marina, to find out about calling a cab. Apparently taxi service is hit and miss, so we headed off on foot. Tom, the manager of the restaurant who had been looking for a phone book to call a taxi, soon came up behind us and offered us a ride to the post office. He had been willing to wait, but we still needed to get groceries, so we declined promising we would call if we needed a ride. With the free phone book from the post office (which was closed!) we stood at the Publix customer service counter trying to determine if we would be able to get a cab back to the Marina before we shopped. Bernice, the sweet customer service clerk, assured us she would give us a ride when we were done and her manager quickly agreed saying, "Yes, she's nice, but she's also dying to get out of the store for awhile!" So, we stocked up and were delivered back to the docks by Bernice. That evening, we took the phone book to Tom at the Grill; he laughed and thanked us. The Grill has some good food, better prices and the best bartender! Rick kept us in good drinks and conversation as we all laughed at the live entertainment - locals, including Willie, a commercial fisherman, and his very drunk companions. Mary, one of the entertainers, informed us she was auditioning for American Idol and gave us a preview. It may make the bloopers. I also have to add personal thanks for the other manager of the Grill (his name slipped my mind) who changed one of the tvs to Lost and graciously stayed open late so I could watch the entire season premier.

Sunday the 25th(?) Morgan completed installing the new Yamaha 9.9 outboards on the boat. The final step required something out of character for most men - he read the instructions! To give him his due, the new parts did not come with any instructions and he did a fabulous job getting everything in given the challenges he encountered. The engines did not come with steering friction locks and, of course, the new control cables didn't line up where the old ones were. (He could spell it out better, but, hey, I'm a girl!) He could have ordered them, but they wouldn't have been here for a week. Therefore, on board and on the dock, he managed to fabricate what he needed. The wiring was different also and he found a way to take of that. However, Sunday came and the final piece of the project had him stuck. I didn't understand it completely, but apparently the throttle wire had two extra inches that kept it stuck in full throttle. Before he headed to the showers, resigned to the fact that he would have to wait till the shop was open in the morning, he went through the boat's original documentation for the binnacle control (the piece that has the levers on it in the cockpit). Turns out, after reading the instructions, that he only had to reverse something in the binnacle and, presto, it worked! His comment to me was, "If I ever say I can't figure something out, ask me one question - 'Did you read the instructions?'"

Monday morning entailed gathering some last minute supplies at Ingman Marine, a pump out and beer run and we were on our way. The day was beautiful, though no wind, so we stayed inside the ICW. Along the way we saw the occasional porpoise, though they didn't hang around, and some unique housing - on stilts. Morgan said, "Can you imagine that call to your insurance company - 'Uh, I ran my boat into a house.'" We ended up anchored off of York Island, around the bend from Cape Coral. It had great holding, but we had wake from power boats most of the night.

Tuesday, we went through San Carlos Bay and into the Gulf. There was no wind, but the water was calm and we didn't go more than a mile or so offshore. Late in the afternoon, we turned to enter Gordon Pass. Another porpoise appeared, but this time he not only hung around, he was showing off. Nyla and I stood at the bow as the porpoise went around and under the boat. Each time he got close to the boat, he turned on his side and I swear it was to make eye contact. Then, he really started to show off. He zipped back and forth across the front of the bow, getting faster and faster with each pass. It was almost like he was saying to Nyla, "See what I can do that you can't?!" Gordon Pass brought us into a strictly residential area filled with houses you see in magazines. We've never anchored in someone's backyard before, but it was very quiet. The water was calm and, with the bow and stern anchors Morgan deployed, we didn't move all night.

Today, after possibly taking the dinghy into Naples, we plan to head to Goodland, another stop from last year. It should only be a few hours run, so we will have the afternoon to work on maintenance projects before heading to a unique restaurant we remember from last year. This time we'll take pictures. I'm still learning about the blog capabilities, but will get more pictures up soon.

Well, the day is passing quickly, so we'll get going for now (full throttle!)

New dinghy motor

Our old dinghy motor was an 18 horse monster that weighed over 100 lbs. Morgan averaged 30-40 pulls before it would start. Here he is breaking in the new motor, a 15 horse 2 stroke Yamaha that is much lighter. We were at the Gasparilla Marina in Placida, FL.

