You can wait to leave home until you have all the details wired. Or you can take off when most everything is done but there are still a few loose threads. We did the latter this time. Tim discovered--by accident--that the pinion gear, a part of the rewind starter on the outboard motor, had a crack in it. It might have been that way for months or years. And it might stay that way for months or years. Or it might bust the day we launch Valdesca into the Bay of Los Angeles. We decided to replace the pinion gear, but locating one to buy was an issue. I ordered one from an outfit on the east coast, to be delivered to Tucson by FedEx second-day air. It would get to Tucson on Saturday, the same day we arrived. No sweat.
We also needed a fitting to connect the new gas tank to the fuel line. I ordered one of those from amazon, and had it shipped to our home address.
We are also waiting on a new plastic chart case. After waiting days for it to arrive at home, I decided maybe I never really ordered it. So I ordered it again, this time to be delivered in Tucson.
Where do we stand? I ordered the wrong part for the gas tank. We found the right part today in Tucson.
The pinion gear didn't arrive on Saturday. The company decided to ship it by regular mail. Today, I found a message in my inbox that said I owed them $6.95 for shipping. I called them and asked about it. Today is Monday, right? They still haven't shipped the pinion gear. I have to pay first. Oy! We found a marina here in Tucson that could get one by tomorrow; shipping costs twice as much as the part.
The chart case? No idea. Landfall Navigation charged me for the chart case and the priority shipping. No chart case. No message saying why.
It bears mentioning that I am the designated logistics sergeant of this trip (of all our trips). Tim has many gifts (many of which make these trips possible at all), but ordering stuff over the internet is not in his skill set. Other than the few loose threads I knew about, I thought we were ready to go. Yesterday, though, Tim said, "I think we may want to consider new tires for the trailer. The old ones are wearing unevenly." Visions of blowing a tire on Mexico 1... What happens to the boat when you blow a tire? Bad scene. So when we went over to Oasis Marine to order the pinion gear, we asked Tom about a place to get new trailer tires. Right down the road! OK, we'll go there next. "One more question," Tim said. "Do you think we can get a spare set of bearings there, too? It would be a bummer to overheat the bearings out in the middle of no place." Tom said, "Sure thing. Best prices around." Then Tim said, "Oh, one more question. Do you have a shear pin for a propeller? It would be good to have a spare." Cripe, I'm thinking, I didn't know about any of this stuff. And then, "When we stop by tomorrow, we should have you put in a new fuel filter, too." No end in sight.
Hey! The dogs are barking! It's...it's...the UPS man! With the waterproof chart case!
We also needed a fitting to connect the new gas tank to the fuel line. I ordered one of those from amazon, and had it shipped to our home address.
We are also waiting on a new plastic chart case. After waiting days for it to arrive at home, I decided maybe I never really ordered it. So I ordered it again, this time to be delivered in Tucson.
Where do we stand? I ordered the wrong part for the gas tank. We found the right part today in Tucson.
The pinion gear didn't arrive on Saturday. The company decided to ship it by regular mail. Today, I found a message in my inbox that said I owed them $6.95 for shipping. I called them and asked about it. Today is Monday, right? They still haven't shipped the pinion gear. I have to pay first. Oy! We found a marina here in Tucson that could get one by tomorrow; shipping costs twice as much as the part.
The chart case? No idea. Landfall Navigation charged me for the chart case and the priority shipping. No chart case. No message saying why.
It bears mentioning that I am the designated logistics sergeant of this trip (of all our trips). Tim has many gifts (many of which make these trips possible at all), but ordering stuff over the internet is not in his skill set. Other than the few loose threads I knew about, I thought we were ready to go. Yesterday, though, Tim said, "I think we may want to consider new tires for the trailer. The old ones are wearing unevenly." Visions of blowing a tire on Mexico 1... What happens to the boat when you blow a tire? Bad scene. So when we went over to Oasis Marine to order the pinion gear, we asked Tom about a place to get new trailer tires. Right down the road! OK, we'll go there next. "One more question," Tim said. "Do you think we can get a spare set of bearings there, too? It would be a bummer to overheat the bearings out in the middle of no place." Tom said, "Sure thing. Best prices around." Then Tim said, "Oh, one more question. Do you have a shear pin for a propeller? It would be good to have a spare." Cripe, I'm thinking, I didn't know about any of this stuff. And then, "When we stop by tomorrow, we should have you put in a new fuel filter, too." No end in sight.
Hey! The dogs are barking! It's...it's...the UPS man! With the waterproof chart case!
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