By this point, we were feeling optimistic!  It’s late May.  The rudder is repaired.  The hull has its CopperCoat.  It’s time to talk about the plan to re-launch Meraviglia-to finally get her afloat once more.  First step:  create a list of the things that have to be done before launch:

  • Rehang the rudder
  • Remount the propeller
  • Finish CopperCoating the areas where the jackstands holding up the boat are
  • Install a new speed/depth sensor

And that’s it!  Not bad!  We added two things:  add a flexible coupler to the prop shaft to protect against engine vibration and install a dripless seal where the shaft enters the boat to prevent leaks.

And that is where things went to hell.

Our Project Manager:  “Can you talk?  And you had better be sitting down.”

Me:  “Grrrrrrr…” I have a pressure sore from all the sitting down I’ve had to do with this boat! At this point, I should just go with laying down.

Turns out, when they went to remove the propeller shaft to install those last two items, they couldn’t get it out.  Why?  Because the transmission was frozen-the shaft wouldn’t turn.

Now, the engine and transmission worked just fine when we moved the boat in July of 2022.  Since then, the boat has been sitting on the hard.  So how could the transmission have failed?

Well….  The transmission gears are kept cool by transmission fluid that circulates around inside.  That fluid is circulated by a pump that sends it down tubes surrounded by sea water from the outside to dissipate the heat.  The pump failed.  Sea water got mixed in with the transmission fluid.  You know what happens to metal in salt water, right?  Right: corrosion.  Hence a frozen transmission.

Cooling pump in foreground
NOT Optimal
Just a little corrosion!

In a sense, we dodged another bullet on this.  The pump must have failed on our trip from Florida to Georgia and we managed to get to Georgia and get hauled out before it locked up.

But that means we need a new tranny.  SUPPLY CHAIN!!!!!!.  Turns out a new transmission can’t be delivered until March of 2024.  2024!!!  That’s 9 months from now!!  The house is sold, we’ve exited our jobs. Now what??!!! I had visions of sleeping under a bridge.

This is where I have to give MAJOR PROPS to our project manager!  He is a miracle worker.  He managed to free up the transmission so that he could take it apart.  He then managed to source all the parts and was able to rebuild the transmission using the existing housing.  So can we get a new transmission?  No.  Can we get all the parts and rebuild an existing transmission?  Yes.  Go figure.  By the time our miracle worker was done with the new parts and bead-blasting the housing, it looked shiny and new.  Plan saved!!  And more money spent.

“A boat is a hole in the water into which one pours money.”  So true.  Of course, in our case it’s a hole on land, but let’s not quibble.

More good news: with this post, we are now in “real time”! All caught up! We’re on site, doing work, and hope to launch next week!