Nyla, Sea Dog 2nd Class

Nyla always seems to end up right in front of Morgan. In this shot it appears she's decided SHE can drive the boat!

Are we still in Florida?

On Monday the 19th, we left Boca Grande and went a little north to Gasparilla Marina in Placida where our new outboards were waiting. Of course our anticipated 2 day stay is turning into a week, but we don't have a time table so that isn't too much of an issue. What is an issue, however, is the arctic freeze we've been experiencing! I know, I know, those of you north of the Mason-Dixon line probably don't want to hear us whine about weather in the 40's. However, when you're well south of Tampa and have clothes equipped for the Bahamas, spending a night on an unheated boat when the temps dip toward freezing, I feel (a little) justified in being a baby about it! Fortunately, yesterday afternoon warmed a little and today is in the 60's.

I was very glad it warmed up yesterday because Sea Dog Second Class has decided she's a bird dog. Ever since Pensacola, she gets particularly agitated by Great Blue Herons, the Florida White Heron and pelicans. But, unless they land on the dock near our boat, she doesn't get excited, just watches. Other birds we have to point out to her when they land on the boat. Yesterday, I took her for a walk behind the marina where there is a retainage pond. There are usually a few ducks, an occasional heron and other aquatic birds. Typically I keep her on the leash, but decided she needed some excerise. About the time I released her, a bird landed in the water near the shore. She was off like a shot! I called to her and she stopped short of going in, but she was still excited. She proceeded to race around the pond, stepping in a short way to retrieve sticks and bark at the birds. In the middle of the pond are large reeds and other plantings that are tall enough to block the view of the other side. Well, as we rounded the other side, Nyla spied her nemesis and was off again. This time she made it into the water and was swimming madly toward her foe. When I stopped laughing I called to her and she turned around before she reached the bird. She swam back to shore but kept a good look out while she shook off. If she starts launching herself off docks, the boat or dinghy, we may have a problem. At least she doesn't mind wearing her life jacket.

Last night, we were relaxing with a dvd and a glass of wine when we heard something smacking against the hull. Our ever vigilant watch dog was fast asleep after her bird adventure and only woke when Morgan and I stepped outside to see what was going on. We thought there may be a manatee feeding around the docks. Last year we saw several of them right in the slips. It was not a manatee. It was a beautiful porpoise in the middle of a mad feeding frenzy! He was very large and very fast and looked silver in the moonlight. We knew where to look for him to surface next by watching the frantic jumping fish trying to escape! It was absolutely amazing to watch such a beautiful animal so close to the boat, though I had to keep hold of Nyla's harness to keep her from going in.

Because we've had no access to internet all week, we decided to break in the new dinghy outboard and head back to Boca Grande to catch up on email and take care of other business. It runs like a dream! I'm sure Morgan will not miss the upper body workout he got each time he tried to start the old one. We won't have time today, but we are looking forward to using the dinghy to explore little isles we can't reach with the boat. On the way from Gasparilla, for instance, there is a little isle full of what appears to be white pelicans. If we're mistaken on the id of the birds, I'm sure Bill will let us know! : )

The outboard project turned out to be more involved than anticipated and Morgan has been fabricating motor mounts, re-wiring, drilling and cursing for several days. However, he manages to figure out a solution to each challenge and keep a good sense of humor about it. (I love that about him!) We plan to leave Gasparilla by Monday (keep your fingers crossed; Alba, touch your nose!) and continue south. We met an incredible couple in the marina, Rick and Edyie, who are from Canada and are headed to Marathon. They have been together over 40 years and are two of the funniest and nicest people we've met on our travels. Their last night at the marina they invited us for sundowners and kept us laughing for hours. We hope to meet up with them in Marathon before we head to Bimini.

We're off to the post office and back to the marina so Morgan can continue the outboard project. My job is to keep beer and bandaids handy!!

Take care!

Cruising, companionships and good Irish coffee

Something I learned soon after we bought the boat and were enroute back to Pensacola from Miami is that the boating world is a small one, even more so among cruisers. If there is a fellow cruiser within ear/eye shot, you will always have someone to talk to, lend a hand to, receive help or tips from and, of course, share a sundowner with!

