The Fire

In our last post we were in the process of diagnosing why our Perkins 4-108 was persistently overheating. We decided to rebuild the engine and were in the complete tear down process when disaster struck. On October 31, 2021 a fire engulfed our marina work shed, reducing it to ashes. Unfortunately, the work shed housed several vital parts required for the Perkins rebuild along with most of our tools. Shocked by the loss, we were faced with an unexpected setback and had to reconsider our options.

What We Lost

We had ten years of accumulated boat parts, tools and personal items in that shed. Not to mention the things we kept from our land-based life. We spent a few days sifting through the rubble and were able to salvage a couple of engine parts, a new Lewmar self-tailing winch, and our bronze bobstay fitting.

We’re not sure exactly what was inside the shed when it burned, but we know we lost all of Rich’s spearguns and fishing gear, SCUBA gear, a new 106% genoa, a new staysail and the canvas foredeck bag I made, teak we bought for finishing the ceiling, all of Rich’s tools (table saw, air compressor, router, a rolling tool box full of various tools, sanders), five jerry cans full of diesel, other solvents, epoxies and chemicals, rolls of fiberglass, all of our camping gear, our boat ladder, personal items like yearbooks, some clothes and keepsakes. We estimate the loss around $25,000. And no, like everyone else who rented a work/storage shed, we didn’t have insurance and the marina owner’s did not compensate us for the loss.

Why We’re Still Grateful

It’s hard to look on the bright side when faced with such a big setback. But we are still grateful for many things. No one was hurt in the fire; we lost a lot of stuff that we were going to have to get rid of anyway; we’re both still working and have the funds to replace what we need to; we were forced to take a hard look at what’s important to us. Rich and I have been married for nearly 25 years. This is not the first time we’ve had to face a hardship together.

A Way Forward

After a lot of contemplation, we decided to scrap the Perkins rebuild project. Yes, we could have gotten new parts for it, had the block hot-tanked, and ended up with a like-new engine. But, it still would have been a loud, heavy, leaky (Perkins’ will always leak), and inefficient engine. So we decided to re-power. There are a lot of choices for a boat like ours; Westerbeke, Yanmar, Volvo, or another Perkins. But we didn’t really even research any of those. We already knew we wanted a Beta Marine. The choice was between the 38 and 43 models. After some careful measurements we determined the 43 would fit, but just barely.

Delays

We ordered the Beta Marine 43 in November 2021 from Beta Marine West in Sausalito, California. It’s about an hours drive from us. The estimated delivery date was mid-April 2022. This was during the height of Covid lock downs and supply chain issues were a real problem. The engine is built in Japan. It’s basically a Kabota tractor engine. Once completed it’s shipped to England to be marinized by Beta Marine. Then it’s shipped to Sausalito where we pick it up.

At the beginning of May we started calling Beta West and were told they had no idea when it would be delivered. But they encouraged us to call back. So we did every couple of weeks.

Changing Course

Living in a sailboat with no engine and no hope of ever leaving the dock again is frustrating to say the least. With no delivery date in sight we decided to pivot back to the Perkins. We figured we could still get it running and if the Beta finally did get delivered we could sell the Perkins in working condition instead of selling it for parts. So we ordered a couple thousand dollars in Perkins parts and got to work.

To Be Continued…