One week in and it definitely feels as though we've turned a corner and things are getting back on track. After the success of Thursday (well done Paul for fixing various problems!) we awoke yesterday to find the bilge still dry and got up bright and early to fit the recently returned mainsail before the daytime winds built. It's always a fiddly job, trying to attach the top and bottom of the sail to the cars that run up the track inside the mast, especially when the hole in the mast provided to achieve this task is barely big enough for a child's hand. Once again Paul's determination won through and we now have the mainsail back on and, importantly, have stopped the spindle clanging inside the mast. Silent nights now a realistic option!
We're having a cockpit enclosure made over this and next week which will keep the cockpit dry when it rains, or if we're sailing into choppy seas. We probably should have done it when we got Tumi but better late than never. The new side panels will offer us good visibility, while the mesh sun screen at the rear will help keep us cool. It will be brilliant to be able to leave things out in the cockpit 24/7 without the worry of them getting soaked every time it rains.
The couple on the boat anchored next to us invited us over for morning coffee yesterday, a lovely couple of hours getting to know them and exchanging boating experiences. They were very admiring of Tumi, twice offering to swap yachts with us! Not a chance!! Our socialising continued last night when we joined five other couples for dinner. A fun evening.
The week ahead should see the rigging being fixed (nothing heard from Jeanneau as yet), the cockpit enclosure finished and hopefully us gaining more insight into the whole battery charging scenario on board. But today we're off to one of our favourite restaurants on the beach for lunch. There's definitely a light at the end of the re-launch tunnel!!
10 Nov 2018
8 Nov 2018
8th November 2018 Prickly Bay
Prickly Bay is an apt place to be right now, prickly because we are experiencing several glitches as we get to use more facilities on board which is rather frustrating to say the least.
Yesterday we found that the water maker would only work on 12v and not on 220v - it's an essential part of our life aboard so needed to be fixed soonest. I looked for my multimeter to check the power supply only to find someone had stolen it over the summer. I'm lost without one, so many jobs need it, but I investigated the electrical circuit for it and discovered the fuse had blown. Not just any old fuse of course, life is never that simple, so I knew I would have problems sourcing a replacement.
Anyway, we went shopping yesterday for some food essentials having been scratching around for foodstuff since we got here. There is a hardware store next door to the supermarket and that was our first port of call after we got off the bus. Debra headed for the soft furnishings department and I got the tools section. I know, boys and their toys, but this was essential to me and I got my multimeter. It was exactly like my old one that I got from Lidl, except this one was double the price. Welcome to the Caribbean!
So, this morning we noticed that the bilge pump kept kicking in to drain water from the bottom of the boat, never a good sign. I tasted the water to see if it was salty (sign of a leak in the hull fittings). Nope, fresh water. I realised it must be a weak joint in the pressurised water system. Not good. We traced it to the pressure release valve on the hot water cylinder and typically it isn't in a very accessible place (nothing is on boats!). Several cuts and scrapes later, I managed to remove the valve for inspection. At this point we had to stem the flow of water coming from the hot water tank which was hot, and Debra suggested bunging the outlet up to save my burning fingers. It worked and off I went to try and find a spare.
Unfortunately, we're in the Caribbean. Get real! No such valve exists on the island so we have had to order a replacement from the UK. We thought the existing valve might have some calcification causing the unit to stay open so we dunked it in some kettle descaler and it seems to have done the trick. We reassembled everything (more scrapes) and so far so good.
The next task was to get the water maker going. I sourced a 50amp circuit breaker to replace the faulty fuse as no fuse was to be had. Who uses fuses these days anyway? It's so antiquated. Anyway, I fitted the new breaker and the water maker is doing its thing. Two successes so far.
The next task was to repair the air fan on Debra's side of the cabin. It had decided to give up the ghost and refused to turn. Back to the trusty multimeter and I could see that there was plenty of power there but no turning fan. I stripped it down and cleaned the contacts. Hey presto! Another successful job.
In between all this activity, we had the canvas people round wanting the bimini on to see how it fitted and to determine where they will stitch zippers to add our new side panels (and hopefully keep the cockpit dry when it rains) then once they knew that, the bimini needed taking off again. We're exhausted! A couple of G&Ts and an early night beckons!
