So it is now 1 Feb and we are still sitting in Fernandina Beach waiting for our transmission repairs, but enjoying our visit. This is a nice old town to break down in. The boatyard is located about 2.5 miles from downtown and 4 miles from Publix so there is lots of opportunity to get some walking in. While waiting for our transmission to be rebuilt, we walk to town most every day. We are now averaging 8-12 miles a day of walking and have lost a bit of weight even though we have checked out most of the local breweries and restaurants.
The problem with engine repairs on a boat is that we are fully stocked with 4 months of food, drinks and snacks for our stay in the Bahamas. All those stores have to be taken out of the aft cabin (where engine and transmission access is) and stored in the main cabin. So our normal close quarters on the boat are now about half their normal size. The photo is only the beginning of moving items. We now have 4 large crates and 4 smaller crates of stores piled up in the salon, along with the engine covers.
The transmission is now out and sent off to Wisconsin for rebuilding. That took a week to get to this point. It turns out that this 2002 transmission is not built anymore (so cant get a replacement unit) and spare parts are not built anymore (so cant get the local mechanic to repair it). Ultimately, we had to ship the unit to Wisconsin where it could be expeditiously rebuilt by an expert using parts from newer models. He provided us great service and advice and rebuilt it in one day. The folks in Ft Lauderdale told us 1-2 months for them to do it as they had 20 units ahead of us to fix. As on 1 Feb, we now have the rebuilt transmission back and are waiting on the mechanic to reinstall it, hopefully tomorrow. However, the new configuration is not quite as long as the former one so we are not sure the shaft will still fit properly with the protective zinc we have installed, so a diver is supposed to come tomorrow and replace our zinc with a smaller one that will ensure the shaft fits properly. We'll update the blog when all is fixed and we are underway again, hopefully later this week.
