Heading south...again

[DesertAlbin736]

Cool! Locks are fun aren't they! Is that a drawbridge just below the welcome center? Fall colors along the canal should be nice this time of year. Long stretch between locks, next one at South Mills? Can you make Pasquotank River & Albemarle Sound in one day from where you are now? Get used to being the smallest boat at docks like the welcome center. That's happened a lot to us on many of our cruises.

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Have fun & bon voyage! Keep us posted.

[stxray]

When It Rains...It Pours
I'm afraid my plans are scuttled again
I made it to Southport, NC and anchored in the Dutchman Creek. Checking the oil I found my crankcase to be 150 to 200% full with a milky oil solution; a sure sign of water in the oil.

I changed the oil and in the morning tried to motor 4 miles to the St. James Marina. She didn't want to start and I could barely make 4 knts. I left the boat there, rented a car, and drove home to fetch my truck & trailer.

I returned and the folks at St. James Marina lifted the boat out of the water and onto my trailer. I left Southport heading for Pennsylvania. All seemed well when I stopped for fuel. About 3 hours into the trip, I was heading up I95 when I saw a rest stop ahead and, needing to relieve myself, I pulled in. I parked the truck/trailer and, as is my habit, I touched each of the trailer hubs. That's when I noticed the right, rear hub was hot. Investigating further, I noticed the wheel was protruding beyond the fender. Looking behind the wheel I could see the wheel was working itself off the axial.

No problem I thought. I have AAA with RV coverage and BoatUS.

Calling AAA, I found that although my AAA club sold me RV coverage for boat towing the North Carolina AAA club does not. All I could do is pay for my own towing service and submit it for reimbursement from my club. I also discovered that since the wheel was coming off, the trailer couldn't be towed and becaused the boat was on the trailer, it couldn't be hauled with a rollback, flatbed rig. What I needed was a "Lowboy".

To make a long story short, I found a shop that was open (it was now Saturday) and said they would be able to fix the trailer. They gave me a couple of heavy duty wrecking companies and I was able to get one to come out.

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and transport me to the repair shop. If you look closely at the picture, you can see the missing wheel. Cost: $250. Hopefully I get reimbursed.

I'm back home waiting for word on what the repairs will cost. Once fixed, I will head back down to Rocky Mount and complete the tow home where I'll have to address the engine.

Here's some Lessons Learned:
1. Carry a set of wheel bearing for your trailer. Although this wouldn't have help me as the hub was also damaged but a set of bearings would be a good start.
2. Carry a parts list for your trailer. Trying to figure out which model trailer, which parts will fit can be problematic.
3. Check your insurance. If your tow vehicle breaks down, you can tow it with either a hook or flatbed rig. However, if the boat is on the trailer, you can not. You'll need a heavy duty wrecking company with a lowboy trailer. Make sure your towing insurance will provide and cover for such service.

[DesertAlbin736]

Oh sad!!! Good advice for lessons learned. We've towed our boat over 20,000 miles & the one time we had serious trouble was in 2015 passing through Morris, IL on the way east when one of the disc brake caliper brackets on the trailer worked loose & trashed the rotor & the caliper bracket on one of the rear wheels. We took it to the nearest boat shop we could find, "Captain Nabbers Boat Shop' which, I kid you not, looked like this:

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$300 later he could not locate replacement bracket & calipers (Kodiak brakes), so we disconnected the brakes on that axle & went on to Rhode Island (after the Erie Canal cruise) & spent a good part of the following week in Rhode Island chasing parts to finish the repair after the boat was in the water. Luckily we didn't need to be towed.

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This year our sailing friends that we normally cruise the Pacific NW with were bringing their boat home to Flagstaff, AZ from Blaine, WA and while passing through Nampa, ID an axle on their steel trailer broke, rusted through from the inside. They were stuck in a hotel for 4 days, (with their cat along) waiting to get a new axle and the trailer/weld shop to fix it. Since there was a rodeo in town the shops were all booked up for several days. Oh, the joys of trailering!

Boy, I hope your engine is OK & you can figure how water got in the crankcase. Cracked/rusted out water jacket? Is it fresh or raw water cooled?

Your lessons learned duly noted. Servicing hubs is on my winter PM list, including preemptively replacing both all bearings & seals . Sorry to hear your trip went south on you & didn't get to your destination. At least you'll be home for the holidays, although I'm sure you'd rather be in warmer climes.