Just got back today from my 1st transport job from sunny Florida - we co-piloted a 48' Sedan Bridge that was sold in Fla. and needed to be transported to the new owner here in NJ. Great trip, we met a lot of really nice people up the coast, dined at some serious down south restaurants, and seen a lot of sights, as well as sharpening up our navigational skills BUT...we did have a series of Chinese fire drills on the 1st day of the trip. First we lost 50% power on the starboard engine - this was noticed right out of the gate, we were only able to get the engine up to 1,500 rpm. We thought we'd just motor north to another marina not to far upstream that the other captain knew of and check it out there being that the dealer we had picked the boat up from closed up for the night before we pushed off. Then after about 3 hours of motoring we lost forward gear on the port transmission - now it's dark as it can be with only the 1st sliver of the waxing moon showing, THEN while under starboard power we lost all power on the bridge while motoring towards Fort Pierce which was only five miles away. We threw the hook, thought out a plan for about 15-20 minute - but was only able to come up with a Tow Boat call. But before we did, we shut down and restarted the port engine and all was okay!?!?! We motored towards Fort Pierce again and again lost forward in the port trans! CRAP-CRAP-CRAP! Again after 15 minutes, all was good as before??? Once more we started towards Fort Pierce and found the channel markers by using my Droid light to light up the markers, the bridge power came back, but was not 100%, we swung around the breakwater and AGAIN!!! That port trans lost forward, but now with wind and current pushing us into the rocks...we were able to maneuver to the fuel dock missing the rocks by only a few yards using starboard power and the bow thruster...Exhausted, we tied her up, somewhat shook it off, lit up a cigar and had a cold brew...then went to the Fort Pierce Marina Tiki Bar & ordered a few fireball shots and beers, had some grub, and called it a night...after I woke @ 6am, I jumped into the engine room and immediately checked the Racors...they looked like they were 2-3 years old with all kinds of sh!t in them - okay, lost of rpm's found - hopefully! Couldn't see through the sight glass!!! Next I started looking for an electrical fault, which was my initial suspicion with that bridge losing all power & having the knowledge knowing that the transmissions are electronically controlled. Checked the connections at the batteries & battery switches, checked the connectors at the trans solenoids & servos - found nothing loose, frayed, or corroded. After eyeballing the engines harnesses and cabling, I physically put my hands on the alternators, 1st the port, then the starboard - that's where I found the culprit - that sb alternator was dangling in the breeze hanging onto the engine only by the adjusting bolt, the alternator wasn't mounted onto the mounting bolt!!! The bolt was in the bracket - but there was no nut...checked the bilge and couldn't find it...how the he!! did the alt come off??? No clue, the only possibility we came up with was that someone was servicing it at the marina we picked up the boat from and took a break and forgot, got fired, died, who knows???...That's when I realized that the generator was re-charging the batteries and giving us what little power we had to motor to Fort Pierce. Called the marina we picked up the boat from, (who will remain (unnamed) and told them what I found...they sent a tech who brought new Racor filters, an alternator and belt, and that nut that was AWOL... After losing 6 hours the tech emerged from the engine room, only replacing the Racor filters, installing that missing mounting bolt nut, tested the alternator. We were underway at noon and all was fine and dandy all the way back to NJ. We had great weather and the seas were very co-operative with the exception of some high winds yesterday and some wet weather today...the highlight of the trip was seeing a sub in Norfolk on a reciprocal course of us and having the escort boat ride between our boat and the sub....check the sub pix that I posted in 'Boat photos'
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