Solomons Island, MD - Outboard Fixed

We had a productive weekend. Well, one out of three days was productive anyway. On Friday, with the new parts obtained from the shack down the street, we were able to fix the overheating problem with the outboard engine. Unfortunately it required taking the outboard off the dinghy and hoisting it (150 lbs) into the cockpit. We have a 4:1 block and tackle that made it easy to lift the thing (even I was able to do it). Once it was in the cockpit, Kevin had to work at taking the thing apart since some of the bolts had corroded and were stuck. But eventually he got to the actual problem -- the impeller. It's a kind of flimsy rubber gear that is round and has six arms sticking out of it. The arms are what keep the cooling water flowing through the engine. Two of the arms were shorn clean off while the remaining four were cracked. So we were pretty sure we had found the problem. We put in the new impeller and put everything back together, then lowered the outboard back onto the dinghy. We went for a test drive around the creek and, yay, no steam! So we've crossed one item off the maintenance list.

Meanwhile, it was rainy most of Saturday and Sunday so we were able to catch up on a bunch of movies from the video store. Some were good (16 Blocks) and others were lame (Firewall) but at least it was something to pass the time. We are trying to figure out the public transportation here. So far everything we need is within walking distance, but "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" opens in a couple weeks so we want to figure out how to get to the movie theater. Will Ferrell in a racecar movie? That is a must-see.