Today is a new day, and we've made some progress on our problems. We motored with one engine from our anchorage in Slade Creek this morning, and arrived at Belhaven Marina, which was a planned fuel stop. We got a tip from the dock master on a mechanic's shop who could potentially help us, and we contacted them this morning. While we were still fueling, the mechanics dropped by and started to take a look at things. After some examination and experimenting, they determined that we had a bad solenoid on the transmission that allows the gearbox to be engaged. The original solenoid had a corroded connector, and is beyond repair. We suspect that all 4 solenoids (2 on port, 2 on starboard, one each for forward and reverse gears) are probably in similar condition, so the mechanics recommend that we replace all 4. They left the boat to begin the search for the parts, and we went to lunch in town.
After lunch, the mechanic called to let us know that the parts are ordered, and should be here first thing tomorrow morning. So, we're staying in Belhaven for the night, and even though this was unplanned, we're grateful to have a place to tie up and get our transmission fixed. The dock master and the mechanics have been awesome, and we're lucky to have help with our problems so quickly. In a larger port, it wouldn't be surprising to find that nobody is available to help for days or weeks. So, all in all, we're lucky.
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