AGLCA Ft Myers to Hontoon adventure

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gulfcoast john

New member
NEBO is a free smartphone app that does automatic cruising logs…speed, times, dates etc. I bet we set the SOG record of the day at 62 MPH down I-75.

We launched at the steep and deep Punta Rassa ramps. The N2K backbone dropped offline, so we had no charts or engine data or AIS but we had CHIRP sonar. I didn’t bother with signing in to Aqua Maps or Navionics since we’ve done this segment before. We cruised upriver for an hour, then went to idle towards the Ft Myers Yacht Basin Marina with all the other 25 foot Yachts.

After a few minutes we got an engine overheat alarm on Engine #1 (port in GarminWorld). We raised the drive, and saw no Walmart (rarely, it’s a Sam’s Club) bag or grass around the intakes. Started it back up with good pee streams and another overheat alarm after a few minutes at idle. About five years ago we had similar symptoms with a grungy pressure control valve, so I cut off the good engine and ran the overheating one at 1300RPM to make way with no more alarms. We maneuvered into our slip with both engines at idle with no more alarms. This is the first cruise since our 10 year service in Nov ($5,300 including new water pumps and impellers).

Now we’ll try to get a mobile Yamaha mechanic after three days at the AGLCA Rendevous.

After we got shorepower hooked up and the air conditioning at full blast, I refilled the fresh water tank (we don’t like any unnecessary weight when trailering). The freshwater pump wouldn’t come on. At the end of the troubleshooting list is pulling everything out of the galley cabinet and sponson access cover ( a 45 minute job) to get to the pump. The fuse was OK. I pulled on all the wire connectors and it suddenly purred back to life.

The dead N2K backbone turned out to be due to a fuse that wasn’t blown, but had some tarnish on the legs. It’s back up. It’s a boat, so it’s always something.

Any of you motorheads have an opinion on why a F150 would overheat only at idle?

Happy Cruising, and hope your air conditioner is working well if you need it! Any brats in the area please call or come by!

John
 
My guess would be the pressure control valve. I don't believe any engines I have owned have had this valve but that sounds like the culprit. If pee stream is good, then enough water should be getting up to the engine so no issue with pump, housing or water tube from pump. If valve is stuck a little bit open, then higher speed might push enough volume to not all escape thru the valve. Another thing to maybe look at is to pull the temp sensor and start the engine and visually verify if water is flowing to sensor and sensor is not covered with crud. It also could be possible thermostat is sticking. This is seems less likely, but easy to test by removing thermostat and re-assembling without thermostat, then running engine. Good luck! (Troubleshooting when not at home for me usually results in some tool I wish I had, no matter how many I brought, is at home.)
-Jeff-
 
Thanks for the ideas!

Week #4 update:

Cat O’ Mine was on the ‘Looper Boat Crawl’ all three days of the Fort Myers AGLCA winter Rendezvous (their largest meet ever). We welcomed about 75-100 of 425 attendees onboard Cat O’ Mine…. a mixture of mostly Planners and some Downsizers.

After the idle overheats on #1, that engine was definitely way hotter than normal when attaching the flush hose, so maybe not a sensor. On cruising downriver 22 miles to the Pink Shell Resort and Marina, we had no more overheat alarms at idle, mostly cruising at 20 MPH in 25 MPH Manatee zones, and some time at idle.

We have an appointment with a mobile Yamaha certified tech on Feb 22. I would tend to shrug it off, but the Admiral wants an expert in all things, and between the two of us, she is the only one who don’t think I is an Expert in All Things.

After a cold snap, it’s back up to 70-80 degrees and sunny every day down here. We like a 6.5 mile beach walk on the hard packed sand, and after lunch retire to an umbrella near one of the three heated pools (mostly the ‘adults only’ one). Colby will notice that this pic is from a resort just on the southern edge of Madison, WI.

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We have the exact same breakfast, lunch and dinner from Publix (3.1 miles away) that we have at home. We have the same AM coffee and same evening wine in the cockpit that we have at home. With the same exercise regimen as at home, this helps make sure we don’t gain weight (which is a very common occurrence) while cruising three to four months a year .

Using Cat O’ Mine as basically a floating RV at the Pink Shell Resort for $46/night, we are spending less here than we typically do when at home. Rooms overlooking the Marina are $941/night (including taxes and fees).

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You and your crew should do what works for you.

