I know I’m behind in writing and will update this week now that we’re in Cheboygan and have very good Internet connection.

I’ve said it before that no two days are alike. And yesterday (Wednesday) was one of them. After looking over our calendar, we determined it would be best to go to Cheboygan to tend to some boat repair / maintenance items before the prime August boating month and our intended trip south to Chicago and back home. On the way up the St. Marys River I hit a submerged object, most likely a “dead head “ - a submerged log. Usually when you strike a dead head it pops out behind the the boat from the thrust of the props . This time it did not so I don’t have any idea as to the size of the log. Nonetheless, I noticed a slight vibration in the running gear indicating a prop(s) had been damaged. Additionally, I’ve been experiencing a little synchronization issue with the gear levers. This synch issue is very similar to what we experienced in the FL panhandle last year and had addressed while in Panama City Beach. So I figured it was nothing in which to be alarmed but needed to be addressed. Well, the symptoms grew worse and more exaggerated on the ride to Cheboygan. For example, the starboard engine would rev 1000 rpm or so higher than the port engine and coordinating the two engines would require pushing the port throttle an inch or more forward of the starboard throttle. This boat is controlled by two central processing units, one for each engine and drive system; there are no wires or cables only electronics. Clearly, something is awry and needs attention.

Next, as we are cruising down the St. Marys River, we are hailed by a USACE (US Army Corps of Engineers) survey boat asking if we are in distress. I tell them no, we’re fine and in no distress. They tell us our boat is broadcasting a distress signal. Well that’s news to us. As we motored along, I start working through the radio menu attempting to clear any faults or distress settings. I tried to hail the USACE to determine whether I had been successful but no response. About 15 minutes later the the USCG is hailing me wanting to know if we’re in distress! They had monitored the USACE call and were seeking confirmation from us. I told them, no issue with us or the boat, we’re okay and in no distress. They tell me to call them on their landline and thus began a system check down with the USCG! So here we are traveling down the St. Marys River watching out for up bound freighters, dodging small fishing boats and kayakers, and navigating to stay within the channel markers while retrieving MMSI registration numbers, and going through the VHF radio programming menu. Oh yeah, and because we’re going in and out of US and Canadian water, our cell phone coverage continues to bounce from Canadian cell service and our Verizon, not to mention NO SERVICE at all!

In spite of all of this, we still have not found why we were / are evidently broadcasting a distress signal. Oh well, just add that to the list of things for Walstrom Marine to figure out and fix!

We arrived in Cheboygan and were promptly placed in the travel lift. Lo and behold, the port props had a nice ding in it and wood shrapnel was imbedded in the bullet nose as though someone has tried to stuff a handful of toothpicks into it! I’ve had both sets of props pulled to be tested, balanced and repaired where necessary. I’ve also described the crazy throttle control issue and radio distress signal issue. The props have to be sent to Algonac, MI, somewhere downstate for repair. One of their electronics guys will review the electronics issues. In the meantime some heavy weather is due in today. It’s a perfect day for laundry and cleaning the inside of the boat.