This blog began in late 2006 with the planning and preparation for a circumnavigation of the world in my 39-foot sail boat Pachuca. It then covered a successful 5-year circumnavigation that ended in April 2013. The blog now covers life with Pachuca back home in Australia.

Pachuca

Pachuca
Pachuca in Port Angeles, WA USA

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Salt Water Tap



A few weeks ago I got the bright idea of installing a salt water tap in the galley sink. The goal is to save fresh water on long passages by washing dishes and other things with salt water (then rinsing with fresh). The problem was access to sea water. Yet another hole through the hull was out of the question. Someone suggested using the engine cooling water intake but someone else advised to avoid that because of the danger of the cooling system sucking up air if the salt water tap is left open. "The cooling system is sacrosanct." were his words.

So I decided to tap into the sink drain. Why not? Water drained from the sink is exchanged with the sea water whether the boat is moving or not. The worst that can happen is that some drain water is mixed in with some salt water when cleaning the dishes. We can live with that (we think).

For the cost of about $110 and 3 hours of work the tap has been installed and is working fine. One fellow sailor thought that the salt water pump would lower the water level of the drain hose and air would be sucked in. This has not happened. Attached is a photo showing where I've used a T-piece to connect the drain hose to a smaller salt water pump inlet hose. The other photo shows the three sink taps: pressure fresh water at the left, manual salt water in the middle, manual fresh water at the right. We will sail long passages with the electrical breaker of the fresh water pressure pump turned off.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Back in the Water




1. Pachuca is back in the water. She was lowered into the water at 11.30AM on Thusday the 20th and I got to work trying to figure out why the Auto helm display on the binnacle would not come on. Greg Hanson and Peter Turner from Maritime Electronics helped me with with a proper earth connector to the display and identification of a blown 5Amp fuse as the culprit. I also wired up the compass light
2. Brenda took delivery of the tailor-made bag for the water maker that she funded as a contribution to the Pachuca adventure. It is a terrific bag and the guys that made it exceeded their own promises. They added an extra layer of padding on the floor of the bag and included a special pouch for the propeller. They visited the Waterlog web site and showed the water maker to various people.
3. We had aboard Tamio Meguro, a Japanese circumnavigator. He sailed out of Japan in June 2005 in his small (about 30 ft) red boat "Dharma". He sailed to BC Canada, down to New Zealand, then 60 days sailing to round the Horn. He then sailed up the West coast of Africa to Europe, then across to the US, the down the carribean and down the S. Africa and now Fremantle. Within a few days he will depart for NZ then back to Japan. Some highlights: He has hit two whales but no containers. He lives on only 1 liter of water per day. He does not now carry a water maker nor does he collect rain water. He doesn't fish, either. I used my chart plotter to identify every port between Esperance and Adelaide that could supply him with fuel.
4. Following a chance conversation with a visitor from Hillary's in a Westerly 33 this morning Brenda and I covered the steering wheel with 3.0 mm cord. As luck would have it I had a full roll of the stuff in the boat. Following the fellow's advice I then painted the covering with ordinary gloss enamel paint.

Enclosed are photos of the water maker bag, Tamio's boat "Dharma", and the steering wheel.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Steering Pedestal Installed

Today Reg and I picked up the steering pedestal from Peter at DeGroot Engineering.

Peter said that two out of the three bearings were seized up. The pedestal now has new bearings and has been lubricated. Peter asked us to lubricate the grease nipple ourselves because his grease gun was at another site. That took a bit of effort because we were forced to remove the nipple and clean out the grease channel on the shaft with a piece of wire before we could get grease to pass through.

Reg and I spent most of the day reinstalling the pedestal compass, binnacle instruments, and cockpit table. We cleaned the base of the pedestal and painted two coats of metal etching primer. We then laid it on Sikaflex 295 sealant and we used the right amount because as we tightened the bolts we got a nice bead of sealant oozing out. For the legs of the binnacle we used marine grade silicone sealant.

We got the Trimble GPS repeater on the binnacle to work OK but the Autohelm self steering display would not come up. I do not think that it is a serious problem but if I cannot solve it on my next visit I'll bring in Maritime Electronics.

Also, the binnacle compass has been wired up at the binnacle but I must make the connection at the cockpit. I'm taking the opportunity to remove an unnecessary junction box and joints. Also, I'll remove some redundant wiring that was once connected to a cockpit light now hidden by the table. How I love to remove redundant wiring!

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Medical Kit

Brenda has documented most of the medical supplies. It's all backed up by our recent 1st aid courses and some superb medical guides.

Instructions for medication supplied through travel doctor

Stemazine – one every 8 hours. Nausea and vomiting. Sturgeron is more effective

Gastrostop – for diarrhea

Noroxin – Gastric infections and urinary tract infections. Take 2 tablets with one Gastrostop for gastro. Continue only if still unwell. One tablet every 12 hours on an empty stomach.

