We’re getting close. I’m tired of living on dirt. Tied to the ground. Tethered to an auto, the roads and traffic. Nai gave us a tentative date for completion. The tanks are in. Fuel has been cleaned and returned to them. The cabinetry has been re-installed and screws bunged. Inside varnish is nearing completion. Lockers painted. This morning the crew was washing the deck getting ready for polishing. The topsides are next and a coat of bottom paint will be the final. Launching is in sight !
Ready for the WorkersIt hurts to see thisTanks Ready for RemovalUsing Your headTanks OutWings off the BoatFuel Leak in Black Iron Diesel TankFuel Leak in Black Iron Diesel TankWing Tank BuildsNew Wing FormedCenter Tank BuildBaffleTank Fittings IsolatedFuel Tanks removed ready for painting and replacmentPanted Tank Bilge AreaLooking Down…Painting of the fuel tank compartmentsNew Tanks InNew Counter CornersSome major pieces already removedSS Countertop workOh the ShadeFloorboards VarnishedNew Refrigerator FrontRe-InstallationBack TogeatherVarnish Work in ProgressFuel ReturningVarnishing…
We’ve one more medical visit. A complete scan of the skin. One dermatologist said to us in Malaysia “You’re the wrong color to be living in this area of the world.” Funny – not funny. She is correct. However we don’t wish to live in a freezer, we love the freedom of the boat. We find joy meeting new people and sharing in new cultures.
I do miss a few things from our dirt life. A static life it would be easier to have a pet. Oh, and our heated waterbed with a down comforter was so lovely to wiggle into at night. I’m not forgetting family and friends. That’s a given. However all have a life of their own and while there would be sharing more often than now, neither our time nor theirs is infinite. No matter where one is in life; everything is a trade off. Some good, some not so good. And so, I continue to seek experiences out of the ordinary, seek to embrace as many of the delights life has to offer. Soon we will be afloat again embracing new adventures.
Similar to running in place, except we’re going round and round and up and down. In the end we still end up where we began.
As you know we had a leak in one fuel tank. As we believe one of the fuel tanks has reached the end of its life we thought the best approach would be to replace all three. We have three. Thus, we’re in Boat Lagoon Marina in Phuket with a highly recommended Project manager. She’s advised us on getting hauled, where to stay and who to do the work. She and her company will carry the load; at a price of course.
Fuel Leak in Black Iron Diesel TankFuel Leak in Black Iron Diesel TankFuel Leak in Black Iron Diesel TankThe three Fuel Leaks in our Black Iron Diesel Tank
The haul out went smoothly with 10 individuals chattering and getting the straps set right. Then a high speed ride on the boat swinging from the lift at about 1 km / hour, to a place in the yard where she will sit for the duration of the project. We moved off the boat and acquired a long stay room in the NH hotel on site. Close but not really. It is about 1,000 steps round trip to the boat and back. Really, the only boat work in the room is research.
We completed our part
Some major pieces already removed
Nai’s people began the process of removing the galley and a good part of our dinette from Elysium. I had anticipated the need for future removal but never hoped to do it. To deal with the tanks years ago while refurbishing Elysium I used two wood plug sizes. A larger 1/2” plug indicated that it was varnished in and removable. These could be removed to remove larger pieces of the furniture. The smaller 3/8” plugs were epoxied in and could stay.
Not an easy job
It hurts to see this
With the cabinetry removed draining the diesel tanks were next. Two tanks had fuel in them. A drum with a couple of heavy duty plastic bags was brought in to hold the diesel. That filled up and a a couple of 5 gallon containers lightened held the rest. After the tanks were drained as much as possible the crew spent two days disconnecting the hoses and removing the tanks.
With the tanks out we’re now in the process of prepping for the new. Cleaning and painting the area would be on the list.
Looking Down…Painting of the fuel tank compartments
The Aluminum has been ordered for the tanks and we’ve spoken to the welder daily on how they will be assembled. We hope this is our low point and everything can move forward smoothly. We’re two weeks in. If our time refurbishing years ago is any indication of the time frame that would mean we’re 5-6 weeks out of a completed job. Round and round we go, up and down. Our roller coaster is one wild ride.
I am 99% sure we have a fuel leak in one of the tanks.
I’ve been collecting fuel from the bilge. When we hauled out we had heaps of water in the bilge with other fluids. I expected this as our shaft seal was leaking and that replacing it was high on the priority list.
After replacing the shaft seal the liquid in the bilge still increased. We were hauled out of the water. Yeah, it rained a lot but there ought not be any real accumulation of fluids in the bilge from any rain. Where is it coming from and what is it? First I thought it was a build up of old spills mixed with leaked coolant. I found an empty upside down coolant container in the engine room locker. We hoped that was it. After more days of removing 2-3 liters of fluid a day we concluded it was that it was more than I had thought.
Cruisers call this “Boat Yoga”
It appeared that during the day the fluid level in the bilge rose more during the day than at night. A week later I had my head down in the locker / bilge area and noticed water dripping from a fresh water line. Our Whale Tip Toe pump was leaking! I love the flush fitting pump. I do not like the leaking. We pulled off the hoses to that pump, plugged them and no more water dripped into the bilge. The level in the bilge still rose. Damn! Now it seemed to be more diesel with a wee bit of water. Earlier we had filled a glass container with what we had collected and the substances did not appear to separate. The conclusion was mostly water mixed in with the coolant and other minor spills not fully cleaned up.