On the delivery trip last April, we approached Gasparilla on one engine, which completely died at the mouth of the marina. As we were weighing our options (and quickly drifting into a 1 foot shoal), a small power boat who was exiting the marina turned around and towed us into the marina and hung around to be sure we were secure. Dave, it turns out was local and was just heading home for dinner when he stopped to give us a hand. Our offer of dinner was declined, but we promised to look him up if we were ever in town again. As it turns out, we have spent the last few days on Boca Grande just south of Gasparilla where we will head on Monday to repower. Morgan held on to Dave's card, so it is our hope he will allow us to buy him that dinner. Last year we had a couple of dinners at a family owned seafood restaurant within walking distance of the marina where the menu is comprised of whatever they caught that morning! On that same trip, we inquired about a taxi to get into town. The manager of the marina repair shop assured us a taxi would take a week, so he directed us to his own personal pickup whose keys were already in the ignition! Thanks to the generosity of these two gentlemen, we had our engine problems fixed, some incredible seafood, were able to stock up at the grocery store and I managed to get a pedicure for my birthday!

In Port St. Joe (once known as the "wealthiest and wildest city in the land") last week, Morgan needed a little help with an electrical problem, so he called one of the business cards in the marina boat store. Rudy, a long time cruiser, showed up within 30 minutes. Though the problem only took a few minutes to fix, Rudy spent about two hours fine tuning things while discussing everything from cruising destinations, sails and philosophy with Morgan. He refused any payment and invited us to join him and his wife, Jill, for a sundowner that evening. They kept us riveted with their stories, insight and advice. Turns out they have been cruising for about 10 years on and off and built three of the boats they cruised on. Even more entertaining was our trip to get our hair cut. There was an elderly gentleman getting an extremely overdue trim. When he was finished, he informed us that his hairdresser had visited his office and informed him he needed a trim. His co-workers had shooed him out the door with instructions not to come back until he was done! Once he left the salon, the other hairdresser said her initial thought on running into him in his office was "Someone needs to groom that man!"

In Appachicola, we didn't run into many other cruisers, but the locals were very friendly. On our first day walking around the historic streets, we were reading a marker outside the Grady Hotel (which used to serve as the French consulate in the days before refrigerators and ice makers). A lady walked up and asked if we were tourists. She then proceeded to tell us a tale of a bet between the French consulate and another politician. The Frenchman bet a case of champagne that dinner that night would included iced drinks. The other politician who accepted the bet did not know that the Frenchman had been supporting the work of Dr. Gorrie who had recently developed a means of refrigeration. His discovery and inventions played a large part in erradicating the yellow fever deaths so prevalent in the area at the time. In nearby Port St. Joe, yellow fever wiped out the entire town prior to Dr. Gorrie's inventions. (To learn more about him, go to http://www.phys.ufl.edu/~ihas/gorrie/fridge.htm.) We had several meals at Papa Joe's right on the dock. The staff were entertaining giving each other a hard time and it was interesting to watch the oysters(which were caught that morning) being shucked right in front of us. The final night there were two young guys shucking while watching BCS highlights. It was amazing that they could shuck a perfect oyster without even watching. Then Morgan entertained them by trying various hot sauces. I'll let him relate the story in another blog, but to give you a hint, I had to wipe his brow!

We crossed the "Big Bend" in 27 hours and were in Clearwater Municipal Marina by mid-morning on the 9th. We highly recommend Crabby Bill's at the end of the dock. Our very pregnant server, Jenney, was very pleasant and hard working. She and her mother and five year old little girl had moved down from Michigan and were teachers, but she had to wait tables to make ends meet. If you ever make it there for dinner, be sure take of her! An amusing highlight of our stay was Nyla's initial disembarkment. The dock was quite a bit higher than the deck of the boat and she missed! Fortunately, Morgan had hold of her leash and only the bottom half got wet. Since the marina gave Morgan such a hassle checking in, I didn't feel bad about giving Nyla a "people" shower in the dockside showers, though she was not happy about it!! We left as early as possible the next morning to head for friendlier shores.

After overnight anchors in Boca Ciega Bay in Gulfport (near St. Pete) where we watched the Ravens beat the Titans and Longboat Key where we watched the Steelers beat the Chargers, we pulled into Marina Jack's in Sarasota mid afternoon on Monday. We had good memories from our stay there last year and Morgan's good friend Chris was nearby on business and made arrangements to come meet us there. For those of you who know Nyla, we were pretty surprised that she didn't bark at him once! Some watch dog! We thought we tied far enough off the dock to keep the mutineers aboard, but the littlest one was sitting on our slip neighbors boat when Morgan returned from up the dock. Back to the brig for her whenever we leave the boat at dock!