Simplotan – Giardia/amoebic dystentery. Take four tablets together. (Tinidazole)

Panadeine forte – for strong pain

Avomine – allergy/motion sickness

Rulide – Chest infection

Dicloxallin – Skin infections including Coral cuts

Augmentin – Sinus and skin infections (Coral cut)

Bactroban – antibiotic ointment – coral cuts

Soframycin – external ear infection/ eye infections

Voltaren – anti-inflammatory pain relief. Take with food

Chloroquine – antimalarial tablets

Malarone – Malaria prevention


Medicines and first aid supplies

Location: A = Square plastic box with blue trim in head. Upper left shelf

B = Black fabric bag in cupboard behind nav station

C = Plastic box in grab bag (in cupboard behind nav station)

What it is

What it’s for

Location

Anticol

Nasal conjestion, sore throat

B

Antiseptic cream - dettol

Antiseptic

A

Antiseptic cream- savlon

Antiseptic

B

Antiseptic Dettol – liquid

Antiseptic

A

Augmentin forte antibiotic

Infections – chest, urinary,ears

B

Avomine

Allergy, travel sickness

B,C

Bactroban cream

Skin infection – secondary

C

Bandage – small gauze elastic

For high movement area

A

Bandaid – various sizes

Dressing

A,C

Betadine

Antiseptic

A

Book – traveling well

Advice

A

Booklet – health guide for travel

Advice

B,C

Butesin pictrate for skin

Burns,sunburn, scalds, abrasion

A

Chloroquin

Malaria prevention

B

Coloxyl

Consipation

B

Condom

B

Cotton balls

A

Cough lozenge Fishermens Friend

Cough

A

Dicloxallin

Skin infections

B

Dressing sterile various sizes

Dressing

A

Eyebath

Eye

A

Gastrostop

Diarrhoea

C

Hydralyte

Dehydration

A,C

Leucoclip

Wound closure

C

Malarone

Malaria treatment

B

Noroxin

Infections – bladder, diarrhoea

B,C

Panadeine forte

Strong pain relief

A,C

Paracetemol – herron, panadol

Pain relief

A,C

Polaramine

Allergy

A

Rulide antibiotic

Chest infection

B

Safety pins

A

Scissors

A

Simplotan antibiotic

Giardia

B,C

Sinus pain

Sinus pain, nasal congestion

B

Soframycin antibiobiotic

Eye or ear infection

B,C

Stemzine

Travel sickness

C

Stingose

Bites and stings

A

Tape for strapping

Joints - Strong support

A

Travelcalm ginger

Travel sickness and nausea

A

Tweezers

A

Voltaren

Anti-inflammatory, pain

C

Wound pads – non stick

Dressing infected sores

A

Aerogard – tropic strength rollon

Insect repellant

A

Bandages

Bandaging

Thermometer

Body temperature

Panadol

List of medicine, equipment

A,B,C

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Medical Kit, Para Anchor, Water Maker


I paid my second visit to the travel doctor on Friday morning.

The first order of business was to tell me that the lab analysis confirmed that I had immunity to Hepatitis B (and that a fourth inoculation would not be required).

We then put together a medical kit containing an array of antibiotics covering various medical contingencies. We discussed the inclusion of morphine as a pain killer but given that the care required in using it (e.g. suppressive effect on vital functions) and the prospect of each dose lasting only a few hours I agreed that we should stick to more conventional pain killers (e.g. Panadol Forte). We've also got anti malaria pills to be taken as a prophylactic in Central America.

I'll probably publish a detail list of the kit at a later time.

The cost of the visit and kit, including a 'flu vaccination was $498. From Medibank I get a refund of a princely $1.98.

We unpacked the para anchor and I must say that the equipment and how it hangs together is top quality. No wonder. The "inwater kit" alone - which includes 100m of thick nylon rope, trip lines and floats, shackles - cost just under $1000. Having said that, I'm totally confident in the system. Shackling it to the stainless steel roller at the end of the anchor fair lead will guarantee no risk of chafing.

I telephoned Alby to comment on the quality of the gear and ask some more questions on the deployment (from the cockpit, with no risky trips to the foredeck) and he told me another para anchor story from the previous week. A big cat battled heavy weather for several days between Tasmania and the south island of New Zealand. Two of the crew - one with serious dehydration - were taken off by a ship. Two remained on the cat, deployed their para anchor, and had no further problems riding out the storm.

We delivered the water maker to a bag maker in Rockingham. They will make a heavy-duty padded bag so that we can carry and store the water maker without taking it apart. A few days before that I spoke to a Water Log person in UK who answered all of my questions regarding the unit. As a result of that conversation I have a lot more confidence in the unit. We expect to try it out within the next few weeks.

I purchased a pretty good pair of sea boots at Yacht Grot and am waiting until they get in a medium sized set of wet weather pants before decided whether to purchase the "large" or "medium" size.

I expect to fit a manual salt-water tap in the galley sink. I'll take in the salt water from a "tee" connection at the sink drain hose well below the water line. The idea is to use salt water to wash the dishes, using precious fresh water only to rinse. The NZ-made manual pump/tap is on order and I should have it next week.

The suppliers of the wind charger have generously agreed to replace the damaged HRDX regulator. Unfortunately it will not arrive until 1 April. In the meantime I successfully reinstated the previous setup managing the solar panels. They are now delivering power to the batteries via an ammeter, Arrid charge controller, and manual switch that allows me to direct the input current to battery bank A or B or A&B. The HRDX will be dedicated to the wind charger only. It will have its own inbuilt ammeter and will automatically manage battery banks A and B.

