chicken of the sea

Ok here's a doozy.

For some reason,

I really really really don't like to drive 

over the Coronado Bridge.

That isn't to say I can't or won't,

I'd just rather not.

Maybe it's the big van,

which is taller than the concrete rail system,

the only barrier to a 200 foot drop.

I've found it's best to drive 

when there's no traffic.

The 2+ mile stretch will go by quick.

During typical rush hour times,

it's worse than any rollercoaster ride.

On the way home one day,

the bridge had a plethora of red lights.

I realized these were brake lights,

spanning the entire length.

Oh hæl no...

I was happy to circle back south to IB.

No way was I gonna be stuck,

not moving on that friggin bridge.

Is this time to admit I've got gephyrophobia,

the fear of bridges?

Or is this acrophobia,

the fear of heights?

Or just the fear of falling - FOF?

Holey chit...

Whatever the case,

it was tested daily cause of this project.

I'd overthink it.

On the drive I'd see the bridge exit,

contemplate,

and 50/50 decide to go the land route,

adding 20 safe minutes to the mission.

I quickly realized this sucked,

but we had the perfect alternate.

Yeah eff you stupid bridge!

What could be better,

than a 25+ minute boat ride!

No problem coming home at night,

and trailering in the dark.

I was happy to get some fresh air,

after this nasty mess of a fixit.

The whaler cruised easily at 25 mph,

about 3400 rpm,

both ways sucking down 4 gallons.

If needed it could get in the 40's,

but the fuel would disappear.

Online people are infatuated with WOT,

or wide open throttle.

The Yamaha 90 wot is about 5800 rpm,

and it sounds like a sure way to kill a motor.

To get on a plane,

the engine only revs to about 4500,

depending on the load.

After that it's screaming at those high rpm's.

So yeah I'm a piece of work...

slow boater who doesn't like bridges.

This project was crazy.

The owner (Aj) lbought a Volvo diesel

and it was too big for the spot.

The fix wasn't difficult,

if you don't mind crouching for hours,

into something resembling a toilet stall.

Cutting and grinding away...

Every day we'd raise and lower the engine,

using this boom and hoist method.

The big plug I made was precise,

but it was worth it to make sure.

Sometimes there is no replacement for 

templates,

even in this computer generated world.

Now we had a perfect fit.

The tricky part wasn't placing the engine,

although it wasn't easy.

The battle was routing the exhaust and cooling,

hindered by limited space and existing 

water thru-hulls.

Since sailboats run on an angle,

heeled over from the wind,

there are many specifics to keep water

outside of the engines insides.

Using the Volvo installation manual,

and a ton of online studying,

we found the original installation 

had numerous faults.

Most likely the reason the boat hadn't ran

in almost 30 years.

The best part was starting up that diesel,

and watching the transmission shift into gear.

The owner had been fighting this for 6 months!

After so many trips on the whaler,

naturally modifications are needed.

Every day was not a SoCal winter!

Next up will be the mods...

TP