We spent Tuesday night anchored out in Lemon Bay near Englewood. Quite a ride we had. The wind was gusting to over 30 knots and in the morning we awoke to find our two bow anchor roads had twisted. It dindn't take us long to untangle, but the roads came up with tons of mud and sea grass that kept Nyla's attention. I don't think she's ever smelled anything like that before. From there we intended to go to Gasparilla to repower, but the engines weren't going to be in for a few days. Rather than wait around in the marina, we decided to go a little farther south to a better anchorage.

Our guides indicated a good anchorage in Boca Grande just south of Gasparilla, so we headed south. Upon entering the mouth, we nearly ran aground. While trying to decide our next course of action, an older couple, Dwight and Elizabeth, in a dinghy happened by and told us how to get in without running aground. We were glad to have taken their advice. The anchorage is very secluded with courteous boaters and only 200 feet to shore. We've been here since Wednesday and could not have selected a more pleasant place to wait for our new engines. The first night we went ashore briefly and had a drink and appetizer at the Pink Elephant. Carina, our server was a dog lover and not only allowed Nyla to sit outside with us, but also brought her water. The entire island is very dog friendly. We've taken Nyla to the beach twice. The first day she charged into the surf after a stick and got a snout full of salt water. Another first for her! We ran into Dwight and Elizabeth several times on our first full day ashore and shared sundowners with them on their power boat. Dwight owns a boat yard in the Northeast and had quite a few stories to share. They had been to the Bahamas a couple of times and didn't seem to think too much of it, but that's not deterring us!!! The island is not very big, so development is primarily residential. The least expensive place we've seen for sale was a 2 bedroom for 950,000. Most homes are 5 mil and over. Even so, it has kept its small town charm with no chain stores in sight. Most residents (and tourists) travel by golf cart. One day we ducked into Temptation, a bar/restaurant, for an Irish coffee. The bartender was a good sport having never made one before. However, I think it was one of the best Irish coffees I've ever had. While sitting there, the chef joined us at the bar. Turns out he's from Flomatan (near Milton). While talking about our home turfs, a guy at the other end of the bar says he's from Alabama and was recently out of the Army. Talk about a small world. We all spent a good half hour talking about our respective homes and shared experiences (i.e. hurricanes and Army).

As friendly as this town is, the librarian is kicking us out in 4 minutes, so I will close by saying, amid the beautiful scenery, I think our lasting memories will be of the people we befriend along the way and I hope they feel the same way.

Mutineers

After our rollicking adventure in the Gulf, we headed into Port St. Joe Sunday morning and stayed at one of the nicest marinas we've experienced. The Port St. Joe Marina was not only sheltered, the staff and fellow boaters were incredibly helpful and very friendly. We had several nice meals at the Dockside Raw Bar at the end of the dock and some good Mexican food at Peppers.

After the rough ride over the weekend, we wanted to make sure Nyla, Sea Dog 3rd Class, got a chance to stretch her legs and do her business on real turf for a change. I made a concerted effort to be sure I had a good hold of her harness so that I could assist her in making the leap from the deck to the dock and vice versa. After a good thorough walk, I headed for the showers at the marina. Guess who was following and who had no trouble making the leap?! After a few minutes I concocted a good tether that allowed her to have free rein of the cockpit and access to food and water without enough lead to hang herself trying to get off the boat. Throughout the rest of our stay, we made sure to take her off the boat at every opportunity, but to hear her the times we left her behind you would think she'd been left in the middle of the Sahara.

The bigger surprise was the smaller mutineer. Koki, our calico who had to be carried out of the interior against her will, surprised us by being on the dock when we returned from a walk into town on the second day. We were tied up at the end of the dock with just the bow visible from the top of the dock. We saw a brown and white flash zip from our view and meet us back on the boat. She'd been busted and she knew it! Not long after, she again started to jump ship when Morgan strongly advised her against it. She ran from the cockpit to the bow and was about to jump to the dock when I channeled Cartman from SouthPark and yelled, "Bad kitty!!!" She did an about face and returned to the cockpit.

