South Haven and The Little Engine that Could

We arrived in South Haven about 4:00 PM.  Just after we got ourselves docked and tied up, another

Richard's Boat

Looper backed in right next to us. I was going to the store to get some belts (I put on my spares when I changed the water pump). Richard, the fellow next to us asked if I mined if he walked along, he needed to get some gas cans.  I found out as we walked that Richard just celebrated his birthday on the Loop, he turned 81 on August 11. and he is single handing his 32' trawler.  He said that he met someone along the way that was 84.  He has been on the same route Lesson Plan, all the way through the Erie Canal to Buffalo. I asked him about single handing through the locks. No problem he said. I'm impressed. The next day we used some of the bikes to ride up to the store (about a 1.5 miles away). Guess who we saw out on a bicycle, yep it was Richard. I can hope for that kind of health and vitality when I am 81.

We could see two beaches as we approached the South Haven inlet. Simply North Beach and South Beach. I want to go check out South Beach, think it is anything like South Beach in FL?  Both beaches were full of people frolicking in the 84 degree temperature of August 16.

The Maritime Museum Tall Ship

South Haven is a great stop on the Loop. The downtown area is within walking distance of the marina. We have watched the tall ship depart several times to take its paying crew out for a cruise on the Lake.

This area is full of boats.  It seems that Western side of Michigan has a lot of boaters. Even with the short season, it is amazing the number of boats in this area.

Fortunately or unfortunately we get to spend 3 nights in South Haven. The waves on Lake Michigan are predicted to be 5 to 7 feet on Friday, the day we planned to leave. We are in no hurry so we are not going to battle 5 to 7 foot seas. I know Lesson Plan can handle it, but why?

Something I saw on the wall of a restaurant in South Haven I thought I would share.  Advice from the Lake: Be clear, Make positive ripples, Take time to reflect, Shore up friendships, Look beneath the surface, Stay calm, and Be full of life.

There is the culprit

Like all mechanical things, Genny is in need of some additional attention.  I check her oil, belts, antifreeze, fuel filters and tell her what a great job she is doing every night. But I guess that wasn't enough.
After I changed the oil at Harrisville, I noticed she developed a slight oil leak when we got to Rogers City.  I suspected the oil filter was the culprit, but I didn't have another one to put on, so I added a little oil (about a cup), and I held my breath all the way to Mackinaw that it didn't get worse. I didn't tell Steve about it, no need in both of us worrying.  When we got to Mackinaw I went to the marine store and got two filters and installed one of them.  I also noticed that we had some water in the pan below the engine.  Hmmmm that's strange. I wiped it all out and got the pan clean as could be and was certain I had the issued solved with the new oil filter. When we got to Petoskey I found good news when I opened the engine compartment, we no longer have an oil leak. The bad news is we have a leaking raw water pump.  Marine engines are cooled by pumping water from under the boat, through a heat exchanger (like air through a radiator on your car).

I searched high and low for the seals I needed to fix the water pump in the last few ports we have been to. I finally found the seals we needed in Muskegon, MI.  I have heard people say that boat is actually an acronym for Break Out Another Thousand. The price of these seals reinforces that notion, $34 for a seal that would have cost $8 if NAPA had been able to get the right one. But I was happy to have the seal to get rid of the worry. I repaired the pump, Genny seemed to be happy and so was I.

Lesson Learned: Age is just a number, it's all about attitude. It brings to mind the saying "Most of can't is won't".

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South Beach, South Haven, MI