We had a great 80 mile trip down the ICW today. The new/old prop we put on handled well. There was absolutely no vibration in the shaft and the stuffing box was totally cool the entire trip. The engine sat on its mounts as if it wasn't even running. What a contrast to yesterday's beginning with the vibrations and rocking engine. This experience pretty much confirms what we thought that the bulk of the problem was the oversized prop the previous owner installed and an accumulation of damage it inflicted that culminated in the failure on the way to Daytona Beach. So at our convenience we will sell the prop and buy a new smaller folding prop that is better suited to our boat.
The trip started out cold but during the day warmed up nicely and I'm now sitting in the cockpit as I write this.
Along the way we saw schools of dolphins nearly everywhere. Several played in our wake and at one point we had 2 that followed us for a few miles jumping our wake and swimming under our boat from side to side. I think Linda got some pix and will share them.
We came down the ICW with only a few slowdowns at bridges and then turned into the Canaveral Barge Canal to cross Merritt Island and the Banana River. Coming from the Banana River is a lock designed more for barges than smaller craft. But, we got in and tied up while the water level rose. In fact when they opened the gate to flood the lock several dolphins came in and played.
In the morning we depart for Miami by heading out the channel and travel straight down the coast offshore. Weather so far looks promising for sailing and it will be our first opportunity to experience sailing with the new/old fixed prop. If all goes well we should be able to make Miami by Monday afternoon and then spend a few days there before pushing on to Marathon next weekend.
Hopefully, next post from Miami,
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