Test Day

Moored for the night at Genoa Bay Marina

After visiting Russell Island, we motored to Genoa Bay Marina on Vancouver Island for the night’s stay. We received a friendly welcome and enjoyed our time there. In the morning Leonard made our departure look easy, as he skillfully backed out between two long docks with boats on both sides. Headed for the adorable village of Cowichan, located across Cowichan Bay, we arrived at Fishermen’s Wharf and was assigned to a temporary space for our short two-hour visit for research.

People lineup for treats at True Grain Bakery

Like most visitors, we couldn’t resist all the favorite treats in town found at the Udder Guy Ice Cream shop and pastries at True Grain Bakery. When departing the Wharf, our plan was to back out and spin the boat around. We were in a U-shaped area, with a pier closing off part of the remaining top side of the open U. With boats all around us, Leonard maneuvered the boat to spin 180 degrees, putting the starboard engine in reverse and the port engine in forward.

Got d' Fever is off the photo to the right of the red fishing boat

While backing toward a large fishing vessel, Leonard attempted to put the starboard “morse control” (shifter) in neutral, but the morse control refused to disengage (he couldn’t get it out of gear) so we kept backing. I was outside the helm station handling lines, and could tell by the stricken expression on his face that something mechanical had failed. His quick survey of the controls revealed that a part of the morse control had fallen apart –– two screws had fallen out of the control, leaving him with no way to disengage the starboard engine. The only option was to shut down the starboard engine and run on the port engine only to exit the harbor.

Morse Marine Engine Control

After motoring out of the harbor into open water, we made repairs to the morse control. Leonard crawled under the helm station to push the metal plates up into position, while I put in the screws. Perhaps the screws had loosened after years of use and vibration. These little screws nearly caused a major problem but Leonard passed the test.
With the metal plate and these little screws back in place and tightened, the starboard morse control was working again; Leonard’s heart rate was back in place too.

Another tight fit at Maple Bay Marina

We continued to Maple Bay, our next destination for the night, squeezing into another challenging moorage space. We didn’t mind because the space had a front row seat next to the floatplane departure and arrival float.