We repeated the process and now we were getting a separation of fluids. I didn’t vocalize this; but it was going around in my head “^$%%@W $$^$@@“.
I hoped it was only a leak in our tank inspection ports. I had over filled a tank off and on. And one tank was full. I transfered fuel out of the full tank to one of the other tanks. One great thing about this boat is that we have three tanks. I can with the fuel polishing system transfer fuel from any one tank to another. The fuel in all our tanks is now below the “full” mark. We’re collecting fuel from the bilge. I made a Willy Wonka pump setup to remove the fluids and store them in a container. We do NOT want to pump any overboard.
Next I thought maybe as I ran the engine the return fuel line leaked. There was no relationship there. Now it appears it is what I feared most: a leak in one of our three tanks. I feared it most because to fix a tank, cabinetry must be removed. A lot of it.
I’m going to order an endoscope so I can get under the flooring and see if I can suss out which one might be leaking. If it is one of the wing tanks I can shut it down and not use it. If it’s the center tank that’s a bigger issue.
While waiting for the endoscope I decided as we are below the half way mark on our fuel I could transfer fuel from one tank to another with the idea of emptying one tank at a time, checking after to see if the bilge fuel is increasing or stopped. I first transferred all the fuel from the starboard tank to the center and port tank. The following day we still collected a couple liters of fuel. That evening I transferred from the port wing tank to the starboard wing.
Bingo! Very little fuel in the bilge and the following day no change. We have identified the culprit. Our port wing tank must be leaking.
Repairs will be a real PITA ! A REAL PITA!
We will need to move off the boat to effect any repairs. A real speed bump.
We’ve decided to use a company in Phuket. We know several cruisers that have used Nai and found her work and timing to be spot on. The question will be when.
It wasn’t easy. We’re not sure yet if it was smart. We left Langkawi, Malaysia and headed to Thailand; in the rainy monsoon season. The trip for us was all day hops. Even that can often be problematic.
With day hops, the idea is to leave in daylight and arrive in daylight. Easier said than done. All too often we plan on covering as many miles as possible. This fails to account for other factors: weather, currents, and the brothers Chaos and Disaster. If the boat is kept in good shape you can reasonably be protected from Chaos and Disaster. However they are sneaky and can strike any time. The other, weather and currents are a bit like Chaos and Disaster in that they too are often unpredictable. Especially here in these waters.
The tropical weather is hard even for super computers to get right. With the warm waters, mountains near by and moisture laden air, rain showers will magically appear from deep blue skies. Oh, there might even be a cloud somewhere. Then too, one moisture laden cloud can grow and birth a thunderstorm. We DO NOT LIKE thunderstorms when moving by sail or motor. Not at all.
We left Langkawi with no wind and a blue sky. Luck would have it staying that way. We would have preferred to sail but this weather was our second choice. The first night we anchored behind a smallish island and a calm anchorage with a good nights sleep. The following am the weather appeared the same. We made it to the half way mark at Ko Rok Nai. A beautiful tourist spot; with no tourists. We stopped here out of season. The water was clear (something we’ve not seen in quite awhile) and we picked up a park mooring in the channel between the two islands. We were pitching a bit from the swell rolling through from the N. A little pitching on our boat is not a problem. It is rolling from side to side we don’t like. We really don’t like rolling from side to side.
Rolling is unnatural. We go 5º to one side then abruptly change and roll back over the vertical to the other side. In this cut, when the tide changed, Elysium turned beam on to the swell. We began to roll. After five minutes of suffering we decided to dig out a “Flopper Stopper”. Twenty minutes later we tossed it over the side. The flopper stopper doesn’t actually “stop” the roll. But it does change how the boat rolls. It slows down the recovery from a roll and by the time a third roll ought to arrive we have mostly stopped rolling. The Flopper Stopper makes life aboard tolerable.
Park will fill up with Tourist…. Next Month
We sat here for a couple of days. One of the days, with the clear water we dug out the Hookah, (not the drug one) and I went about cleaning the rest of Elysium’s bottom. I jumped in a little before the tide switch not wishing to fight any currents and cleaned up what I had missed in the nutrient rich (read not clear) waters of Malaysia. We went from 90% barnacle free to 99% barnacle free. I didn’t however wipe the bottom down. With the fuzzy growth we wouldn’t be full speed but we would be better motoring.
We began checking the weather for our next move. T-storms showed up in the middle of our passage and the end. We waited. The following day the same. We waited. While we had some rain sitting here we didn’t really experience any Thunder and checking the horizon in the direction we were going we didn’t see any. On the third day we chanced it. We left.
Mooring Ball Phi Phi Le
Our destination was Phi Phi Le. A big bite. We motored around Koh Nai and into the open water. A small breeze out of the east filled in and I thought we might be able to sail. We set the autopilot up first so W/ could assist with the sails. We then set them one by one. As we began to sail we shut the engine down. If there is a heaven this is the moment that we can experience it. As the winds fill the sails, the boat moves along nicely and the engine is shut down. Ah…..
