Tonight, Debbie had a big catered event to put on at the Nevada Museum of Art, so I finished up a meeting with a prospective client and drove up to Tahoe City, arriving about 7:15 p.m. I borrowed the skiff and motored out to Splendido  because a couple of things have been bothering me: First, the darn coolant header tank on the Perkins Perama M20 diesel engine keeps losing all of its water, and I’m afraid I’m going to overheat the engine. I also noticed the impeller is starting to split its fins, and it has less than an hour running time so far this year. Second, the new sole (floor) that Tracy and I built doesn’t fit perfectly after we re-installed the seat risers. It’s a little too tight, and it sort of “buckles” at the widest edges, so the edges  need to be planed 1/32 of  an inch at a time until it fits properly.I tied up the skiff and threw my “sea bag” on deck, climbed aboard, and unlocked the cabin. There was a gentle, rolling swell out of the east, so moving around the boat took some getting used to. I attacked the engine first, getting out the flashlight and looking around the coolant header tank. I spotted the problem almost right away: The small hose from the coolant header tank to the overflow tank under the galley sink had come loose, so I suspect I have been losing coolant header tank water through evaporation. I tightened the tiny hose clamp and re-assembled the fiberglass engine housing.

Working on the sole was a bit more challenging because of the swell. I ended up working on it in the cockpit, attaching a metal straight-edge with C-clamps and then planing off a tiny bit at a time, using the straight-edge as a guide. It took four or five tries, but it finally appeared to fit well, and besides, it was fast approaching 9 p.m., and I was losing daylight.

As I was going through my security checklist, I had the brilliant idea to try removing the coolant header tank cap and re-fill it with fresh coolant water. One brief twist of the cap, though,  revealed that the hose-clamp I had tightened was now effectively blocking the cap from turning. With not enough light left, I had to save that project for another day.

The drive back to Reno was amazingly peaceful, with the waning light casting a beautiful pink glow over the lake and mountains. I’m constantly in awe of how close the gem of Lake Tahoe is to our home in Reno, yet how it feels a world away.

Fair winds and smooth sailing. DB