@#&$! Generator

Sunday, July 12. Day 8.
We decided to take a day off from motoring and spend the day at Squirrel Cove. A SE wind started up early and at times it blew very brisk - 15-20 knots. This helped keep things cool.

I spent almost the whole day working on the portable generator. I discovered that the bottom of the gas tank had rusted through. First, I removed the gas tank, sanded it down, and put a good coat of epoxy all over the bottom of the tank. After the epoxy cured, I spent a good time trying to get the rust bits out of the tank. I also had to rebuild the carburetor because it was full of "rust dust." I then reassembled the generator. It would start right up, but then die quickly because the valve inside of the gas tank would continuously plug. After a couple of hours of taking the generator apart and then re-assembling it I finally gave up. It had beat me. My back was sore, I was covered with rust dust, smelled of gasoline, and I felt defeated.

We motored via Zipper into the town of Squirrel Cove to get some wonderful Squirrel Cove coffee, some ice cream, some ice and any other groceries that we might need. That was a refreshing break from my battles with the generator earlier in the day. We came back and I made a refreshing Cesar drink - Clamato juice, A1 steak sauce, vodka, and Tabasco sauce over ice. This was a real treat. The wind finally died down in the evening.