The Pink Shell resort marina checks almost all our five star resort marina wants…
a $3.75/ft per night rate that drops to $1.75 ($1.50 last year under different owners) for over 30 days
No 35 or 40 foot minimum…we pay for only 26 feet
Metered shore power, not $10 per night. At FM city marina, our metered power bill for a week was $11
Resort amenities for no extra charge…three heated pools, fitness room, sauna, free kayaks, great wi-fi, nice lobby for those bouncy days
Good cheap public transportation… air conditioned trolley to Publix is $0.35 each geezer fee.
Great 15 miles of hard packed sand walking/biking beach even at high tide
Much closer (9 hours vs 13) than the Keys for the same weather and better walking beaches at only 100 miles north of Marathon with the same weather
Great WiFi all over! That’s hard to do when yachts are streaming HD movies. On

Downside: right on the Matanzas pass and river with wakes from boats edging above the ‘Slow Speed-Minimum Wake’ signs. That stops at sundown, and we’re not on the boat except for eating and sleeping. Note how the massive Key West ferry is less than a boat length from the marina.

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We turned the trailer and brakes over to a Ft Myers shop after the Infamous Trailer Wheel Bearing Failure on the Western Erie Canal Adventure. He found some pitted bearings, a failed caliper, and one rotor. He advocates NO user pushing in of new grease after a saltwater dunking as ‘a bad water ingress risk’ and closed grease caps without zerk access. We’ll likely be back next year and see how that goes. Frankly, I’ll not miss the hassle factor.

Cheers! Hope you are nearby, and stop by if you are!

John
 
Week #5 Update:

The mobile Yamaha tech found grass, grunge and sticky sand in the Pressure Relief Valves. (So I was right all along, but She Who Must Be Obeyed must be obeyed, just like on your boat). He replaced both with new gaskets and an upgraded mushroom shape cap that is less likely to get stuck for $65 in parts.

Due to the awful traffic in this high season of south Florida, the travel bill was $145 plus 1 hour labor at $130. Sigh.

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82-84 degrees and sunny all week! We only brought eight cans of sunscreen so have to buy more on the next Publix run. Get the 8:33 trolley and you have 17 minutes to shop and pick it up on the return. It’s always logistics with us!

Safe travels!

John and Eileen
 
Oops!

Today's high in Ft Myers Beach was a record-breaking 89 degrees!

No wonder we kept jumping into the adults-only pool.

At $52/night including 30A shore power, Pink Shell is the best overall marina value in the state of Florida for over 30 days.

Forgot to mention the free sauna.

We love our daily seven mile beach walk on the hard packed sand...even at the highest tides. There is nothing like this in the Keys, but it's only 100 miles north and six hours closer! Put it on your list!

Happy Cruising!
John
 
Week #7 (Week #1 we were at the Loopers Rendezvous in Ft Myers).
Update from the Pink Shell Resort Marina (5 stars):

Friday Mar 4 was a Logistics day; 0545 wakeup, breakfast, & coffee and got a Lyft from the resort to the rig storage lot 25 miles away. The trailer tires were holding 80 PSI (although they leak down a bit over a month to six weeks, we arrived Jan 20, when it was a lot cooler here).

We’ve walked this beach for over 220 miles so far.

We made a Publix stop with the rig (in back with all the big rigs unloading), then on to the Punta Rassa ramp (which can be full on beautiful weekends starting at dawn) to pre -position our rig for an early Monday Mar 7 ($30 for three days) load up. We walked ½ mile to the Marriott resort because Lyft drivers tend to bid better for pickups from a 5 star resort than from a boat ramp, plus the cool lobby for waiting.

By then it was 10AM and the traffic over the bridge to Ft Myers Beach was backed up for over an hour for the 2 miles, so we took another Lyft to the Beach Park and Ride and took the 35 cent geezer fare over the bridge.

Interesting that there have not been any biting insects around (even at dusk and dawn) for the whole two months. We leave the aft cabin door open all night with only the Phifertex camperback up.

We walked 3 miles to Trico Seafood for a pound of Jumbo Keys Pink shrimp ($17), but hey, around here a non-special cheeseburger is $17 and up. The shrimp, onions, peppers, rice and Ginger Teriyaki sauce was perfect and will be two meals for us.

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Safe travels…in Florida if you are forced onto the the shoulder by any breakdown, the first call you should make is to *347 (*FHP) and request Road Ranger assistance. They have big trucks with electronic <<<MOVE OVER signs and more pylons than you can ever carry. They will do basic spare tire changes, battery jump etc for free if you want to avoid getting a hernia.

We plan to load up Monday at the Punta Rassa ramp and head for the Hontoon Hoot. Hope to see you there!

John and Eileen
 
Week 8 Update:

We checked out of the Pink Shell Resort & Marina on Mar 6, but not before making reservations ‘on the wait list’ for a month next year. You need reservations 6 to 12 months in advance these days for a transient reservation in South Florida in peak season. Be prepared! The weather (100 miles north of the Keys) is exactly the same, but three hours closer by truck, saving you over six hours driving time.