For the majority of the day trip we sailed. We couldn’t hold course to our destination and missed by a couple of miles. As the Sun looked towards the setting horizon we were abeam and down wind from our goal. We started the motor; dropped the sails and worked our way up wind to find a spot off of Phi Phi Le for the evening.
OMG. As we neared our evenings spot there are heaps of long tails loaded with tourists. Heaps! There was a yellow park mooring ball and we grabbed it. Shortly after arrival a boat load of park rangers pulled up looking for the park stamp. Time to purchase one. Fortunately we had been to Thailand before and had some Thai Baht for payment. We paid, they left and the rest of evening’s entertainment was watching the tourist boats come and go.
Thailand Long Tail
At sunrise we motored to Chalong. The weather apps indicated in the next few days winds would be blowing head on. Stronger the day after and stronger still the next. Time to go. Bite the bullet. Use the Iron Genny and head into the winds and seas.
It was rough starting out. We were traveling 2-3 kts and we had 25 nm to go. An ugly 10 hour motor looked us in the face. We were fortunate. As we moved farther from Phi Phi Le the swell lengthened and our speed increased. 10 hours became 6-7 and by early afternoon we pulled into Chalong. There we found a nice spot on the N side of the HUGE bay. Had a feel good lunch and prepared the boat for a few days of rest. We dropped the dinghy, put on the engine, hauled the dinghy back up, hip tied if for the night and the following day we’d head to the government offices looking to become official. Yeah Thailand!
We left Karimunjawa in the am. Not super early and not late. We had a few constraints in planning this trip. First we were approaching the island from windward. Second we wanted a daylight approach thus we needed to go either slow or fast. And third we wanted to reach the anchorage in daylight. Fourth; we needed enough wind to move us but not so much that we would be overpowered. Fifth, no t-storms, and Sixth, mild seas. Is that too much to ask for? 🙂 The trip was 290 nm plus or minus. We could have been here a few more days if we had waited for all the conditions to match.
Approaching from windward we planned to travel around the top. There was a mile opening between two shallow areas. This seems like a lot. Still, if something goes wrong; I wanted to do this in daylight. With light land becomes visible and you can get a sense of the water. With the wind behind us, stopping in time as the depth decreases, the water getting thinner can be a problem. I hoped to reach the area at sunrise. Once past the opening on the N side we still had 50 miles to travel.
Adjusting speed in a sailboat is never an easy feat. With too much wind we can reduce sail. With too little wind, well; we can’t make wind. We only have a certain amount of sail to add and cruising boats; unlike the newer foiled racing cats and trimarans can’t go faster than the wind. Additionally boats like to be sailed for the speed they were designed. Too slow and they don’t feel right or act right. Rather like a horse that trained for trotting, trying to do jumps with it would tax both the horse and the rider.
Getting away from Karimunjawa seemed like the easy part. The first two hours motoring through reefs and islands. The water was “lumpy”. As we traveled through one especially lumpy area I checked the chart. It had the ominous “Caution” note. This area is a national park and there are heaps of islands and reefs around. One would think the waters to be smooth. Reefs / protrusions from the bottom abound. One minute we’re in 200’ of water and a second later 30’. Current over that area would force the water to move somewhere. And it does. It moves up, down and all around. Floating on top the sea we have a free carnival ride.
Almost out of the park we hoist the staysail. After our last passage where I felt we had too much sail up I planned to break up the sail area. Our staysail is the smallest of our working sails and has a reef point. We can easily reduce the size if need be. We were moving along at an ok speed but Neptune was not favoring us with a gentle ride. We had two and sometimes three wave trains moving through. The gradient winds were out of the E now and one train came from the E. We also had a swell from the NNE off the cost of Borneo. Wave physics informs us that when two waves meet, their crests are additive and the troughs subtractive. So… with a 4’ wave and a 3’ wave that made the wave height 7’. The height wasn’t scary. We’ve had greater. What was bad was the comfort. And one of them right on the beam. We would pitch (the bow and stern would rise and fall). We would yaw (twist around), and we would roll (side to side) when they passed under us at the same time. It was not real comfortable. On top of that they were not consistent. Every few minutes the different trains would conspire and a set of 2, 3 or 4 would pass thorugh. Enough of this! After an hour we rolled out some head sail to help stabilize the boat. It helped some, but it also sped us up. Remember, too fast and we would reach entering Belitung’s north side when it was dark.
Daily I do “walk arounds” on the boat. I check to make sure everything is as it is supposed to be. On one such adventure I noticed the roller furling sheet had come out of the drum and wrapped around the base of the sail. This would make it next to impossible to roll the sail back up making it very dangerous for us. I thought at first I would need to secure the sail in its partially rolled out position, un wind the drums and rewind it. I’m tying lines on the sail / drum to begin the correction and discover that the arm of the drum somehow went crazy and wrapped the line around the sail. All I need to do is to move the arm around the drum and unwind the extra line. Whew! A major inconvenience averted.
