Adelaide Stay
18 June 2008
Today was our seventh day at the Cruising Yacht Club of SA marina. On the first night of our arrival we met Trevor Kipling, an officer of the cruising section of the club. Trevor has turned out to be a terrific friend to us. Yesterday he accompanied Arnold on the kilometer walk to a semiprivate laundromat South of here. He then invited us to the regular Tuesday evening barbecue held by some of the cruising people and we had a pleasant evening last night sharing good food, drink, and conversation with the group.
Our stay here has been greatly assisted by the good public transport facilities of the Adelaide area. The Osborne train station is about a kilometer from the marina. For $1.20 we can get to Port Adelaide very easily for shopping and Internet visits to the library. Today the same $1.20 took us from Osborne into Adelaide then up to Tea Tree Plaza where we were met by and old friend Bob Gray for an enjoyable afternoon and evening with him and his wife Shirley.
This socializing has been against a background of febrile activity to get the boat ready for the next leg. Where do I begin? With Reg and Colleen's help we got the damaged heavy jib to a sail maker on Friday the 13th. On the following Monday we dropped the light jib and took it to the sail maker for repair of some minor tearing. We were going to take a cab but two fellow yachties overheard my conversation at the desk and took us to the sail maker then on to “Fitch the Rubber Man”.
That turned out to be rubber heaven – the most remarkable store of rubber stripping that I've ever seen. We walked in with the front hatch cover and walked out with hollow square section rubber sealing strips. That night Arnold and I cut out the old stripping and fitted the new one using contact glue. The next day we fitted the cover. We then had a look at the boot around the mast where it goes through the deck and used silicone sealant between the vinyl and the mast.
This morning we did some testing with a water hose and were pleased to note that there were no leaks from the hatch where we had sealed it or through the mast boot. However, the front hatch did leak badly between the plexi glass and the metal rim. This should be an easy fix with silicone sealant.
I am particularly hopeful about the mast leak fix. The water that was trickling down the mast into the cabin was not doing much damage, but I hope that this was also the source of persistent water leaks down the chain plates on either side of the mast. It is possible that the water was going down the mast then traveling inside the ceiling and trickling down the chain plates. If this was the case then another irritating leak down the chain plates will have been eliminated.
We used the hose to check the main hatch and found leaks too trivial to worry about.
On Monday we got a visit from and marine electronics person. John saw for himself the Autohelm go berzerk. He took away the computer and the display. He says that the flux gate compass is in a terrible place – too far from the centre of the boat, too near the water tank, too near electrical cabling. Arnold and I plan to move it tomorrow an will inspect it to report to John any evidence of water contamination.
This morning I picked up the new jib made by Tasker Sails in WA. The package weighed 24 kg. I spoke with Steve Hartley to let him know that I had received the sail. He said that the front part of the sail is 6.6 oz and the back of the sail is 8.4 oz. So in heavy airs we'll roll the sail in and the heavier fabric will deal with it.
This morning I fitted a new line to the Proful furler (30 meters of 10mm rope) to replace the nearly new one damaged by the jam cleat. (I'm beginning to hate jam cleats and will rely on an ordinary cleat that I had the foresight to fit for the job while still in Fremantle.) So tomorrow if the wind is light enough we'll raise the new jib and hopefully leave it up until we reach the tropics at which time we may or may not switch to the light jib. Also today I put a barrier of cord between the mast steps and the lower shroud to eliminate the problem of the mainsail refusing to drop because part of it is wrapped behind a mast step.
In the next two days I hope to fit the new 10mm reefing lines. From discussion with others I think that I have expected too much from these lines and will try going easier on them with the winch. We also plan to seal the hatch leading to the anchor well with either rubber stripping that we got from Fitch the Rubber Man or silicone sealant. Also we will add that extension that we mentioned weeks ago to the shower drain pump outlet hose to give us a better loop
Then there is the PAR marine toilet. The local boat shop could not identify the refurbishment kit for it. Today I telephoned Trevor at Yacht Grot and he will post me a kit after I've told him tomorrow if the toilet has a gray handle or a black on. (It is black.) I am hoping that replacement of the joker valve will help solve this recent problem of water flooding in through the toilet even with the ballcock in the “shut” position. During this operation we will remove the hose at the ball cock to see for ourselves if it is in fact leaking.
Last Friday I brought from Port Adelaide a fan heater that we have used to great effect to dry out various sections of the boat. This coupled with two days of bright sunshine have resulted in the driest this boat has been since Fremantle. We also took the opportunity to further dry out our para anchor and its 100 meters of nylon line.
So there are still a few things to be done with the boat and we do not expect to be able to begin a weather watch for a sailing opportunity before the beginning of next week.
19 June 08
I had several conversations with John of ICS regarding the Autohelm. He thinks that the Seatalk component of the computer is faulty. After discussions with him and Peter Turner in Fremantle we've decided to go for the S2 computer, without the “gimbal” option that costs another $1000. Arnold and I spent several difficult hours moving the Autohelm's flux gate compass to a more central position on the aft inside leg of the cabin table. This puts it in a more stable part of the boat and far from electric cables.
