Hi Tom,

Good news is, the replacement is in and running fine at the dock... Bad news is, underway and underload, she appears to be not as strong as I had hoped... Good thing I didn't pay very much for it... LOL!

It's actually exhibiting similar symptoms of elevated crankcase pressure under load as my old engine, though runs OK under a modest load... I was a bit bummed initially, but not totally surprised, I knew from the outset this would be a bit of a crapshoot... But, given the nature of the tragic events of the past week, how can anyone whine about a lame diesel in their boat? (grin)

At first I was thinking it's time to abort this cruise, or perhaps just mess around the NC Sounds for another month or so, then head back home and get to work on a proper rebuild or repower... But yesterday, it finally occurred to me, "Dumbass, it's a freakin' SAILBOAT, after all - why not pretend you're Larry Pardey, and keep heading south?" It still appears I have an engine usable for getting in and out of anchorages, etc. and battery charging if I should need it... So, at this point, I think I'm leaning towards still heading for the Bahamas, sailing as much as possible, and just avoiding situations where I might have to deal with countering strong currents through inlets and cuts... I'll just have to adjust my attitude a bit, not be so concerned with moving so much, and be content with sitting in places for awhile until the winds favor it... The way my cruise played out last winter, I could have easily managed with a lame engine, I hardly did any motoring at all... So, we shall see...

Immediate problem, of course, is that there is precious little wind in the immediate future... A nice NW tomorrow is supposed to quickly fade to nothing for a few days, I'm not too thrilled with the prospect of getting off Cape Fear and drifting around for a few days, waiting for a strong NE-er to arrive towards the end of the week... (grin) Truth is, for a couple of reasons I've been a bit ambivalent about this winter's cruise right from the get-go, some things have come up back home that could use my attention before the spring, so I still might hang out here a bit, see what develops, and perhaps begin to slowly make my way back home...

best regards,

Jon