Thank you everyone for your wonderful suggestions as to what was troubling our PSS dripless shaft seal. I panicked a little bit when I saw it; had visions of having to pull the boat out in PV (can you say ching-ching)? Then I smartened up a little bit, contacted the manufacturer and sent them the photo.
I asked what they thought... before I emptied out the entire aft cabin so as to get at the little darling physically. They had no idea. So, I continued moving the cabin contents. I was afraid that somehow the carbon whatchamacallit was fraying because of a poor installation or something... which, of course, would require hauling the boat and reinstalling, or worse.
Anyway, I finally got to the little devil and reached out with a finger to touch one of the spikes... and, are you ready?? They all dissolved. The spikes were very fragile, crystal like, spikes of salt... formed I guess from the very fine moisture related to running hot and humid for 33 hours. They dissolved; I washed the area,and it all looks good as almost new. Phew!
We had some great responses about the photo and the question. The best one had us giggling enough I thought I'd like to share it with you. Thank you Murray and Marty and, yes, we'll see you in Tenacatita as soon as the next weather window for rounding Corrientes opens up for us. So now, for your reading pleasure, is an accounting of one situation that could explain the strange appearance of our PSS.
"Oh my God! You have the deadly shaft seal worms. Those little devils can sneak through the tiniest cracks and totally invade all your cracks and crannies, all the while spreading a sticky slime over everything they touch. Shaft seal worms have been known to crawl into crew's bunks and once warmed to body temperature, they crawl into the crew person through any orifice and over take their soul.
Once a crew person has become invaded by these wormy creatures they will start acting differently than normal.. An affected crew person may start enjoying being away from marinas, anchoring in quiet bays, swimming in 30 degree water and playing bocce ball on the beach.
I hope the worm gets you and we see you in Tenacatita soon." (Courtesy M&M)
We are now free of all creatures that we know of and enjoying the town of La Cruz. Getting around Cabo Corrientes can be a challenge due to high winds and waves... and so we wait... until the conditions match our skills (or at least won't challenge them too much). After all, we're not still doing this to prove we can, we're here to enjoy the experience. And, there are a lot worse places to wait for the weather to improve (we're in the midst of a series of rain and wind events) than the lovely little town of La Cruz.
In case you're wondering where that is, it's on the northern shores of Banderas Bay, north of Bucerius and Puerto Vallarta. Our journey will take us around the point of Corrientes on the way south, and then down the coast to Chamela, Tenacatita and Barra de Navidad.
That's all for now. Hope you're ready for Christmas and enjoying every day. And, beware of contact with shaft seal worms... unless, of course, you WANT to be driven mad and take up beach walking, bocce in sand, swimming ashore without spilling your margueritas and other sundry challenges.
Adios for now me amigas y amigos. CJ
Posted by: Carolyn (via Kathy's Google mail profile)
Posted by: Carolyn (via Kathy's Google mail profile)
