We spent yesterday putting food and clothing onto the boat, topping off the water, checking the oil and getting all in readiness.
The food was all packed away...some in the refrigerator (now working wonderfully!!) and most in the storage spaces behind and under the settees in the saloon.
Some of the food stored in the space behind the starboard settees
This morning we woke early, had some coffee and headed out to the boat ready to begin the adventure.
Did the usual preparation (unhooked the electricity, checked the oil, turned on the computer and started the navigation program, started the gadget that reports our position every 10 minutes....
Finally, around 7:30am turned the key to start the engine..it started fine but a few moments later an alarm went off, signalling low oil pressure. I immediately turned off the engine, went below to check the oil and sure enough it was empty!...but it was full just before I started the engine...
Looked under the engine and sure enough there was a big pool of oil
Went to the rear of the engine compartment where I had installed a remote oil finter (of course getting there meant removing everything we had stored in the aft cabin) and found the oil filter had unscrewed...I had just changed the oil last week and installed a nice new Yanmar oil filter...maybe it was defective
So I mopped up the gallon of oil in the bilge of the engine compartment (lots and lots of oil absorbant pad), put a nice new Yanmar oil filter on, added a gallon of oil to the engine and...
Started the engine
Moments later we heard a loud "pop", followed immediately by the "low oil" alarm
The new filter I had just attached had blown off its fitting!!
As I mentioned, I had just installed a remote oil filter (and that was because the oringinal location of the oil filter was nearly impossible to get to).
The kit had come with a generic filter (a Fram knockoff) and had worked fine..
I was starting to think we'd never be able to leave Baltimore, at least not today and perhaps not this winter.
But then I reckoned that there must be something different between a Yanmar filter fitting and "regular" filters...
So (its now 8:30am) I went to the local Ace Automotive Supply, got there just as they were opening at 9am and had a discussion with the guy behind the counter..We googled Fram equivalents for the Yanmar filter, i bought three (and two more gallons of oil) and headed back to the boat
By 9:45 I had the new filter installed and another gallon of oil in the engine
I started the engine///we held our breath and....no alarm!!
I checked the filter and it was still on and not leaking (of course there was a gallon of oil under the engine, but that would have to wait...we had to leave if we were going to make our first stop (Herrington Harbor South, about 40 miles south) before 5pm, when the dock hands went home.
The trip itself was anticlimactic
We pulled away from the dock at 10am and headed out to the Bay
It was a calm day...almost no wind...and cool (it got up to 66 later in the day, but felt much colder.
We got to Annapolis in 3 hours
Three hours later, at 4:15 we were tied up in our slip at the Herrington Harbor Marina
We had a pleasant dinner at the restaurant, watched a little of the New England game (wasn't
and back to the boat, which as always is quite pleasant
Tomorrow we are off to Solomons island. We'll meet up with our flotilla mates as we head down the bay.
Hayden and Radeen aboard Island Spirit and Eric and Pat aboard Cutter Loose..both Island Packets. They are still in Annapolis enjoying the boat show.
More tomorrow
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