Our extended engine repairs left only 2 weeks for our “summer vacation” – but hey, aren’t we always?!

First stop: Block Island. I’ve been visiting Block (by boat & even twice by small, Piper Cub type planes) for over 55 years.

We anchored off “dinghy beach” in 4′ of water with lots of paddleboarding in the “quiet(er) corner”

Rainbow over the harbor

Sunset in crowded Block Island Harbor

Next stop: Newport, RI.  We’ve only been here once by boat, but several times by car for weekend getaways.

The action in Newport is people watching ashore

Calm Newport Harbor

An extended dinghy & a bike ride in busy traffic was worth it for Ma’s Donuts

Final stop:  Mystic, CT.  I’ve been coming here for probably 60 years, as there are several photos of my family aboard the Charles W. Morgan whaling ship back when I was knee-high to a grasshopper.  Lori visited with her family several times as well.

I just had to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Mystic River Bascule Bridge with their special cocktail at our favorite S&P Oyster House

I paddled over to the Float Ella celebration (opposite the Mystic Seaport) with hundreds of paddlers & even a live band on the water’s edge.

This is the birthday boy – the Mystic River Bascule Bridge celebrating its 100th birthday next month. The only bridge I know of where it’s hourly opening is always celebrated with a crowd of onlookers taking photos & selfies.

We’ve now arrived back in Deep River for about 2 weeks, driving up to Vermont for Benj’s 30th birthday – how in the heck is that possible!??

It’s been a long (& expensive!) 3 months here in Deep River, CT dealing with our engine repairs.  Finally … success!  Fortunately, the lack of full RPM on our port engine was “only” the turbo charger (it could have been much worse).  Unfortunately, there were no new or re-built turbos in-stock anywhere in the country & ours had a hairline crack in the housing, making the re-build of ours more challenging.

Bill (our mechanic) & myself taking turns working on the beast. These positions aren’t too bad, but most of the work was done down in the “hole” (yellow arrow). My tasks were very minor compared to Bill’s – such as removing & reinstalling the fuel injectors, re-locating the starter solenoids, replacing an alternator & replacing the water pump impellers.

Fortunately, Bill suggested removing the intercooler to inspect & clean (for no other reason than it was now somewhat accessible with the turbo removed). He was surprised to find one end of the casting severely corroded internally – a little more & the seal between the cooling water & air intake would have been breached – a fatal end to our engine.  Unfortunately, Yanmar only sells the intercooler complete … for $2,000, plus several hours of labor.  Oh well, $3,000 vs. $30,000 for a new engine … probably a good deal.  Now concerned, we had him remove & inspect the intercooler on the other engine (a bigger job with that turbo in place) – of course, that intercooler was in perfect condition, but better safe than sorry!

Our sea trial was a complete success & we’re back to full RPMs, sounding perfect! To Bill’s credit, even though this was major “surgery” removing & re-installing major engine components with dozens of fittings & piping dealing with exhaust, oil pressure lines, cooling hoses & fuel lines, there was not a single leak, drip or adjustment needed!

On one of the hottest days of the summer, our A/C cooling pump decided to quit. $300 & 3 hours was the bargain of this summer!

We still managed fun with family & friends, including visiting Benj & Lily in Vermont.

The cheesemaking operation at the Shelburne Farm, where we spent a beautiful day exploring the extensive property.

While certainly NOT the highlight of our trip, an unusual stop at the “World’s Tallest Filing Cabinet” in Burlington (yes, these are dozens of filing cabinets welded together).

We’ll be off cruising for an abbreviated 2-weeks, enjoying local waters including Block Island & Newport, while thoroughly testing our engines.