Bob Agramonte of La Conner, WA, asks:

Are the sea water temps still around 80 degrees? How is this affecting the performance of the keel coolers? The last time I was in Phuket, there was a nice old beggar stationed at the entrance of the local grocery market. Is he still there? I went scuba diving there. Great spot. Do they still offer diving?

Jim Leishman responds:

Bob, the seawater temperature is well above 80 degrees and the engine is running at 185 degrees. This has not changed - even in the waters of Alaska. One thing we have done is gotten away from cooling the stabilizers' hydraulic fluid with the engine coolant via an installed heat exchanger. We're now using a separate cooling pump dedicated to the stabilizers and this has taken a significant load off of the engine cooling system. We were only in Phuket for a short time but diving and fishing are a huge industry there. I didn't see any beggars or any significant poverty. The people are hard working and very industrious.

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