Yesterday we found that the water maker would only work on 12v and not on 220v - it's an essential part of our life aboard so needed to be fixed soonest. I looked for my multimeter to check the power supply only to find someone had stolen it over the summer. I'm lost without one, so many jobs need it, but I investigated the electrical circuit for it and discovered the fuse had blown. Not just any old fuse of course, life is never that simple, so I knew I would have problems sourcing a replacement.
Anyway, we went shopping yesterday for some food essentials having been scratching around for foodstuff since we got here. There is a hardware store next door to the supermarket and that was our first port of call after we got off the bus. Debra headed for the soft furnishings department and I got the tools section. I know, boys and their toys, but this was essential to me and I got my multimeter. It was exactly like my old one that I got from Lidl, except this one was double the price. Welcome to the Caribbean!
So, this morning we noticed that the bilge pump kept kicking in to drain water from the bottom of the boat, never a good sign. I tasted the water to see if it was salty (sign of a leak in the hull fittings). Nope, fresh water. I realised it must be a weak joint in the pressurised water system. Not good. We traced it to the pressure release valve on the hot water cylinder and typically it isn't in a very accessible place (nothing is on boats!). Several cuts and scrapes later, I managed to remove the valve for inspection. At this point we had to stem the flow of water coming from the hot water tank which was hot, and Debra suggested bunging the outlet up to save my burning fingers. It worked and off I went to try and find a spare.
Unfortunately, we're in the Caribbean. Get real! No such valve exists on the island so we have had to order a replacement from the UK. We thought the existing valve might have some calcification causing the unit to stay open so we dunked it in some kettle descaler and it seems to have done the trick. We reassembled everything (more scrapes) and so far so good.
The next task was to get the water maker going. I sourced a 50amp circuit breaker to replace the faulty fuse as no fuse was to be had. Who uses fuses these days anyway? It's so antiquated. Anyway, I fitted the new breaker and the water maker is doing its thing. Two successes so far.
The next task was to repair the air fan on Debra's side of the cabin. It had decided to give up the ghost and refused to turn. Back to the trusty multimeter and I could see that there was plenty of power there but no turning fan. I stripped it down and cleaned the contacts. Hey presto! Another successful job.
In between all this activity, we had the canvas people round wanting the bimini on to see how it fitted and to determine where they will stitch zippers to add our new side panels (and hopefully keep the cockpit dry when it rains) then once they knew that, the bimini needed taking off again. We're exhausted! A couple of G&Ts and an early night beckons!
7 Nov 2018
7/11/2018 : Back afloat, Grenada
We arrived back on Saturday evening and after a pretty manic Sunday of preparation, Tumi was launched on Monday morning and we were able to move back on board. That's about where the good news stops!
Little of the work we had asked to be done while we were at home has been completed and as I type at 1.30am, unable to sleep because of the slamming spindle inside the mast, I could quite merrily swing for the sail loft who in seven months failed to find a few hours to restitch the seams on our main sail. Hence the disturbed night's sleep: without the mainsail wrapped around the spindle, thereby cushioning it from hitting the mast, the spindle slams from side to side inside the mast, metal on metal, and reverberates through the entire boat as Tumi rocks from side to side with the small swell. We've been promised the sail back by Friday ... fingers crossed.
We also returned to find that the mousing line we bought in March wasn't UV resilient and had perished over the summer. So as soon as Paul tried to pull all the lines (halyards, sheets etc) back through the mast using the mousing lines he so carefully left in situ, they collapsed like tissue paper. So we need a rigger to go to the top of the mast to drop three halyards (ropes) down inside it and hopefully be able to hook them out at the bottom.
The electrical work we had requested also hasn't been done by the but conversations on Monday and Tuesday with a different marine engineer may bear fruit ... in about 3 or 4 weeks time. Looks like we'll be in Grenada for a while!
And finally, to cap it all, the rig survey we requested before embarking on our Pacific crossing yielded a lot of problems with rusted and pitted cabling and swages bringing the integrity of the standing rigging (the bit that holds the mast up) into question. We are not very impressed: most rigs last into double figures years, indeed insurers only demand a survey once a rig is 10 years old. Ours is 4.5 years old! We have taken it up with Jeanneau but aren't holding our breath.
So all in all not a great start but nothing that time and throwing money at it can't solve. Welcome to the world of yacht maintenance in the Caribbean!! On the upside, it's sunny and warm ☀
Little of the work we had asked to be done while we were at home has been completed and as I type at 1.30am, unable to sleep because of the slamming spindle inside the mast, I could quite merrily swing for the sail loft who in seven months failed to find a few hours to restitch the seams on our main sail. Hence the disturbed night's sleep: without the mainsail wrapped around the spindle, thereby cushioning it from hitting the mast, the spindle slams from side to side inside the mast, metal on metal, and reverberates through the entire boat as Tumi rocks from side to side with the small swell. We've been promised the sail back by Friday ... fingers crossed.
