On Wednesday (August 9th), Santa Claus dropped off a big box at the boat yard. I had no idea what to expect. What was delivered was the entire transmission system, or upper and lower pod, from the engine to the propeller for the starboard side. This was extreme. It was the final solution.
Recall that the port lower pod had been knocked off the bottom of the boat by the submerged log and had sunk to the bottom of the St. Lawrence River. The starboard lower pod was also hit hard, but it did not break off. Thank goodness, for it got us to Rimouski, Quebec where the boat was eventually hauled. But when we ran the boat this spring, the starboard pod, which was the one that survived, proved to be badly damaged.
It constantly overheated. The hydraulic oil had baked and had lost its viscosity. The mechanic had tried to make small corrections to the transmission, attempting to solve the problem of why it was overheating so much. Nothing seemed to work. Finally, I asked Cummins Northeast in Scarborough, Maine, to try to fix the problem.
These guys had been involved with building Brio in 2012, so they knew the boat. They said we needed to replace the entire transmission. So this box was shipped from Wisconsin with the goodies inside.
Just to remind you, this is what the bottom of the boat looks like from the stern. The right-hand propellers are attached to the lower pod and that's what has to be replaced.
Here's what was in the box, the new upper pod and lower pod.
The new pod (upper and lower) did not come with propellers.
Here are the mechanics who drove down from Maine.
The guy on the left is the "boss". The guy on the right usually works on Cummins generators. He's from North Dakota. These guys are salt of the earth. There's still hope for our country with these two.
Here's one of the two trucks they brought down with them.
Once the pod was on the floor, we saw the lower pod had to be painted! Yikes! That was not planned, but the boat yard, Burrs, jumped into action.
Then the two Cummins guys took the old pod out.
And installed the new pod with its newly-painted lower pod with its shiny black surface.
And on the inside, the new upper pod sitting in the mechanical room. All the wires and tubes had to reconnected so everything worked as planned.
The propellers were screwed on and adjusted so the port pod props and the starboard pod props were aligned. This little point makes the boat run straight and true.
Once this was all done and everything was buttoned up, Brio's dinghy was picked up from the floor and remounted on the davits.
Then Brio was taken out of the shed and put in the Travelift to be launched.
The thrill of the launch, when the boat re-enters her proper domain, never grows old. It's magic.
After a successful sea trial on Friday afternoon, August 11th, we brought our remaining duffle bags on board to get ready. Steve and Chris are packing the boat. Alice is taking pictures.
Off we went on Sunday morning, between thunderstorms, and headed north to Portland, Maine.
Here's one of the famous forts that protect Portland's harbor.
And here's an iconic picture. We knew we arrived in Maine!
Now we can really enjoy the Maine coast! We head east, all the way to Grand Manan, New Brunswick. Then we come back, visiting so many of Maine's magical harbors and coves. Stay tuned!
Cheers,
Brio
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