I tied a few more items we carry on deck down more securely and headed back to the cockpit. W/ was there watching and ready for to assist if needed. I do not go out on deck alone. W or I are always in the cockpit if one of us needs to leave the cockpit for any reason. We also have safety lines and a harness that we connect into. In this order we run the boat: Safety, Comfort, and then speed.
In these conditions, finding rest or joy is difficult. Offshore 24/7 we always have someone awake. When two people are needed for a job, who ever is on watch calls the other. Anything we can manage from the cockpit we can do alone. From the cockpit we can adjust the sails and our windvane. Still we get tired. And our watch system tries to balance our time such that we have close to the same mental and physical energy. I feel it is dangerous if one member is exhausted and the other full of energy. We discuss situations and how to deal with them together. If one person is not thinking clearly that may impact our safety. Remember: safety first !
For two days we rode the carnival ride. Nights provided some mental diversions. We were able to read, listen to music, daydream, enjoy the night sky, and watch the fishing boats. We had heaps of fishing trawlers lined up near the horizon. I felt they were avoiding us. Maybe a little narcissism there. Probably, they didn’t care. Or… they knew all this crazy sailor could do would be to mess with their nets. Each boat was lit like a small cruise ship. The lights brought the fish and they happily gathered them up. In the day the boats seemed to disappear. A few times one would swing by. Curious or checking; who knows. None ever tried to contact us on the radio. Yet, a few times one would hear them. No idea how organized they were. Did they just looked line up in the distance or if they line up on purpose to coralle more fish?
Path Transiting the Outer Reef
We were approaching the N side of Balitung too early. The weather files predicted that the winds would ease. Luckily the winds and the seas did ease. I worried we will reach our entrance at day break. We didn’t. We were 90 minutes early. Our charts indicated the opening was a mile wide. I was off watch and W/ woke me. We had gotten closer than I had wanted. Fortunately we had slowed down. Which on a boat is a misnomer, most people believe we are always going slow. But even at 3 kts, stopping a 35,000 lb boat is not easy.
With both charting programs agreeing where we were we moved ahead 🙂 . I held my breath. Not really but it seemed like it. Thirty minutes later the two shallow areas were behind us. 🙂 Sweet. Now it was open water again and I could finish my off watch time.
The winds and seas had eased a significant amount. I slept some with W/ on watch. In the cockpit W/ reads her book, listens to podcasts or music and watched the Sunrise. We switched and W/ looked to get some shuteye.
As we rounded the N side of the island we were arriving to our anchorage. Huge boulders rose in the horizon. Boulders or smallish mountains. I don’t know which. The charts indicated we would travel between one of the boulders and the lighthouse. Going around would have the lighthouse would mean another couple hours. We were tired here and wanted to anchor. We really wanted to anchor, anchor and sleep.
I was on the bow scanning the water, W/ now at the helm. We had shut down the windvane (our autopilot). Too dangerous here. One minute traveling the wrong direction might well be disaster. I watched for color changes and any water swirling on the surface that might indicate rocks or reef rising within 2 m of the surface. W/ did an excellent job holding course and I a good job of holding my breath and not passing out. We cleared the last difficult spot and turned into the anchorage.
From previous cruisers and our Indonesian cruising guide (affectionately known as the “Book of Lies” ); we had an anchor place picked out. We will stay here for a day or so anyway, we can move if need be. But now, get the anchor down and rest.
We found a sandy place; more wind than we wished but other than that it was good. Dropped the anchor and it dug right in. We stopped. The boat set to the wind and we were here. Time to clean up a bit, look around, and rest. REST ! The next day we would prepare for our time here.
I, like many people learn best through mistakes. In the end we made it to Karimunjawa. It wasn’t easy.
d a solar arch to Elysium. W/ too wanted davits. Davits carry a dinghy upright and fully inflated off the stern of the boat. In theory they make cruising easier. In theory. Many boats have them. Some cruisers use them exclusively. We don’t.
Arch on WS 42
Davits have issues. Some cruisers would say compromises. When you pull the dinghy up, it is carried upright. Any tropical rain squall can overload them. Remember One cubic meter of water is one metiric ton! For you third world people (tongue in check) that is over an American ton. Actually 2,200 lbs. No inflatable will hold that much water. Only a few rigid dinghies might. Next add that weight to the end of the boat. Remembering your physics, roughly 2,000 lbs times the distance from the center of the boat 20’ equals 40’000 foot -lbs of effort on the boats end. Of course that is a worse case senecio. I don’t know any davit that could handle that load. Worse case scenario, the davit and the dinghy collapses.
Now on this trip…. it is the dry season. We expected no rain. None in the forecast. Meteorologists are often wrong once you look beyond a few days. Yet, they are pretty accurate for 24 hours. Our trip is a little longer than a day.
It takes an hour for W/ and I to store the dinghy on the aft deck for passage. It takes about 15 minutes to store it on the davits.
