Harry Honda

Harry Honda is our trusty electric start 9.9 hp, 4 stroke outboard motor. We bought Harry in Newport, Rhode Island shortly after we bought Perigee (October '16) and while we were not looking for a 4 stroke electric start motor, Harry had been abandoned by his previous owner after just 20 hours of use and was available at the right price. Dave wanted a 2 stroke 15 hp motor but 2 stroke motors are no longer available in the US. I was not disappointed with Harry, he is a quiet running, sweet smelling, push to start motor in an attractive silver colour that matched the dinghy. Not that colour matters.

We take delivery of Harry and the dinghy Nov '16

In April 2017 while in Bequia, St Vincent & the Grenadines we decided to get protective chaps made for our dinghy. So that Harry did not feel left out we had a little coat made for him too. Doesn't he look smart in blue? Maybe colour does matter!

New look Harry in blue.

Harry has been running pretty much trouble free for nearly 2 years (except for some fuel contamination in Annapolis) and a return to his home town where he received some TLC in the form of a good ol' service.

Harry patiently waits for us when we abandon him at a dinghy dock. This is mostly due to the bar which is locked on to the transom bolts and the fact that the dinghy is chained to the dock. It keeps the honest thieves away. To be fair, most thieves would have a hard time disposing of a 4 stroke electric start outboard motor, so it is possibly the visible battery that deters them. The battery is the black box just below the bar which has a red tie down strap across it.

You're probably noticing by now that Harry is almost inseparable from his best friend 'the dinghy'. They have been together since the start. It is a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship. Without Harry the dinghy can't go far, without the dingy Harry can't propel himself. That said Harry does happily sit on the aft rail when we make passage. The dinghy is stowed not too far away on the foredeck.

Harry on aft rail, going through Sargassum weed.

Harry and the dinghy lifted for the night.      

Last week, and much to our surprise Harry developed an ailment. He was no longer able to propel the dinghy with his normal gusto and he could no longer indicate that he was getting any cooling water. There was no telltale water flow that he normally piddles out. So we abandoned our plans to catch up with friends across the bay. It was an easy decision, the trip back (about 10 minutes under motor) would have been against the wind of about 20 knots and windward of the channel into Spanish Waters. Should we get blown out . . . next stop Venezuela! A no brainer.

We hoisted Harry onto his perch on the aft rail and started to investigate.

After some prodding and poking we come up with a diagnosis.

Trouble is that there are no Honda dealers in Curacao. The closest one is in Aruba. We consider going there -  a nice 60 nm downwind sail and a not so nice 60 nm upwind sail to return to Curacao. First we check to see the parts are in stock. Nope! Dave tries to find non OEM parts on the island but draws a blank. We pop into two chandlers for information and advice but nothing fruitful gained there. We're not having much joy so we decided reach out to the Curacao Cruisers page on Facebook. We figure since we'll be here a while we could order the part but wonder if some cruiser already has a spare that we can use to get us going and then replace it when the part arrives.

To our delight we get an offer from a fellow OCC (Ocean Cruising Club) member and Suzie Too rally participant who is returning from the States in 10 days to bring the necessary spares. This cruising community is truly amazing. Cruisers really look out for each other are generally genuinely concerned for other cruisers. This is a big part of why we love this lifestyle.

Harry is still on the aft rail while we await the delivery of a new impeller. We hope the new impeller will return Harry to his normally fit self and that he is soon off his perch and back with his best mate 'the dinghy' zooming across the waters together.