We left Florence, Alabama, headed for the turn-off from the Tennessee River onto the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. The intersection of Yellow Creek with the Tennessee River also incorporates the intersection of the state lines of Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi.
While we had gotten used to looking out for traditional barge traffic, it is quite interesting to see some of the other transported items. Such as…
…absolutely NO idea what this is!
By the time we got to Yellow Creek, the wind had picked up, temperature fallen and the water was a bit choppy, with white caps in some sections. But, after 434 miles, we officially made it to ‘America’s Great Loop’. I shot a video!
Service, please!
When we left Florence Harbor Marina, we still expected to run across a service center that could address our fuel burn problem. We saw that a notable site, Safe Harbor Aqua Yacht, was just past the turn-off into Yellow Creek. We made an introductory call to the service department and a slip reservation for that night.
We were delighted to meet their gas engine specialist, Greg. He was a fount of knowledge of what we needed and how to accomplish our goals for the boat. As one of the cylinders was been missing on the starboard engine, a complete tune-up, including cap, points, plugs and wiring harness would fix the fuel imbalance. (And whatever maintenance you do to one engine, you do to the other. So, times two. ) A one-to-two day job and we would be outta there. No problem getting through the two Locks (Aberdeen and Stennis) prior to their 30 day maintenance closure.
However, since we had finally found our guy – one who knew these gasoline engines and outdrives. We are Volvo-Penta, so while the engines are basic Chevy engines, the marine part of the system is not…and it’s not Mercruiser, either. (Sea Ray, with Knoxville production sites, is the predominant cruising boat in our home waters. Sea Ray uses Mercruiser power plants, so that is what most mechanics in our area are certified on.) We were open to his thoughts on what we needed to prepare her for the Gulf and the remaining part of the trip. Greg was amazing. His guidance is what we had expected to find once we reached Mobile, AL, as there are many Volvo-Penta certified mechanics in the coastal marinas.
Following Greg’s advice, we had the boat lifted to service the outdrives. Inspection of them revealed scoring on the four propeller shafts (we have duo drives on each shaft – two propellers rotating in opposite directions – thus, four shaft segments), which we decided to have recoated/reconditioned, along with a complete set of new outdrive seals. Additionally, treatment and reconditioning of the outdrive casing was indicated given the wear, and going into salt water. Moving to the electronics, we replaced the cockpit round steam gauges with new ones, and calibrating the round ones with the electronic displays was a neat fix. Finally, both analog and electronic displays showed the same information.
All-in-all, what we had expected to take two weeks to accomplish, stretched into four weeks when factoring shipping, parts ordering, etc. With the Labor Day Holiday and the additional bits and pieces we added, five, then six.
Now, as the attentive reader will no doubt handily recall, we had been charging hard to get south of the closing locks (Aberdeen and Stennis) on the Tenn-Tom to meet travel plans in October and November. Obviously, that was no longer an option if this work was to be done. Given the advisability of starting the Gulf travels with a very sound boat, we thought this tradeoff was very acceptable.
While waiting for the work, that little item Helene, you recall she was in the news recently, came up and blew right through where we would have been had we been able to meet our initial schedule in Mobile. Needless to say, through no fault or ability of our own, we were spared having ourselves and our boat at risk in that hurricane. (Thank you, God, for having our backs!)
Aqua Yacht, a large service marina with both wet and dry docks
Unexpected time on our hands
With this break in the trip, we rented a car and went back to Bellevue to visit family and friends. It was wonderful to see my Dad, as I had not gotten to see him prior to our departure. We stopped to see our kids in Cincinnati and (unexpectedly) got to use our season tickets to the Cincinnati Pops. When the boat was returned to the water, we headed back to Mississippi and spent quite a lot of time on Tir na nOg finishing projects started before the trip. With the kindness of newfound friends (a special thank you to Beth and Wayne!) and the Marina’s loaner vehicles, we got to know the area a bit. The closest town is Iuka, Mississippi. A sweet small town with a great coffee/breakfast and lunch restaurant!
Something fun…
Remember the picture “Scratchy” published on Facebook? We had just finished tying up at Safe Harbor, when we noticed three folks walking by who were obviously looking at us and our boat talking to themselves. It was like those moments where you check yourself to see if you have a spill on your shirt. We didn’t know any of them but they were definitely checking us out. It turns out they had read the Facebook Post and had seen the picture of our boat and the distinctive YELLOW dinghy. They thought there can’t be two boats in the same stretch of river. They are also Loopers, and the couple, Charlie & Robin, are the local Harbor Hosts of the AGLCA in the Marina. We were warmly welcomed by them and Mike, and enjoyed several evening “docktails” being introduced to all the Loopers there.