Bayside, Maine
N 44 22.839 W 068 57.857
Yesterday we enjoyed the facilities of Belfast. WE LIKE BELFAST.
Last night Nick and I went to see Dark Knight, the latest Batman movie at the Belfast movie theater. The theater has special half price tickets every Monday night. Nick thought that the movie was awesome. I thought it far too viscous and sadistic. I worry for the future of the country and the world when young people enjoy that kind of entertainment instead of Father Knows Best and Leave It To Beaver. I also worry about the image that the USA projects to the world via Hollywood productions. George Bush is not the only source of bad image. I read an article recently saying that almost everyone in the middle east Muslim countries are big fans of Desperate Housewives which they watch on their satellite TV. As Desi Arnez used to say, "Ay ay ay ay ay."
Today, in the pouring rain, we moved a few miles up to Northport Yacht Club in Bayside. We have been members of this club for two years but we've never actually been here before. We're tied to Heron's mooring, owned by our friends Don and Margaret. Last year we spent a month rafted up with Heron in Vero Beach. Tonight, we're going to visit Don and Margaret at their house.
Nick and I walked around Bayside this afternoon. I thought that it was very charming. Bayside is like Round Lake, NY. It was built as a religious community retreat. The tiny houses are very decorative and built much too close together. Most colonies like it must have burned down long ago. Nick though it was a very boring place. There is nothing to do there more than walk around and look.
We threw in the towel on our old 2 hp Mercury outboard motor that we use with the dinghy. We bought it used a year ago. The motor runs good sometimes, but every week or two it refuses to start. I remove and clean the carburetor and the spark club, put them back and it runs OK for a short time. We're sick of it. This morning I ordered a brand new Honda 2 hp motor from a company in Bangor. They'll deliver it to Belfast tonight and we'll return there tomorrow to pick it up. I have high hopes that this Honda motor will be much more reliable and easy for Libby to use. It only weighs 26 pounds.
After that, we have a weather window of two sunny days coming up. Nick's taste runs more towards wilderness than settlements. By Thursday night we should be anchored at Isle La Haut in Acadia National Park. Nick should like that a lot better.
Dick Wrote:
ReplyDelete>..clean the carburetor and the spark club,... and it runs OK for a short time.
You may find the Honda does better, but NOT for reason you might think. I've done some fuel research, and it seems that the old octane stabilizers are now replaced by ethanol in many areas. It seems that ethanol does not *play well* with the old stabilizers- and in fact when mixed, the result can be that rubber hoses, gaskets, etc, break down, and dissolve, gumming up the works,
So the routine in your account- repeated cleaning and improvement, is a common one reported as the rubbers and plastic continue to dissolve.
The Honda will probably be a lot better as it will ONLY get ethanol and it won't have this reaction.
But don't blame the old motor. Big Oil Strikes again!
This is all probably kept hush-hush as it opens oil up to liabilities. Wouldn't want to cut into those profits!
-Brother Ed, Florida USA