No engine, no problem … it’s a sailboat!

March 2^nd

After spending the better part of two weeks exploring the Out Islands of Conception, Cat, and Long Island it was time to make our way back to George Town and to figure out where else we wanted to visit this time around.  According to the morning forecast the winds were going to be very favorable for a nice 4 to 5 hour sail across the Exuma Sound.  8 to 12 knots from the east in the morning, and then dropping to under 10 and becoming light and variable in the afternoon. We wouldn’t exactly be flying across, but at least we should be able to sail most of the way.  All we needed to do now, was start the engine, hoist the anchor, navigate out the short channel, hoist the sails, and then point the bow towards George Town and we’d be on our way.

While we were anchored in Calabash Bay for the past 5 days our solar panels had been able to generate ‘just enough’ electricity to keep up with refrigerator, power our lights, and charge our devices without having to run the engine at all.  The meter that measures the voltage and capacity of our battery system was reading just under 70% full and an overall voltage of 12.36 v. We typically like to keep the system charged to at least 80% full and an overall voltage of over 12.5v, so we were a little lower than we’d like, but it had been nice to ‘live off the grid’ for almost a week without running the engine. We knew that once we got underway, even though we’d be sailing, we’d still have the engine on for the first and last hour of the trip as we left and entered the harbors and also to help ‘top-off’ the batteries.  So again, all we needed to do now, was start the engine, hoist the anchor, navigate out the short channel, hoist the sails, and then point the bow towards George Town and we’d be on our way.

When I went to start the engine, the engine started right away but stalled after a few seconds. I’d like to say that this was unique, but unfortunately over the past couple of weeks the engine had developed a habit of stalling after we initially started it.  The “fix” to this problem up to this point had been simply to give the engine a little more throttle, hold the start button down a little longer, and let the starter turn the motor over for a few more seconds.  Usually on the second or third attempt, the engine would start and continue running fine without any further issues.  Unfortunately, that was not the case today.

After about 4 or 5 attempts to start and keep the engine running, it was obvious that I was quickly draining the batteries and wouldn’t be able to keep this up much longer unless I figured out and addressed why the engine was stalling in the first place.  Without going into too much detail, I figured that I should change the first of two fuel filters we have on the engine to see that would help the stalling issue.

So, at 8:30, after a 30 minute delay to change the fuel filter, and a few more failed attempts of holding the starter button down, we were finally able to get the engine started and continue the process of getting underway from Calabash Bay.  At 9:00 we pulled up the anchor and headed out into the channel. By 9:30 we were safely out of the harbor and were ready to hoist the sails and enjoy a nice sail across the sound back to George Town.

To hoist the sails, we turn the boat into the wind, keep the engine running slowly with just enough speed to keep the bow pointed into the wind, and then begin pulling up the sail.  Pointing the boat directly into the wind keeps the sails from filling up with wind and makes lifting the sail easier.

When the sail was about two thirds of the way up, the engine stalled again.  No big deal, we would just push the start button and restart the engine.  Not this time. When we pushed the start button nothing happened.  No noise of the engine turning over and trying to start. No clicking sound of the starter trying to engage. No noise, period.  We tried switching to the backup battery, but still when we pushed the button, nothing.

So, without the engine starting and keeping us directly into the wind, we had to work harder to finish hoisting the mainsail. We finally got it up, turned towards George Town and let out the other sail, the jib, so that we could cover the 20 miles or so across the Sound as quickly as possible.  Fortunately, the wind was still in our favor, so we set our course, and Diane proceeded to sail us to George Town while I went below to see if I could figure out why the engine wasn’t starting.

Since the engine hadn’t run long enough to top off the batteries and the batteries were running low from all the earlier attempts to start the engine, we turned all the electrical systems off on the boat except our radio so that we wouldn’t be draining them any further. Since it was a sunny day, with the majority of the electrical loads turned off, our solar panels would be better able to charge the batteries.

It was a great day for a sail, and Diane did a superb job of sailing us across the Sound. I spent most of the trip down below in the engine and battery compartments checking and cleaning any connection I could find between the batteries, the starter, the starter switch, and the engine.  Eventually, I could hear one ‘click’ when Diane depressed the start button, but nothing else. It was apparent to me, that I wasn’t going to be able to fix this underway, and that we would need to sail the entire way into George Town without the help of our motor, including anchoring.

