Operational update (A more interesting update from Sue will appear in the near-future)

We stayed at Paducah two nights to look around town and assess our operational issues. Getting the boat to Green Turtle Bay Marina (Grand Rivers KY) was our only real option for mechanical repairs. This required another 12 miles upstream on the Ohio River, then 31 miles upstream on the Cumberland River to Barkley Lock (Green Turtle Bay Marina is located just beyond Barkley Lock) on one engine. We made the trip without any issues and locked through the Barkley Lock within 30 minutes of arrival. Green Turtle Bay assigned us a slip near the fuel dock to make the one-engine approach less stressful. Plus, fuel docks (like boat ramps) are always a form of great entertainment when lacking cable TV.

We had a power cord damaged while tied to the barge at Hoppies (the connection worked loose overnight with the Tow wakes causing damage to the shore power cord). It turns out the rough night at Hoppies also damaged our shore power inlet connection on the boat powering the air conditioning systems, so our first couple nights in Green Turtle Bay were a little warm. A replacement shore power inlet connector was delivered Monday. I was able to do the install Tuesday morning, so we had air conditioning again by Tuesday evening. 

A Green Turtle Bay mechanic was able to inspect the damaged transmission Wednesday afternoon. The diagnosis was not good. A rebuild or replacement is needed. We located a transmission distributor near Boston that rebuilds and carries new PRM Newage transmissions.   The transmission model we have is no longer made (it is 30 years old), but there are suitable replacement units available in England. We made the decision to replace both transmissions since there are warning signs that the starboard transmission could suffer the same fate. Heck, if we are going to ship one 190-pound package of gears across the Atlantic, why not do two? It will take 10-14 days for all the parts to arrive in Grand Rivers KY, and a couple full days to get them installed and tested. 

Green Turtle Bay is a very nice marina/resort, so if we must be stuck some place for a few days, it is a very nice place to be stuck. 

Time to dig out the unfinished project list.