Tuesday we headed to Apalachicola via the ICW and Lake Wimico, a nice relaxing motor down the river, although we had gusts up to 25 knots on the Lake. We arrived about 4:30 Eastern and got the boat tied up at Scipio Creek Marina (overpriced and underwhelming, but convienient with the best seafood restaurant in town). Again, I underestimated Nyla's reluctance to be left behind and she quickly jumped ship when we started down the dock for dinner. Tethered again. We had a fabulous dinner at Papa Joe's, Apalachicola oysters on the half shell and a broiled seafood combo platter to die for!

The docking configuration had us far enough off the dock that I didn't think we'd have to worry about the cat. Give me another demerit! Though we have not personally witnessed Koki's forays off the boat in Apalachicola, Morgan ran into another boater this afternoon who asked if we knew that our cat was getting off the boat. She said she was walking down the dock and spied Koki on the dock. According to our fellow boater, Koki acted like a busted teenager and hightailed it back on board!

Fortunately, we had both mutineers microchipped before we left Pensacola. We didn't anticipate problems with Koki, but we bought her a collar today for an ID tag. Both of them have a tag that came with the chip and we plan to add our boat name and cell number.

Wednesday saw near gale force winds in Apalachicola, we watched the instruments hit 36kts before heading out to dinner! Hopefully things will subside on Thursday for our crossing of the "Big Bend." Once we hit the west coast of FL, it should only be a week until we're enjoying warmer weather in the Keys. If either Nyla or Koki jump ship during the crossing, we'll be having "man overboard" drills!

Mother Nature counsels patience

The big day finally came - we left Bayou Chico for good on New Year's Day at 3:00. We didn't make it far, but I was very happy to finally be "underway". We made it to Pensacola Beach and anchored behind Pensacola Beach Yacht Club in Sabine Bay. Ironically, that is where we tied up when we first brought the boat to Pensacola.

The next day, Friday, turned out to be one of the most fabulous sail days we've had. Morgan commented that it was probably one of the better sail days he's had in his life! We hoisted the sails as we entered Santa Rosa Sound at about 10:15 and were able to sail averaging 5 knots until we docked in Ft. Walton Beach late in the afternoon. Morgan cautioned me to appreciate the day because days like this were rare. Little did I know his point would be proven over the next couple of days.

In the morning, due to forecasts of extremely nasty weather in the Panhandle in the coming days, we made the fateful decision to pop out in the Gulf and head straight for St. Pete instead of taking the Intercoastal Waterway (ICW) to Apalachicola first. All the forecasts called for winds to shift to S, SW by early afternoon. They were a little off base. We covered 111 miles with the winds dead on the nose from the East. On a monohull, that is not a big deal. However, our catamaran, a PDQ 36, does not like to head into the weather. Couple that with the heavy weight due to a newbie (that's me!) going overboard with provisions and a having full fuel tank and we had an overweight, oversized rocking horse in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico going up and down the ever increasing swells. Not a pleasant afternoon, evening and morning. Nyla (our normally cooperative border collie) refused to do her business on the trampoline (the front of the boat which is made of webbing) and Koki (our normally near feral kitty) refused to leave the port stateroom where she remained motionless until we were safely at dock again 21 hours later.

Morgan and I took turns standing watch throughout the night. While we are fortunate enough to have a full cockpit enclosure (beautifully done by Linda Schreck of Schrecks Canvass and Sails), trying to do a 360 degree view in the middle of the Gulf in the middle of several thunderstorms is challenging at best. For awhile the only bad weather on the radar was directly over our boat. I felt like Schleprock from the Flintstones! It finally started to get light around 5 am. When Captain Morgan poked his head into the cockpit at 6, the Admiral made the best suggestion of the trip - head due north to Port St. Joe. Morgan quickly agreed and we pulled into Port St. Joe Marina at noon today. We will head to Apalachicola and possibly Carabelle and hang out until the weather is more favorable to cross the "Big Bend" to the St. Pete area.

I learned a very valuable lesson - Mother Nature and Neptune do not care how long we've been in the Bayou working on our boat to get her ready to go. They do not care about any deadline or timetable we set. In short, we can sail to a schedule (or motor as the case may be) and suffer the consequences, or we can chill out, remember what goal we've worked so hard to achieve and just relax. The weather window will open when it opens. Until then, there are plenty of places to go and plenty of things to do enroute to our ultimate destination.