Also, I added the 50 A/H battery that had been used for the anchor winch and turned out to be good to the two large "house" batteries of bank 2. Enclosed is a photo of battery bank 2.

Steering Pedestal




While having a cup of coffee on the veranda a couple of weekends ago I presented a schematic of Pachuca's steering pedestal that I had recently rediscovered and we discussed my anxiety about the unknown state of maintenance of the unit, the loose pinion leading to a loose wheel, and the grinding feel whenever I turned the wheel. We went to Fremantle and removed the entire unit in less than three hours.

Last Tuesday I presented it to Peter DeGroot of DeGroot Engineering and he partially disassembled it on the spot. The unit was in better condition that I had feared: no broken gears in the quadrant or pinion, and bearings felt OK, though not under load. However, the grease had turned to little more than powder. I asked Peter to replace every bearing (about 4) and in general refurbish the unit.

It looks like the pedestal would have taken us around the world after all but it would have been a worry throughout the entire journey. Now I'll know what is in there, how it works, and that it is fully restored and lubricated.

Peter has promised delivery of the pedestal "by Wednesday". On the strength of that Reg and I plan to go to Freo on Wednesday and reinstall the unit, and I have scheduled a boat lift into the water on Thursday.

Attached are photos:
- the opening through the cockpit sole after removal of the pedestal
- me cleaning what I think is crystallised Sikoflex from the base of the unit
- the unit on the bench

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Circumnavigation Plan V4.4

Below is what we hope will be the final version of our cruising plan. Brother Arnold has confirmed tickets to arrive in Perth on 23 April. The departure date of our circumnavigation is now 3 May.

From

To

Distance NM

Sailing Days

Stopover

Travel Days

Departure Date

Arrival date

Core Storm Season

Knots

"From" Coords

Fremantle

Albany

325

5

3

8

03-May-08

07-May-08

2.78

32S04, 115E44

Albany

Esperance

270

4

2

6

10-May-08

14-May-08

2.78

35S01, 117E54

Esperance

Port Lincoln

707

11

3

14

16-May-08

27-May-08

2.78

32S52, 121E54

Port Lincoln

Adelaide

129

2

3

5

30-May-08

01-Jun-08

2.78

34S43, 135E52

Adelaide

Eden NSW

660

10

1

11

04-Jun-08

14-Jun-08

Jan-Mar (Nov-May)

2.78

34S47, 138E49

Eden NSW

Sydney

210

3

5

8

15-Jun-08

18-Jun-08

Jan-Mar (Nov-May)

2.78

37S04, 149E56

Sydney

Whangarei

1250

15

14

29

23-Jun-08

08-Jul-08

Jan-Mar (Nov-May)

3.47

33S50, 151E18

Whangarei

Raivavae

2090

25

7

32

22-Jul-08

16-Aug-08

3.47

35S45, 174E20

Raivavae

Papeete Tahiti

393

5

21

26

23-Aug-08

28-Aug-08

3.47

23S54, 147W42

Papeete Tahiti

Palmyra

1587

19

7

26

18-Sep-08

07-Oct-08

3.47

17S34, 149W34

Palmyra

Honolulu

958

11

10

21

14-Oct-08

25-Oct-08

Jul-Sep (May-Nov)

3.47

05N53, 162W05

Honolulu

Juan De Fuca

2340

28

124

152

04-Nov-08

02-Dec-08

Jul-Sep (May-Nov)

3.47

21N19, 157W50

Juan de Fuca

San Diego

950

14

3

17

05-Apr-09

20-Apr-09

Jul-Sep (May-Nov)

2.78

47N34, 122W23

San Diego

Golfito Costa R

2400

36

100

136

23-Apr-09

29-May-09

2.78

32N43, 117W09

Golfito Costa R

Galapagos

757

9

3

12

06-Sep-09

15-Sep-09

3.47

08N38, 083W11

Galapagos

Callao,Peru

1058

13

30

43

18-Sep-09

30-Sep-09

3.47

00N00, 090W00

Callao

Valparaiso, Ch

1292

19

30

49

30-Oct-09

19-Nov-09

2.78

12S05, 077W08

Valparaiso

Cape Horn

1400

21

0

21

19-Dec-09

09-Jan-10

2.78

33S03, 071W38

Cape Horn

Falklands

435

5

3

8

09-Jan-10

14-Jan-10

3.47

55S58, 067W17

Falklands

Cape Town

3356

34

7

41

17-Jan-10

20-Feb-10

4.17

51S42, 057W49

Cape Town

St Paul Is

2840

28

3

31

27-Feb-10

27-Mar-10

4.17

33S55, 018E27

St Paul Is

Fremantle

1894

19

0

19

30-Mar-10

18-Apr-10

4.17

38S50, 077E35

Avg Speed Knots

3.4

Dist Sailed Nm

27301

Days Under Sail

336

Lay Days

379

Days Away

715

Miles Per Day

80

100

120

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