If we use the davits we must forgo the use of the windvane. I LOVE our windvane. It steers the boat like magic and uses no electricity. After adding the arch with solar panels in NZ; after switching over to Lithium Batteries, we have plenty of electricity . If we haul it up we must use the electronic autopilot (EP). That gizmo connects to the wind vane which actually powers the steering. On this passage; one night, we check the weather info. All down wind, moderate seas. Our EP idea was an addition that we planned to use when the wind died out. Times when the windvane would not be able to work. The windvane requires wind. However, with the dinghy up we could hand steer all the way or use the EP. And for any that know us, hand steering is not in our cards. In the end, we choose the “easier” path, put the dinghy up and use the EP.
Not the worse mistake we have made. In the end it was a mistake. Predicted winds were to be mild on the passage and the seas less than 2 meters. For the first couple hours we had an ok time. Some crankiness on my part…. not enough wind. But the wind filled in and the EP did its job. We hauled up the mainsail and we were making good progress. Winds and seas were kindly. Everything was perfect… again, for a couple of hours. As the day wore on the wind increased. The wave train changed and the EP was struggling. So much so, that often we needed to crawl aft to the stern of the boat and either reattach it or make a course adjustment. We would be trucking along nicely and an errant wave train would roll through, two or three waves, larger than the others and from a different direction. They would twist the boat off its course and the dinky EP couldn’t bring us back fast enough. It gave up, started the alarm and then waited for us to do something. Head back to the stern to reset. An hour or two later, same thing. Reset. All night- harness’ on; a wave train from the wrong direction, back to reset. In the middle the night the winds had increased enough that we pulled the mainsail down. I couldn’t reef, I’ve still not run the reef lines from when we had the boat decommissioned and on the hard for 8 months. Running now only on the headsail. (After a rest W/ and I talked and here too we ought to have furled the headsail and run just on the staysail. )
EP Powers Windvane
By now the winds had increased steadily to 20 kts gusting to 30. Hell, we were heading off the wind anyway. No biggie. But now we were often touching 8 kts and the EP couldn’t hold the course long. Again we’d hear the constant alarm indicating that there is an issue. Back to reset. By morning we were nearing our destination. Approximately two hours out I discovered that while putting the dinghy on the davits we had moved the base of the windvane. The arm that powers the steering was now chafing on the backstay chainplate. That may have caused some of the issues with the EP keeping course. No matter what, I wasn’t going to lean outboard of the boat with lumpy seas and adjust it.
We decided to hand steer. We shut down the EP and neutralized the vane. Neither of us love to take the helm for any length of time. We’re now 15-20 nm away; we can handle it. W/ took 10 min on and I took 15 min. That’s only fair as whenever we’re in a harbor she’s at the helm. At about 5 nm out we furled the head sail. It was very difficult rolling it up. That told me we had kept it up longer than we should have. I was fighting the wind in the sail. W/ eased the sheet and I rolled. After getting a 3rd of it rolled in we were able to completely furl it.
Even coming through the cut to Karimunjawa was daunting. W/ at the helm; I was looking for the reef, markers, and the channel. This was not “fun”. Neither of us like to approach an anchorage or harbor from the up wind side. That puts Elysium on a lee shore. A dangerous shore. We spotted the channel, made the channel and as we rounded the town we were still moving at 7 kts. That’s fast in our boat. We wanted to slow down but the current and wind kept encouraging us. Finally rounding the town we could work our way up to the anchorage we had chosen. The wind never stopped.
Here behind the mtn, it was gusting into the 30 kt range. The anchor was down, the boat stopped, I paid out more chain and there is no swell. We are not rolling, not bouncing, we’ll sleep well tonight.
Offshore Ready
Next time we’ll take the time to carry the dinghy offshore where it is smartest, not easiest. That provides us with two self steering options. The windvane and if Mariah (the wind) decides to test us with little to no wind, the Electronic Pilot.
Yeah, that is a reference to an old Woody Allen movie. The characters are learning about bedroom exercises by reading a book. Well, that reference too is relatable to cruising. We’ve been hanging here a Banyuwedang, on the N end of Bali. We stopped here wanting a calm anchorage. We found the calm anchorage… with heaps of wind.
We can live with the wind, the boat rolling is no fun and getting anything done on a rolling boat is next to impossible. If an emergency existed in a rolling anchorage we would deal with it. Luckily there is no emergency.
While traveling the N coast with our dinghy on the davits (not where Dave likes to carry it) Elysium squats as she motors. Checking the bilge I noticed a very slow trickle of water. On boats, water is best left outside. Having lived this experience before I knew it was the rudder post stuffing box. It has not been snugged down in a few years. Time for a smallish turn of the bolts on the box.
I try not to move everything.
To open up the locker for larger projects we needed to move the mattress’ and two full berth toppers out to the salon. Then I can make the adjustment. When I opened up the compartment I also checked the steering system. Oh -oh! One cable glide is not turning at all. It was stuck. The cable was dragging over the glide (roller) as we moved the rudder. There was a tell tale sign. Fine metal dust was directly underneath the glide gathering on the hull. Added to the list as unplanned.
I tightened the stuffing box and continued to inspect our steering system. The starboard side was fine. I used T-9 silicon spray on the guides. Five out of six guides were in good nick (as the Australians like to say) . The sixth; after spraying lubricant, still stuck. I removed the cable from the steering quadrant, and tried to move the guide by hand. Definitely stuck, I sprayed, moved, sprayed, moved, and eventually I was able to get loosen it up. Nothing like it ought to be.
