After a good night’s sleep we awoke with plans to visit the Benjamin Islands and maybe spend a night anchored in that area. Perky started right up and idled smoothly as we untied our dock lines in the still morning air. We throttled up to leave and Perky died again, but not before getting us about 10 feet from the dock! We were able to use what little momentum we had to tie up further up the dock. We were now in the fuel dock area, but didn’t have a lot of options.
As Tom worked to start the engine, the fuel dock manager complained to Kristi about our position. We got the motor to stumble along just enough to let us circle back to our previous location. The days mileage would stand at about 100 feet, round trip. At this point we spent the day checking and changing everything we could and finally got her running again. We ran her at the dock full throttle for about 5 minutes with no trouble. So with fading light, we watched the bridge and told ourselves tomorrow would be better.
The next day was clear and sunny as we timidly left the dock. We watched the scenery and listened intently to Perky the diesel as once again, there was no wind. After about an hour Perky’s familiar hiccups came back, but we chugged onward. Despite all of our problems so far Tom insisted that we make a slight detour to at least cruise through the Benjamin Islands. The Benjamins are unique in that they are essentially pink granite boulders so huge they form islands. With a few trees growing in the crevices they have a very stark yet haunting look.
After looking around we headed off to our next overnight stop, Meldrum Bay. Once clear of the Benjamin Islands the water opened up again and we had no worries apart from our ailing engine. We pulled into Meldrum Bay Marina and found a very rustic place in the middle of a wilderness area. The bay is well protected and quiee, at least in June. A perfect setting for getting away from it all, but not so perfect for fixing a still ailing engine. Nevertheless, it turned out to be a very good stop.
We were directed to Meldrum Bay Inn just up the hill from the marina for a meal and Wi-Fi since we needed to do some research. We were a bit surprised when our hostess informed us that she would only give us the Wi-Fi password after our meal. She suggested we relax, talk, eat, and forget our problems for a bit, and that was the best advice we got on the entire trip! So, for best meal, best atmosphere and best advice of the trip we nominate the Meldrum Bay Inn.
Back at the boat Tom studied the Perkins shop manual again and found some bleeder screws he had missed previously. In a bid to fix it once and for all he changed all the fuel filters again, and bled the the entire fuel system (this time including the mystery screw). Testing the engine again at full power, she ran like a champ. A power cruiser came in after the marina staff left and we helped them dock and then chatted a bit. They agreed that Meldrum Bay is a great spot to stop.
So once again we went to bed tired but happy knowing our next stop would be Drummond Island, MI, USA.
