Replacing stuff
We’d noticed that the cranking battery wasn’t charged by any of the solar arrays, and tended to very slowly lose power over long periods without the engine running. Since we have three solar circuits, I rewired the smallest one (a flexible panel on top of the bimini) to keep the cranking battery up to scratch.
We’d been having some problems with the head, an original equipment Raritan with parts only available from America. I’d ordered a couple of repair kits to be sent to the Anchorage marina at Nelson Bay, and so one starry night Brendon and I sat down and rebuilt it. Unlike some other toilets that I’ve worked on, this one is really simple and all the parts can be disassembled and examined on a work table, rather than from a prone position on the bathroom floor. We soon had it running again.
We also replaced the third reefing line, which was far too short so that the end disappeared up the mast when the main was fully hoisted. Sometimes it got stuck on the way up, which made things difficult. We replaced the line with one of suitable length from the vast store under the forepeak, and then used the old line, which was still in good condition, to replace the preventer which was badly frayed.
Sailing for fun
We’d spent a lot of time on passage and fixing things, so it was nice to do nothing more than go for a pleasant sail in Pittwater with friends. The weather was nice and the wind was gusty. We dropped anchor for lunch in Little Pittwater, watching all the other yachts race for home ahead of the coming wind change, and then beat home under staysail and reefed main, exchanging tacks with another cruising boat all the way back to the marina. Maintaining a cruising yacht may appear to be a lot of work, but when it’s all going well, it is just magic.
Up on the hard
Speaking of maintenance…
Personal and family commitments meant that we would be leaving Vestlandskyss to herself for a few months, so I thought that I would get some professionals to have a look at a few things while we were away. I was a bit concerned by some of the work that had been done by a workshop in Panama for the previous owners. One of their jobs had been to replace the D1 stays, which subsequently broke on passage across the Pacific. We had spoken to the previous owner’s rigger in Queensland and he told us that the wrong connecting parts had been fitted, which wore away the stays. He had just completed the repair when we first arrived to inspect the boat.
The Panamanian yard had also applied antifoul, and it was immediately clear to all of us when she came out of the water for survey that they had done a shoddy job, with parts of the naked hull showing through at the bow.
The last set of receipts from Panama also showed a full service of the engine, and I was beginning to feel suspicious about that, if only because the boss attaching the propeller to the saildrive had rather too much play in it.
I engaged Mark at Bayview Slipway to lift her out of the water and have a look. Mark was amazing, and kept me informed every step of the way, including daily photos of the work that they were doing. They quickly discovered that the reason for the loose prop was that the retaining nut inside the sail drive was only hand-tight, which was alarming but at least an easy fix. The mechanic also serviced the engine and declared that it was now in good order.
Bayview Slipway then stripped off what was left of the antifoul and put on a new base layer and three good coats, plus prop-speed treatment on the sail drive.
I returned to the boat and found everything spotless. What a great business. Thank you, Bayview Slipway.