The question was: ought we live with a sticky guide till we’re at a Marina in Malaysia and hope everything continues to work, or fix it now? We choose to fix it. The following problem was do I need to remove the plate holding the 4 guides to remove the one guide? Oops, my stomach is talking to me now. We’re into early afternoon.
To keep the rudder from moving on it’s ownThe rudder stuffing box is under the quadrant at the rudder post.Guide in place. Cables not. Luckily it was not Thru Bolted on the plate
We hauled the mattress’ back and began getting ready for the evening. We wanted our aft cabin back. The following morning we deconstructed the berth again. I believed I needed to remove the entire quadrant panel. I open the compartment; again, and begin to check what and how many bolts I would need to remove. First however, I remove the cables from the rudder quadrant. I tie the rudder off so it will not swing and bang against the stops. While looking at the other guide I am able to suss out that the guide’s are bolted to the plate. Yippee! I don’t need to remove the plate, I can remove the guides individually. An hour later the guide is out and cleaning begins. Not finished but we are making progress. We put the aft cabin back together for another evening.
This item is used to adjust the Steering Wheel and how tight the cable is to the helm.
The following am we take the aft cabin apart and I install the guide. Lubricate it with T-9 and attach the steering cables. The guide now turns freely. With cables reconnected W/ turns the helm as far as it will go and leans on it. We tighten the cables just enough so if there is heavy weather and we are steering the cable will not fall out of the guides. She leans on port, then on starboard. I adjust the cable tension and we’re back in business. We put the aft cabin back together.
This is how we store our dinghy when anchored. We haul it up on Elysium’s hip. Years ago we tied it to a cleat and let it drag astern. Then one night in the Bahamas it went missing. I detailed that adventure here. Since then we find it more secure this way. W/ cranks it up on the halyard while I hold it off the side. Once in position she secures the halyard and I finish. I tie a stern line to the ladder chock, pull the plug on the drain (in case it rains) and then snug up the bow line. We secure the dinghy in three places. Nothing is “perfect”. Since we’ve been using this method we’ve not had any further issues with anything missing or with the dinghy. While not impossible for someone to “borrow” (steal) the engine it wouldn’t be the easiest. So far so good.
Any reader with lots of extra time who has read my blog from the beginning might remember when we were a hair’s breath from
New Fiberglass Elbows
sinking. Back in Galesville, MD when we hauled the boat I had the main engine exhaust fitting replaced. Now I’m replacing the rest of the fittings; and none too soon.
The people in Te Tau Tua had plans with their family each day this week and with the winds mild and the calm anchorage we chose now to make the change. I had purchased the fiberglass fittings in Panama as well as the new hose clamps and this task was on our list to do during the off sailing season. My estimate was that it would initially take 2- 3 days. As usual I was wrong.
Day one: I found we needed to do a lot of preparation. I spent time removing the hoses and fittings from the Aqualift muffler aft. I wasn’t going to remove the last first as that travels slightly level and down to the thru hull fitting and the boat with the long run in the exhaust and middle cockpit configuration has no seacock / valve on the thru hull. I’ve never yet heard of a Westsail 42 getting water in the engine from a following sea so I’ve been reluctant; some would say cheap, to add that to the system. For this job; I was planning on stuffing a tennis ball wrapped in a cloth in the thru hull and if that won’t block the water completely; I doubted it would, it will slow down the intrusion enough that we won’t sink.
I removed the hose clamps, finding two that were almost hidden and broken. I’m quite glad we’re doing this. And I work my hands to the bone trying to dislodge the hose from the Black Iron fittings that Westsail used in the system. I remember an old yard manager saying that in a battle between a hose fitting, the hose, and the installer usually the hose won. The results meant replacing the hose. That was not an option here. I did not purchase any extra hose. So to make this work I needed all the hose intact. One trick another yard employee had shown me was to put a hose clamp near the fitting but not over it on the hose. Then tighten the clamp and that would shrink the hose near the clamp breaking the hose connection on the fitting. I did that and who knows how much it helped but eventually I was able to remove it. What I’m mildly surprised about is that we had two surveyors go over the boat; once when we purchased it and the other when we launched it seven years later and neither one saw any problem with the setup nor mentioned that those fittings need to be replaced after X number of years.
After removing the exhaust hose from the Aqualift muffler I then removed the first elbow from the muffler and then began to work on the inverted U. Here was my first major problem. The hose is stiff and I didn’t want to add any real “kinks” to it because I didn’t buy any replacement hose. It’s a big hose; 3 1/4″ od. So all I could do was wiggle the U and try to twist and turn the fitting. I tried the hose clamp trick just off the fitting. Nothing. I tried talking to it; and not kindly I might add. Nothing. The hose and fitting just didn’t want to listen. Time for more drastic measures.