The Pink Shell is not by any measure the ‘cheapest’ marina in Florida, but it is by far the best ‘value for money’ marina in Florida today that we have found or read about now at $1.75/ft/night based on Mfg LOA with no 35 or 40 foot min charge. If you have kids or grandkids you really should consider it if you can figure out a way to sleep them on the boat (all Pink Shell rooms overlooking the marina are $941/night).

We paid the Yamaha Certified Tech $65 to replace both Pressure Control Valves and $145 for travel for the six miles to the Pink Shell in awful traffic.
The engines purred for over an hour with no idle overheat alarms.
We ran on plane for 30 minutes to our Punta Rassa ramp takeout and idled for 40 minutes with no overheat alarms We then loaded the boat on the trailer and took off for Ed Stone Park.

After launching at Ed Stone, we escorted a newbie down river at just above idle speeds. Less than a mile from Hontoon, their engine died. It would crank but not start and neither would their kicker. We turned around and headed back to them while my engines were having a conversation as the sun went down.

My Engine #1:
“Yo, Number 2. I think this would be a really funny time to throw off another overheat alarm. It would be funnier if we do it together with no debris in the water. You with me, Bro?”
Engine #2:
“I’m not sure they would fall for that. He’s gullible, but not entirely stupid. Why don’t you go first?”

We approach their boat as the #1 overheat alarm starts shrieking. The digital readout from the ECM to N2K backbone is 129 and 131.

Me: “Dang it” (or something like that), “Shutting down #1. Eileen, tie ‘em off on a hip tie to their bow and stern cleats…we won’t have much maneuvering power.”

I was right about one thing…we didn’t have much maneuvering power on one engine.

We radioed the Hoot about our predicament and Our Fearless Leader Tom on C-Otter assembled a gaggle of helpers at the end of the T-Dock. He refused to send out a boat with four to eight stiff drinks to help make the docking less stressful as night fell. He mentioned several times to hurry up because he was missing dessert. He’s so mean, but you already knew that.

Engine #1:
“Hey #2, this would be a really funny time for you to throw off a Low Oil Pressure Alarm…whaddaya say?”

Engine #2:
“Well, they really treat us rather well, and I’m not sure I’d rather be hanging off the transom of some panga in Sri Lanka next month with no zincs, so I’ll take a pass today but agree it would be really funny.”

We (such decisions on our boat always come with veto power by the other) decided to restart #1 just before dockfall (to coin a word) regardless of any alarms to get the needed maneuverability. We had no overheat alarm as #1 thought about the availability of Yamaha M4 oil in Sri Lanka and whether Sri Lankans would really add Yamaha Ring Free ($50 a quart here with HAZMAT shipping) to the E0 gas, assuming there is any E0 gas in Sri Lanka.

Dockfall was uneventful with a minimum of splintered cross beams and broken pilings.

The Newbie changed out his fuel/water filter the next day and his engine purred to life. The next day after that they cruised upriver with no issues.

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Today’s agenda (last day) includes idling over to Holly Bluff for a pump-out,


hopefully without creating a sewage geyser (Thar she blows!). They rent 60 foot houseboats and the pump is powered by an old locomotive engine that’s a bit too powerful.

By the way, if you’re reading this, Engine #1, there are even worse places to end up than Sri Lanka.

Wish us luck and safe travels and also to you and yours!

John and Eileen
 
Hey John, I think your motors are trying to tell you something. Btw, I was in that gaggle on the dock waiting for you and complaining about not getting to my dessert sooner! :lol: I took James place as he had dinner burning on the stove. He left me with some long pole that I had no idea how to use so I just grabbed the stern line that was thrown at me!
Actually you did a nice job of “landing” that tow! Colby
 
We're home again safe and sound in Pensacola after hours at 35 MPH on I-75 yesterday shouldering through that blow with heavy rain (which is better than heavy snow, I suppose).

Engine #1 was very well behaved on the cruise downriver to Ed Stone landing after thinking hard about Sri Lanka.

We've been on the boat since Jan 20. We had a blast (despite the heat and sun...we had umbrellas by the pool).

We'll be doing a lower Chesapeake to SC segment in early summer, hope to see you along the way with our beat-up 2017 "In Progress" Looper flag!

Safe travels for you and yours!

John and Eileen
 
John, Good to hear you are home safe. WOW, 35MPH on the freeway. Maybe you should have been riding in the cat and towing the truck. (Just an idea for next time :idea:

Really enjoyed you lesson on the Great Loop alternatives. Makes huge sense to me.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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