We also returned to find that the mousing line we bought in March wasn't UV resilient and had perished over the summer. So as soon as Paul tried to pull all the lines (halyards, sheets etc) back through the mast using the mousing lines he so carefully left in situ, they collapsed like tissue paper. So we need a rigger to go to the top of the mast to drop three halyards (ropes) down inside it and hopefully be able to hook them out at the bottom.
The electrical work we had requested also hasn't been done by the but conversations on Monday and Tuesday with a different marine engineer may bear fruit ... in about 3 or 4 weeks time. Looks like we'll be in Grenada for a while!
And finally, to cap it all, the rig survey we requested before embarking on our Pacific crossing yielded a lot of problems with rusted and pitted cabling and swages bringing the integrity of the standing rigging (the bit that holds the mast up) into question. We are not very impressed: most rigs last into double figures years, indeed insurers only demand a survey once a rig is 10 years old. Ours is 4.5 years old! We have taken it up with Jeanneau but aren't holding our breath.
So all in all not a great start but nothing that time and throwing money at it can't solve. Welcome to the world of yacht maintenance in the Caribbean!! On the upside, it's sunny and warm ☀
29 Oct 2018
29th October, ready to depart ...
We have had the removals people in today packing our valuables ready for our departure. We will be renting our house out (hopefully) for the time that we are away, and we fully expect to be living out of a suitcase when we return to the UK next year.
The final bits of the propeller to fix the wobble are on their way to Grenada, as I write this, it is in transit with an expected delivery of the 1st November. We hope that it will be fitted by the time we arrive on the island on the 3rd November. We are crossing all fingers and toes!
Once we arrive in Grenada, basically we will have one full day to get Tumi ready to launch, then we will have a day in a slip fitting the sails before we head round to Prickly Bay to meet up with the people who will be stitching our existing, and making our new canvas bits and pieces. We fully expect to be in Grenada for a couple of weeks before heading northwards, and should be able to meet up with some friends in between times.
The next bulletin will come from Grenada!
The final bits of the propeller to fix the wobble are on their way to Grenada, as I write this, it is in transit with an expected delivery of the 1st November. We hope that it will be fitted by the time we arrive on the island on the 3rd November. We are crossing all fingers and toes!
Once we arrive in Grenada, basically we will have one full day to get Tumi ready to launch, then we will have a day in a slip fitting the sails before we head round to Prickly Bay to meet up with the people who will be stitching our existing, and making our new canvas bits and pieces. We fully expect to be in Grenada for a couple of weeks before heading northwards, and should be able to meet up with some friends in between times.
The next bulletin will come from Grenada!
17 Oct 2018
17 October 2018 Some last minute activity
We are really on the countdown now, getting ready to depart and rejoin the warm weather out in Grenada. We have had to have the rudder bearings replaced on Tumi as there was a bit of play from having achieved over 10,000 miles of sailing in her. That went OK, but when the boat guys were working on the rudder they noticed some significant play on the propellor (see below).
So we have had a flurry of emails between ourselves and the UK agents for Gori props and several spare parts were ordered and despatched on Monday. The stripped down prop had some worn bushes and these have hopefully been replaced.
As the day of our departure draws rapidly near, we are shocked to see just how much stuff we need to take back with us, not least of which is technology based. We have invested in a laser flare which gives us 8 hours of constant use instead of an average 30 seconds from an individual pyrotechnic flare. Not cheap, but very practical. I only hope that we never have to use it! Hopefully we can fit some of our clothes in the bags as well as the 'stuff'.
So we have had a flurry of emails between ourselves and the UK agents for Gori props and several spare parts were ordered and despatched on Monday. The stripped down prop had some worn bushes and these have hopefully been replaced.
As the day of our departure draws rapidly near, we are shocked to see just how much stuff we need to take back with us, not least of which is technology based. We have invested in a laser flare which gives us 8 hours of constant use instead of an average 30 seconds from an individual pyrotechnic flare. Not cheap, but very practical. I only hope that we never have to use it! Hopefully we can fit some of our clothes in the bags as well as the 'stuff'.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)