Engine is Fixed-We Hope

Caleb came yesterday afternoon and installed the new sensor. While he was at it, he installed our spare thermostat. After Caleb finished we ran the engine again and found that it was running at lower temperatures than it did before he completed the work. 

We believe everything is now fixed but won’t feel sure until we leave the marina. Speaking of leaving the marina—we negotiated one extra night and had planned to leave tomorrow and motor a few hours to the anchorage at Cape Lookout. That way we would be able to test the engine without going too far from Beaufort. We planned to stay at Cape Lookout until Saturday then sail to Brunswick, GA. However, there is a very strong area of low pressure coming our way on Friday and the forecast is worse with every update. The last forecast predicted sustained winds in the mid-forties with gusts near 60. So we extended our stay until Sunday and may leave sometime on Saturday if the winds calm down. It is disappointing but seems like the sensible thing to do. Speaking of weather—-we are also keeping our eyes on a weather system in the western Caribbean that is likely to develop into a tropical storm or hurricane that may impact FL and the Bahamas. 

We aren’t sure if the overheating engine alarm was due to the sensor, the thermostat, the restriction in the hose, or maybe a combination of some or all of those. Out of curiosity this morning we tested the old thermostat to see if it opened sufficiently. As far as a couple of non-mechanics could tell, it opened only about 3/4 of the way. If that is the case there may not have been enough coolant circulating in the engine and that could definitely lead to overheating. 

The old thermostat was placed in a pot of water that was heated to 181°. This is the thermostat before it opened. 

The thermostat opened at 181°but, according to our measurements, did not open fully.