As I watched TowboatUS take over the tow of Pegu Club to Georgetown SC, I had high hopes that what was happening was something simple and easily fixed. The only marina that had room for the two boats was Georgetown Landing Marina on the Great PeeDee River so that’s where we headed. The current from the river was the strongest I had experienced yet so I had some concern about how docking the boat would go. Luckily, the face dock ran parallel to the current so it was easier than I expected and the dock hands made short work of getting Infinity secured.
I walked down the dock to where Pegu Club was tied up and we started to look at their engine (aka Big Red) to see if anything obvious stood out but nothing did so a call to a recommended local mechanic was made and he agreed to come take a look at it the next day as it was Sunday.
Monday came and around 10:00 or so, the mechanic showed up to hear the engine. I was on Pegu Club when he showed up so I went back to Infinity to wait for word on how things went. I received a very cryptic phone call about an hour later that stated…”can you come here please?”…and nothing else. My heart sank as I stepped off Infinity…😖.
The mechanic had told the Pegu Club crew that the issue sounded like a wrist pin had failed (the wrist pin holds the piston and connecting rod together…look it up if you’d like to see it) and that they were going to need a completely new engine for the boat and it would probably take 6-8 weeks to do it if he had time. $$$. Not good no matter how you cut it….
After an hour or so of discussing options over some tonics, the Pegu crew said they were going to do some research online about new engine costs, other Beta engine dealers further south, and to also reach out to the cruising community for advice. I went back to Infinity to do some boat chores.
Based on information gathered, it was decided that a second opinion was definitely needed and further south was going to be the place to go get it (further south being Charleston, SC). A battle plan was created to get us there and it consisted of sailing whenever possible, towing as needed, and very minimal run time on Big Red as he was grumbling but still hanging together. Preparations for departure were started.
The day came to leave Georgetown and start heading back down the river to get back on the ICW. Leaving the dock turned out to be a lot more exciting for both boats as the currents were swift and trying to move us towards the bridge in the picture…yikes. I was a lot closer to the bridge than Pegu was but I had an engine that has more power and wasn’t trying to blow up. There were still a few tense moments after the dockhands have me a half-hearted push away from the dock and the current got me. That bridge got real big, real fast and there was no way I would fit under it. I think Infinity could sense that as she got her poop squared away real quick and we slowly started motoring down the river. The real heart attack came when those same dockhands did the same thing to Pegu Club even after Jeff had told them how he wanted things to go. I could hear the commotion all the way out to Infinity!! They, too, got things under control and off we went down the river.
We entered the ICW right where the engine issue has started and kept going. Pegu was using the north winds behind her to sail south so things were looking good. I had Infinity about an 1/8th mile behind them just in case the winds dropped and we needed to tow their boat. The day ended up being successful as we made it to our planned anchorage to hold up for a couple of days to wait out some weather.
The plan that was developing was to make our way to just north of Charleston SC and then have TowboatUS come get Pegu Club for the final 10 miles to the marina. It was actually fun to watch the crew of Pegu Club maneuver the boat thru all of the twists and turns of the ICW as it’s not the normal practice to sail in it. I only had a couple of short times that they needed a tow so it was pretty quiet for me.
Eventually, we made it to the anchorage just north Charleston then waited a couple of days before Pegu’s scheduled tow date. The mechanic from the local Beta dealer would be at their boat on Monday so the tow was scheduled for Sunday. This would save some $$ in slip fees as we were going to the Charleston Harbor Marina and Resort and it wasn’t cheap (the Resort at the end of their name bumped the cost up about $50 a day…). We enjoyed some quiet time in the anchorage watching the dolphins and beautiful sunsets!!
The day came for TowboatUS to come get Pegu and off they went, under tow, towards Charleston. I held back for a few hours so I could time my arrival to the marina at slack tide. Doing this would allow a much easier docking experience for me. I left the anchorage after having a few struggles getting the anchor up and headed towards Charleston. It was a great motor as the weather was perfect and the scenery was even better…😉👍…along the way. I timed my arrival just about perfect and soon Infinity was tied up in a slip and I was heading for a well deserved shower!! Once I was human again, Jeff, Kimberly, and I went to check out the resort and grab a drink and some food. We talked about the upcoming mechanics visit and our hopes that the issue was going to be a valve adjustment or an injector issue and not something that required a complete engine change.