The only way I could see to break the hose free of the fitting was to hack saw the U into two pieces and then I could remove each piece separately. But, since the fitting rested next to the hull this wasn’t going to be easy. I wedged the hose out as far as I could and then began. I had only about a 3″ stroke with the hack saw and I was twisted, half bent, leaning off balance and only using my right hand. Yeah, so what; I’m ambidextrous but in this position I just could not get my body in position to alternate with both hands. I sawed for 5-10 minutes and took a few minutes break. Almost an hour later I was finished. Finished and tired. I worked the fittings off the hose and then… I quit…. for the day.
No use burning myself out! Much of the threads on one fitting had rusted away and I wondered about the threads on the lowest elbow closest to the thru hull. My hands and knuckles were taking a beating. I counted over 20 nicks and cuts in one hand alone. Ouch. That gave me time to rethink how I was accomplishing this task and to prepare for tomorrow. That was a tennis ball day and I expected it to be the most difficult.
Final Elbow to Thru-Hull
Day two: The exhaust system runs up the port side of the boat, inside a locker, up to an inverted U and there it runs back down; inside the locker and then aft to the thru hull. The second day I was to disconnect the rest of the system and then put the new 90 degree elbow in the aft section. Once that is in I’ll raise the hose as high as I can in the locker to ensure no leakage. The following day I will add the rest. With the tennis ball I would put a piece of cloth around it and stuff it into the thru hull from outside the boat. Should any water find it’s way into the boat I felt it would be slow enough that we would not sink. Besides once I had the fitting off I would put on the new one as quickly as possible and then make sure it is raised above the waterline so there would be NO water entering the boat.
While we had prepared some for work occurring in the locker I seemed to need more room. We had removed about 1/2 the contents of the locker and that wasn’t enough. So we removed the other half and the two doors on the locker. Then twisting and turning, bending and cursing I worked the final elbow
Close up view of the Black Iron Elbow
out. On the bottom of the hose I left some of the broken fitting so now I’m needing to reach into the locker and using a blade screwdriver; bend 180 degrees around and working out the piece stuck to the hose. After a few more vocal outburst about the impossibility of the job I was able to break the broken piece free. Now it was time to clean up the hose and attach the elbow.
All of this is much easier said than done. While the hose and elbow are the correct match; I checked when I made the first disconnect, the smallish ridges created from the short threaded piece and the threads made sliding the fitting on quite difficult. In the end I may make my life harder but I ended up
Installing 45 degree Elbow
heating the hose with the heat gun (a very necessary tool to have aboard) and using silicone gasket sealant I was able to with some colorful language and as much might as I could muster pull, twist and turn, twist and rock and turn, get the fitting to slide on the hose to it’s final resting place. Now as I could still move it a bit I aligned the elbow to the top inverted U. As by now this was one hell of a day it was where I called it quits. I wedged the last hose fitting on the hose as high as I could and to ensure no water ingress.
One phoopa I forgot to mention is that the new hose clamps I had purchased; all T clamps were too small. I hate, and hate might well be too nice a word, I HATE that with fittings there are actually two measurement systems. One is pipe and the other hose. They are not the same and continue to get me in trouble. I sized the clamps one size too small. Fortunately the clamps I had; most were fine, and I did have some apart of the worm screw ones. If those failed I have a great tool called the Clamp Tite and I could use that. So the project continues on.
Day Three: In the morning I was raring to go. NOT! My hands were cut up and I was sore but W/ would have none of my excuses. We had a project to do and right now the boat could only move under sail. You might think; hell, they are a sailboat, but sailing in a lagoon can oft be problematic. There are numerous obstructions in the lagoon and anchoring too demands often times jockying around to find the spot of least coral. So off to work I go….
This was the day to finish up the plumbing. I attached the other fittings and the last item to do was the U. It seems to me that I can’t ever replace something the way I found it. I always try to improve it. Sometimes I’m successful; once in awhile I’m not. I didn’t like how level the hose ran out of the boat from the last 90 degree turn to the thru hull so I figured I would create a gentle slope raising the last elbow in the chain a bit. Also I figured that if I cut an inch or so off the upper part of the hose the fitting would slide on much easier because I wouldn’t be fighting any of the molded in threads that the pipe fitting left. So back to the hack saw again and away I went, carefully cutting an inch off the top. Needless to say my cut was not perfectly square but it would do. I was down to two steps left: put the U on and secure it to the fitting holding it in place high on the inside of the hull.
I heated the hoses up, waited, heated some more, waited and heated a little more till I felt that the hoses were a wee bit softer and would expand just enough for me to slide the fitting on. I added the gasket sealant ( I hope never to have to remove this in place again) and then began to slide the U on. Magically; it went on. Now just to let the hose cool down, add the hose clamps and then add the top bracket.
Finishing up the Exhaust System
Cutting the inch off, using fittings that were just a little different made the bracket at the top a little out of reach. I struggled getting the lower hose up through the sidewall of the locker. W/ pushed with all her weight 🙂 and I pushed pulled and shoved at the turn. Finally we got as close to the bracket as possible. But when I tried again the top U it just barely would not work. Seems as my plans don’t always come together perfectly. Time to fabricate an extension.
