Sunday, we planned to do another day trip. This time, we opted to head to New Buffalo, MI about 3.5 hours South of us. We did all of our pre-checks and launched out. We have to go very slowly (no wake) from our Pier 1000 Marina, down the St. Joseph River in order to get to Lake Michigan.
We made our way out into the lake and accelerated, and suddenly an alarm started to go off. Our starboard engine was overheating! We immediately turned of the engine and Larry went down to the engine room to check the engine. He quickly realized he had mistakenly left the starboard engine sea cock closed (This valve allows water from the lake to flow through the engine and cool it down). After a few minutes, allowing the engine to cool, we turned on the starboard engine, and were severely disappointed to see that we had almost zero oil pressure with our starboard engine. This was not good, so we decided it was probably not wise to keep going. So we returned to our marina, under power with just our port engine, and spent the remainder of day learning!
In early 2024, we took a class last year with Chris and Alyse Caldwell who own and operate a business called, “Ask Captain Chris”. They specialize in providing all kinds of services to boat owners. Here is their link to learn more:
Among a number of services available, Captain Chris offers phone consultations for boat owners (for a small fee!). Given the potential seriousness of this situation, we decided it would be wise to have some input from Captain Chris.
Once we explained everything that took place, Chris guided Larry in evaluating the impeller for the water pump on the starboard engine. Thankfully, the impeller was fully intact and in good shape, evidence that not too much damage had been done with the engine. On the other hand, had the engine overheated too much, Chris explained that the impeller would likely have been damaged, or even completely shredded in the engine’s effort to extract water from the lake and into the engine. Moving forward, Chris instructed us to watch the temperature and oil pressure gauges like hawks to ensure our evaluation had been thorough and accurate.
Moving on from the engine, we had two other pressing issues:
1. The air conditioner pump had an air pocket that needed to be expelled.
2. The water heater had a water line connection that was unreliable and needed replacement.
Chris walked Larry through how to address these areas as well. Thankfully, each project ended successfully, with a little more knowledge and a little more confidence managing through each of these areas. Moving forward, we will give a whole hearted plug to all boat owners: check in with Captain Chris and Alyse with any needs you may have with your boat-they are the best!
Red Pearl 
Leave a comment