Spring Cove Marina - Solomons MD (2014-04-16)

Today we made the huge passage of about 500 feet, moving from the spot in Back Creek that we were anchored in over to a spot on the dock at Spring Cove Marina.



Sunday was sunny and quite warm, so after lunch we decided we'd dinghy in to shore and go do some shopping.  We hadn't used the outboard for a while during our northbound travels on the AICW, so it was a bit rough getting it started.  It got us over to the dock okay, only stalling out as we were approaching the dinghy dock.

After returning with our groceries though, it just wouldn't start.  Luckily the anchorage is very close to the dinghy dock, so rowing back wasn't a problem.  At least it wasn't a problem until I broke one of our oars... So, with Dar rowing with our one good oar, and me paddling with the bottom half of a broken oar, we slowly made it back to the boat.  Thankfully the wind wasn't too strong.

The problem with the oar was quick to see.  It was the oar on the starboard side of the dinghy, which is on the lower side of the dinghy when it is up on the davits.  This exposes that oar to salt water splashing, so when you combine an aluminium oar, a stainless steel mounting bolt, and salt water, you end up with some nasty galvanic corrosion happening on the oar, so it pretty much just rotted out from the inside.  From now on I'll be sure to take the lower oar off when I store the dinghy on the davits.

Some serious corrosion there

The problem with the outboard wasn't as easy to sort.  It seemed like it wasn't getting any fuel, so I popped the cover to check the fuel filter and found that it was full of very watery looking fuel.  It ended up that we had some water infiltration somehow happening in the outboard fuel tank, so I removed all the fuel into a clear jug with a lid that I have and then refilled the fuel tank with fresh fuel.  I also found the feed spigot on the fuel tank was loose again, so that got tightened.  Finally I popped the spark plugs and found them with fairly heavy fouling (not too uncommon with two-strokes as I recall from our outboards when I was younger), so I gave them a good cleaning.

While checking the fuel filter I somehow managed to lose the o-ring that sealed the fuel filter on the housing that it screws in to.  I had some odds and end gaskets in my spares, so I took one and did a little MacGyver scissor work on it to make a temporary gasket.

When I finally got everything back together I crossed my fingers and tried the outboard.  It started after a dozen or so pulls, but was a little hesitant to stay running.  Manually revving the throttle arm allowed me to get all the crud blown out and it finally started running smoothly again, and it's been good since.

Monday we took another trip to shore and walked to West Marine, which is actually fairly close by.  They had a dingy oar that was a pretty close match to the one I broke.  I picked up some assorted o-rings with the hope that one of them will be the right size for the fuel filter, even though my MacG gasket seems to be working great.  I also picked up some more spark plugs for the outboard, and will be popping in a new pair in the next couple days.

As for the old fuel in the jug, I'm hoping I can let it sit for a few days and get the water and fuel to separate so I can salvage some of the fuel.  Whatever I can't salvage I'll look at disposing of here in the marina before the end of the weekend.

Tuesday the forecast called for a strong cold front to swing through, accompanied by rain all day, strong winds, and a plunge in the temperature later in the afternoon.  The rains began fairly early in the morning, raining off and on until mid afteroon.  We managed to get a quick walk in before the front rolled through like a freight train around 1600.  The winds did an abrupt shift from south to north and the boat swung around 180 degrees.  The winds picked up quite strongly at the same time, causing us to pull back hard against the anchor.  This put the pull in the opposite direction that the anchor was set in, which for a lesser anchor is a sure recipe for dragging.

The Manson did it's job though, and managed to reset itself in the opposite direction within about 20 feet, which was pretty good considering how hard the boat was pulling against it with the huge winds we were getting with the front passage.

Then the temperature started to plummet, and within a couple hours the mercury was dancing just above freezing.  The rain changed into sleet, coating the outside of the boat in about an inch of wet slush.  The sound of the sleet hitting the water was kind of neat, like a loud hissing sound.

Sleet piling up on the windshield

Sleet on the cockpit side deck

Inside the boat we were toasty warm with our Mr Heater doing his job to keep us comfortable.

Our Mr Heater Buddy keeping us nice and warm

The weather forecasts for the Chesapeake have been pretty much universally lousy, with 2-3' or higher every day since we got here.  Yesterday there was a gale warning on the Bay, and the waves were up over 6'.  The wave forecast for the rest of the week and start of the weekend is also a bit high for our tastes, so it looks like we won't be going anywhere until probably Monday.

Our kids had wanted to come visit us for the long weekend, but with the way the conditions on the Chesapeake are, we weren't sure whether we'd be seeing them here, or at Rock Hall or even Chesapeake City, our next two stops.  However, now that the forecast out through the weekend is outside of our criteria, we decided we'd meet with the kids here.

Our kids visiting is the reason that we moved over to the marina.  When we contacted Spring Cove to get a slip for three nights we found out that we'd get a fourth night free.  We decided we'd move over today and use that night for tonight.  The kids are coming tomorrow night, and will stay until Sunday afternoon, at which time we'll move back to the anchorage to continue our weather vigil, hoping for good conditions on Monday.
 

At the Spring Cove Marina dock - the spot we anchored is about 500' straight in front of the boat