We had some left over Aluminum from a project in Trinidad so I used a piece of that, drilled some holes and attached it to the top most bolt. Then I could attach the bracket to that extension and viola! We have a solution. An hour later we were good to go. Now it was time to wait. Tomorrow I would check and tighten all the hose clamps and we would fire up the diesel to check for any leaks. Barring none we could then inventory (always we seem to inventory) and then repack the locker and the engine room.
Day 4 (of a two day job): Today ought not be too difficult. After checking the clamps and tightening a couple we started the engine. With a small torch I checked every fitting for leaks and hard to believe; I found …none. We ran the engine for a bit letting everything warm up and I checked again and still things were hunky dory. Shut down the good ol’ Perkins and begin to repack the locker.
As always; when we have supplies out of one locker we are looking for ways to improve our storage of “stuff”. We decided that we could move the “flopper stoppers” and that would free up a great deal of space on the counter. As we have used up supplies and given unused supplies away we found room in other lockers. But moving anything in a boat is problematic. Most often you need to empty a locker out and then repack it. And when we empty a new locker out we check it against the inventory and then repack it. Today, while basically an easy day (I will not have to twist, bend, grunt, talk to fittings, slice up parts of my body, etc) finishing this job will take a good part of the day to complete. By good part I mean “all morning”. We’re retired. If we can avoid it we don’t work in the afternoon. Afternoons are hot. And if it is not really hot it is humid. Sometimes it is both hot and humid so for our sanity, if we can avoid working in the afternoon we do. And mostly we ‘re successful.
With the locker packed up, stuff moved, inventory fixed, we are ready to cross this job off the list. Yeah!
In Panama as we were preparing to leave I discovered a small crack in the bow pulpit right where the bail connected with the lifeline. It was a wee bit o’ a problem but one I felt I could temporarily live with. I pulled and tugged and pushed on it and the metal didn’t move; but I knew it would be suspect spot and I needed to treat it with respect. We have jack lines so it wasn’t like I would be hanging on with my life via the lifelines; but I would always need to be aware of this potential failure point until it can be repaired.
In the Galapagos I thought I had a welder that would fix it but that fell through. And since
Sistered Pulpit Support
the next leg of the trip would be 3,000 miles I wanted to do something to shore it up. I was able to find two SS U bolts and I scrounged a block of wood. Then I could sister the wood to the pulpit by clamping the item to the SS tubing and making sure that the wood was held in place and in line with the pulpit. It wasn’t like new; but I felt much better about the strength of the SS piece with the wood support.
Finally; after living with my jury rigged repair for 5 months or so we happened upon a marine welding shop and W/ and I asked if they could repair the pulpit. Mark on sv Mystic; a welder by trade, said it was a little job and the repair would be “no big deal”. The problem with little jobs on boats is no one, I mean NO ONE, wants to do them. Here included. I had recognized that they would need to see the crack so I brought in a picture on my camera. That helped. But they indicated that the SS was “dead” (whatever that means) and if they welded it closed it would fail sooner than later. I felt they were just wanting to beg off. But I figured here we would have about the best chance of having this fixed so I asked if they couldn’t just replace the piece. That they could if they knew what size of SS it was.
So back to the boat I run with the dinghy, grab the calipers and measure. Hop in the dinghy again and back to the yard I go; they then look to see if they have the right size SS tubing. W/ and I talked about the job and figure we’ll go $80-$100 US. After they found the SS they quoted us 80 euros. Slightly more than we wanted to pay but OK, it will be done and we’ll cross it off the list. The rest of the day we prepared for the job. I pulled the one remaining navigation light off the sprit and snaked the wire back out. In the morning when we arrive at the marina I’ll shut the boat down and disconnect the negative wires to the batteries as Mark suggested. That shuts the ground down on the entire boat.
The following day we brought Elysium into the marina and hung the sprit over the walkway so they could do their work. A bit later the boss and the welder showed up and the job began. First they made a replacement piece and then he cut out the curve with the crack. I thought the order was a little off but hey; I don’t like telling professionals how to do their job. After he cut the pulpit piece off he put his new piece in place and the bend was wrong. They needed to go and bend another. I just couldn’t help my self, I dug out the wooden sister piece I had been using and loaned that to them. On it was a perfect match for the curve of the SS pulpit. They returned with a correctly bent piece now that was close enough to exact that no one would see any differences.
Pulpit Repair Raiatea, French Polynesia
An hour later they were finished. There are large weld beads where they joined the two pieces and I asked about making them flush and polishing. In the states that IMHO would have been part of the job. In Columbia too! They indicated that if they did grind the welds flush the piece would just snap right off. I asked about polishing and the boss indicated that it wasn’t part of the quote and he indicated they didn’t have the materials to do that anyway. (Personally I kind of felt that a welding shop would have what they need to polish up their work but again I’m thinking I’m back home). I’m not sure I believed them, maybe had I been able to speak French things would have gone smoother. Maybe not. But; the job is done, I have full strength back in the pulpit and I guess, if I get really bored someday, I can polish it up. Till then the pulpit is better now than living with the wood piece there just asking to snag any line that comes close. In the next day or so we’ll move up the “Aquarium” and do a short snorkel through a very shallow ocean pass. Right now we’re just thankful we can cross a major project off the list.