The mechanic from Zimmerman’s was a bit delayed on the appointed day but eventually he showed up and started running tests on the engine. After an hour or so, his thought was that an injector on the engine was bad so it was decided that they would replace both injectors to cover all the bases. The mechanic wanted to verify his findings with Beta overnight so they would hold off ordering the injectors until the next day. The mechanic came back the next day with some more things to check, which all checked out fine, so the injectors were ordered overnight delivery thru FedEx.
The next day came with the promise of delivery by 11:00….then was updated to 1:30, 3:30, and then the next morning. The next morning came and no parts arrived. It’s not like the parts were coming in from Europe or something…🤷….the parts were in North Carolina (we were in South Carolina). It was decided that if the parts would be in the next day, I would start heading south to Beaufort SC so I wouldn’t have to continue paying the dock fee in Charleston and Pegu Club would catch up to me there.
The next day, I pulled out into Charleston Harbor and started heading south to pick up the ICW. I had to time a bridge opening so I worked the tide to get me to the bridge about 5 minutes before it opened. After that, it was a great motor down the ICW to my first anchorage at Church Creek. I dropped the anchor, toasted myself for a great day, and watched the dolphins feed and play as the sun went down.
The next day dawned cold but sunny. My plan was to make it to Beaufort SC and anchor in Factory Creek while I waited for Pegu Club. One of the things I like to do is motor with the front window of the dodger rolled up so it’s easier to see and too get some fresh air. Well, as I rolled the window back, the cold window split in half from right to left. I stood there in disbelief about what just happened…😖. I tucked in the window and went forward to pull the anchor and get underway. The day went well after that was I worked my way thru multiple cuts and creeks in the marshes. It really is some beautiful country with tons of wildlife!! I finally got to Beaufort and made my way up Factory Creek to the anchorage that I thought would be the best one. After I had set the anchor and cleaned up the boat, I turned my attention to the dodger window and how I would fix it until I could get it replaced. I decided that I would stitch the two pieces together using whipping twine thru holes I would poke into the vinyl. It took me two days to fix it but it actually came out good enough that I can wait until next summer to get it replaced. I also dubbed the boat “Frankenboat” because of the stitching looking like something used to put Frankenstein together…😁.
While all this was going on, the mechanic finally showed up with the injectors for Pegu Club and got them installed. They fired up the engine and much to everyone’s horror, the noise didn’t go away….😳. After more tests, the mechanic felt that it had to be a bearing in the engine that was failing and that the engine needed to be either rebuilt or replaced. Needless to say, this was not the news that anyone was expecting and it definitely caused a huge amount of stress with all involved.
The Pegu crew started working on sourcing a new engine and a place to get the work done. They decided that the place they’d been working with in Charleston wasn’t the best choice so inquires to the cruising community brought to light a company in Savannah that was very responsive and was reasonably priced to get the work done. A new engine was ordered and a spot in a marina in Savannah was reserved so they could come in and swap out the engine. While this was going on, I was starting to figure out how I was going to find a place for Infinity so I could go home for the holidays (the original plan was to be in Vero Beach FL by now and the boats would be on a mooring there). I wanted to put her in a slip instead of a mooring so she’d be plugged into shore power. Everything came together pretty much in a couple of hours with me finding a marina on Hilton Head that was within my budget, I was able to change my train ticket so I’d be picked up in Savannah, and I even reserved an Uber ride to and from the train station. It was a productive morning for sure so I planned to weigh anchor a few days later and make the short trip down to Hilton Head. The day came cloudy, cool, and blustery with wind gusts into the low 20’s. Even with all that, it was a pretty easy motor to the marina (I even got to go thru an actual sandstorm…😬).
The next day I started my long list of chores to get Infinity ready for her nap and a few days after that I was standing in the parking lot waiting for my ride to the train station so I could head home for the holidays!! FYI…this is being finished on 12/14/23 so everyone’s almost up to date!!
Up next…plans made and plans changed.
❤️❤️❤️
Sailing Infinity 