Finally back in Boca Chica

It was a very rough year for us back in Georgia.   We wanted to get down to "Tango" in October of 2014 , but didn't get here until Thursday the 12th of February.   Four months of delays for family matters and routine medical screenings.
The "Summer" started with a major problem on "Jazz" our Hunter 31 on Lake Thurmond.  We intended to play with and sail her all summer.  When I went aboard to check her out in June, everything seemed fine,  a few rain leaks and dirty as only an inland boat can get!
Started up just fine, ran well for about 40 minutes while I checked for leaks and let the Yanmar warm up for an oil check.  Then, it just shut off and would not re-start.  Went through my troubleshooting list of 1.  Is there fuel?  2.  Is there compression?  3.  Has it overheated? 4. Are all the cables and wiring in place?
There was plenty of fuel showing on the gauge, the engine was not hot, and everything seemed okey-dokey.   Cracked a line and checked for air in the fuel lines.  The fuel that spurted out looked funny!  Beaded up and didn't feel right.  Water!
Checked the diesel deck fill gasket and discovered the bottom of the plastic cap where the winch handle socket was had cracked through and was "hinged" on the cap.  Apparently rainwater had frozen and cracked it or some other calamity.  Spent the next week, siphoning water and fuel out and replacing the fuel filter along with fresh diesel.  Cranked the large thermodynamic reactor up and it ran very well for an hour.
Next weekend, loaded up with supplies for the full-cruise and ready to go.  The engine cranked immediately, I ran the throttle up to clear the pipes and there it stuck!  High RPM and would not back down.  Could not shut the thing down!  The fuel cutoff cable moved, but the engine was a runaway!
Quickly checked the throttle cable and it was moving through its range just fine, no response from the engine.
Diesels in small sailboats are very simple devices.  Feed them air and fuel, compress it in a cylinder and it will run all day!  Take away any of those and it will stop.  I capped the end of the air intake with my palm and it stopped.  On bigger engines or with intakes that are hard to reach, throwing a big rag down the intake will work, as will clamping the fuel line shut if a shutoff valve isn't available.
The Yanmar 2 and 3 cylinder engines regulate the amount of fuel with a rotary valve and rack-and-pinion affair that is indirectly positioned by the throttle cable via the centrifugal regulator.  The throttle linkage was moving fine, but had no effect on speed.  I disassemble the side plate into the timing gear cover, and found that the fork attached to the regulator was still straddling the drive pin for the high pressure pump rack-and pinion, but was firmly stuck in the wide-open position.
That caused a real problem!  You can't get the HP pump out of the timing gear cover unless you can align the drive pin with the slot in the cover.
I had to get the main crankshaft pulley off to remove the timing gear cover with the HP pump in place.  Despite the best efforts of my heavy butt and my friend John Gill, the "Jeezus" nut at the pulley wasn't moving.
Next week I called my friend Ray Trenter and arranged to meet him at his tool shed at the Burke County Airport.  My head filled with great advice and the proper tooling, I drove back for another try.  Ray said that he thought the effects of running water through the HP injector pump had rusted the rack in place!  Sure enough, when I managed to get the thing in my hands, it was stuck solid, but after some judicious hammering and working it back and forth it worked free.
Ordered the gaskets needed and let the thing sit for over two months while I let the docs hammer on my left elbow for tennis elbow.  I have never touched a tennis racket in anger, but that's what it was.  They call the process orthotripsy.  The Doctor uses high powered sound wave to literally break apart the fibers in the tendons of the elbow to allow blood and fluids to flow and heal the joint.  Sounds dicey, but it worked!
Finally got back to the boat and coerced my short little engine monkey Brenda Renick into helping me seal the engine back up.  Nothing looks fancier than well-manicured hands swinging a Dremel tool removing the old gasket.  Put it back together, spun and bled the engine and got it cranked.  Success is sweet.
Cleaned up the tools, and boat and prepared to head South.
I did have the opportunity to sail "Jazz".  It's first sail since 2013 was in January on a very warm, windy day with Dan and Patty West and Ralph, Patty's German cousin.  Glorious day as the boat literally surged along near hull speed all afternoon.  I look forward to a good summer with her this year.
We set our return date and began the packing.  One more major family issue with Micky's dad and we were more than ready to leave.  The day before departure we pulled the RV into the driveway to pack the fridge.  Dead Fridge!   Luckily, Augusta RV was able to pull some parts swapping magic and got us going.
We are here.  The boat is good and the weather is perfect!