Even though, Eos is a sailboat, and is more than capable of moving us from point A to point B using sails only, as you’ve probably noticed from previous blogs we’re not shy about using our engine to help us along our travels. Additionally, like most sailors, using the engine helps us ensure we can safely leave or approach a dock or anchorage since the engine gives us the ability to better control and maneuver the boat at slow speeds.  In all our years of sailing, we’ve sailed off the anchor several times without the assistance of our engine (for practice), sailed into our slip without the engine once (on our previous boat the engine wouldn’t start but we had two other people on board to help with line handling and dropping the sails), but we’ve never sailed anchored under sail power only.  So today would be a first for us. But first we had to get to the anchorage.

As I mentioned previously, the winds were very favorable for this trip, and we had timed our arrival to the cut (passage into the channel) so that the tides and winds would be running in the same direction which should hopefully allow for a less challenging approach.  It ended up that our planning did in fact pay off. The wind was sufficient to allow us to maintain decent speed and the current was in fact flowing into the channel and not impeding our progress.  So, we made our way out of the Exuma Sound, through the North Channel Rocks Cut, and into the Elizabeth Harbor Channel without incident.

Once we were safely through the North Channel Rocks Cut, we still had to sail approximately 4 miles up the channel to where we would anchor.  Since we didn’t know what was going to be involved with getting the engine/starter repaired or how long it was going to take, we decided we should anchor as close to town as possible. That way, if we needed to dinghy back and forth into town for parts or assistance we wouldn’t have too far to travel.  Also, the anchorage directly in front of town tends to be less crowded than the ones across the harbor that are closer to the beaches and the cruiser hang outs.

As we made our way up the channel we talked through the steps and sequence of steps we would take to safely anchor without the aid of the engine.  The two big challenges we had to face anchoring with sail only seemed to be directly opposed to each other. First of all we needed to be able to maintain enough speed to be able to safely maneuver around any other boats in the anchorage. With the wind speed beginning to pick up this didn’t seem like it would be a problem.  The other challenge we had was that we needed to be able to stop the boat fast when we dropped the anchor so it would have time to set or dig in, before we moved right past it. 

To stop the boat, we were going to need to simultaneously do three separate tasks with only two of us onboard.  First, we needed to turn directly into the wind and keep the boat on that course so the wind would not fill the sail. Second, we needed to immediately drop the sail so it wouldn’t refill with wind and begin moving the boat again. And finally, the third thing we had to do was to actually drop the anchor so it could set and hold us in place.

As we got closer to our planned anchorage we were pleased to see that it was in fact not very crowded so maneuvering around the other boats wouldn’t be too much of an issue.  Now we could concentrate on finding a good spot to stop the boat and drop the anchor. Diane would be on the bow to drop the anchor, and I would be on the helm to turn into the wind when directed, and then move to the companionway and drop the mainsail.

Diane spotted a good place for us to anchor and pointed to where I needed to head. I turned the boat into the wind, our speed slowed as planned, and I was able to quickly drop the sail most of the way down. At the same time, Diane lowered the anchor, let out some additional chain and just like that we were safely at anchor. Easy-Peazy, just like we planned it.  Luckily, the increasing wind helped to set the anchor as we drifted backwards. It’s nice when a plan comes together.

Now that we were safely and securely anchored I quickly got back to the task of trying to figure out what I could do to get the engine started or at least remove the starter so I could go look for a replacement in the morning.

It took awhile, but I was finally able to remove the starter.  Before I went to look for a replacement, I decided I’d take the starter apart and see if I could ‘see’ what was wrong with it.  Once it was out, it really didn’t take much to disassemble it.  My visual inspection really didn’t reveal much to me, although I did take the time to clean the internal parts prior to re-assembling.  After putting the starter back together, I decided I’d re-install it and see what would happen.

With my head still buried in the engine room, I hollered up to Diane to have her push the start button.  I must admit, I really didn’t expect anything to happen, but low and behold when she pushed the button the starter whirled, the engine turned over and started. Again, after a few seconds though it stalled again.  If you remember earlier in this post, I mentioned that I only replaced one of two fuel filters on the engine when it wouldn’t start in the morning.  So now it was time to replace the second filter in the system. The first one is intended to catch and filter out any coarse contaminates, and the second one is much finer and catches anything the first one doesn’t. Typically replacing the coarser of the two addresses most problems, but it was now obvious I needed to replace the finer filter as well.

Once that was replaced, we were able to start the engine and it ran without stalling.  So apparently, we had two issues today. One was the primary issue, fuel filters that were not allowing enough clean fuel to the engine. The secondary issue was the starter. Because the engine wouldn’t start easily, we ended up overheating the starter and it wouldn’t turn or got stuck. By disassembling the starter and cleaning the internal components, the starter was able to, once again, work properly.

We’re going to still see if we can find or locate a spare starter, but for now the problem is solved. We’re safely in port, and ready to relax for a few days.