Arnold and I decided that rather than spending $100 on a refurbishment kit for the PAR marine toilet we'll spend $269 for a new Jabsco toilet. The “footprint” is identical to that of the PAR and it will be much easier to replace the toilet rather than spending hours replacing the seals and gaskets of the existing toilet, which is long in the tooth and presents some difficulty in sourcing parts.
We also set up the new jib on the forestay: head and tack shackled, sheets put on, and the bolt rope started on the slide. However, we had a side wind that was too high for my liking so we will wait for a more propitious time.
We also sealed the top of the forward hatch with silicone.
Reg Kelly is back in town and we will meet him at the Port Adelaide library tomorrow at noon.
20 June 2008
Last night we took advantage of a light wind and near-full moon to raise the new jib. Everything went well, particularly with the fit. Before dark we sealed the top of the forward hatch and we tested the work this morning with a hose and got NO LEAKS!!! (YAY!!!!).
This morning we removed the rubber seal from the plastic hatch leading to the anchor well and fitted on that we had brought back from Fitch the Rubber Man. The new rubber has a higher profile so we are hopeful that the nuisance dampness emanating from the hatch will cease.
Attached are two photographs of our drying activities at the marina. One shows Pachuca in her pen draped with clothes, bedding, etc. Note the cushions drying on the solar panels. The other photo is of the para-anchor hanging out to dry, with one of the sails on the lawn.
18 June 2008
Today was our seventh day at the Cruising Yacht Club of SA marina. On the first night of our arrival we met Trevor Kipling, an officer of the cruising section of the club. Trevor has turned out to be a terrific friend to us. Yesterday he accompanied Arnold on the kilometer walk to a semiprivate laundromat South of here. He then invited us to the regular Tuesday evening barbecue held by some of the cruising people and we had a pleasant evening last night sharing good food, drink, and conversation with the group.
Our stay here has been greatly assisted by the good public transport facilities of the Adelaide area. The Osborne train station is about a kilometer from the marina. For $1.20 we can get to Port Adelaide very easily for shopping and Internet visits to the library. Today the same $1.20 took us from Osborne into Adelaide then up to Tea Tree Plaza where we were met by and old friend Bob Gray for an enjoyable afternoon and evening with him and his wife Shirley.
This socializing has been against a background of febrile activity to get the boat ready for the next leg. Where do I begin? With Reg and Colleen's help we got the damaged heavy jib to a sail maker on Friday the 13th. On the following Monday we dropped the light jib and took it to the sail maker for repair of some minor tearing. We were going to take a cab but two fellow yachties overheard my conversation at the desk and took us to the sail maker then on to “Fitch the Rubber Man”.
That turned out to be rubber heaven – the most remarkable store of rubber stripping that I've ever seen. We walked in with the front hatch cover and walked out with hollow square section rubber sealing strips. That night Arnold and I cut out the old stripping and fitted the new one using contact glue. The next day we fitted the cover. We then had a look at the boot around the mast where it goes through the deck and used silicone sealant between the vinyl and the mast.
This morning we did some testing with a water hose and were pleased to note that there were no leaks from the hatch where we had sealed it or through the mast boot. However, the front hatch did leak badly between the plexi glass and the metal rim. This should be an easy fix with silicone sealant.
I am particularly hopeful about the mast leak fix. The water that was trickling down the mast into the cabin was not doing much damage, but I hope that this was also the source of persistent water leaks down the chain plates on either side of the mast. It is possible that the water was going down the mast then traveling inside the ceiling and trickling down the chain plates. If this was the case then another irritating leak down the chain plates will have been eliminated.
We used the hose to check the main hatch and found leaks too trivial to worry about.
On Monday we got a visit from and marine electronics person. John saw for himself the Autohelm go berzerk. He took away the computer and the display. He says that the flux gate compass is in a terrible place – too far from the centre of the boat, too near the water tank, too near electrical cabling. Arnold and I plan to move it tomorrow an will inspect it to report to John any evidence of water contamination.
This morning I picked up the new jib made by Tasker Sails in WA. The package weighed 24 kg. I spoke with Steve Hartley to let him know that I had received the sail. He said that the front part of the sail is 6.6 oz and the back of the sail is 8.4 oz. So in heavy airs we'll roll the sail in and the heavier fabric will deal with it.
This morning I fitted a new line to the Proful furler (30 meters of 10mm rope) to replace the nearly new one damaged by the jam cleat. (I'm beginning to hate jam cleats and will rely on an ordinary cleat that I had the foresight to fit for the job while still in Fremantle.) So tomorrow if the wind is light enough we'll raise the new jib and hopefully leave it up until we reach the tropics at which time we may or may not switch to the light jib. Also today I put a barrier of cord between the mast steps and the lower shroud to eliminate the problem of the mainsail refusing to drop because part of it is wrapped behind a mast step.
In the next two days I hope to fit the new 10mm reefing lines. From discussion with others I think that I have expected too much from these lines and will try going easier on them with the winch. We also plan to seal the hatch leading to the anchor well with either rubber stripping that we got from Fitch the Rubber Man or silicone sealant. Also we will add that extension that we mentioned weeks ago to the shower drain pump outlet hose to give us a better loop
Then there is the PAR marine toilet. The local boat shop could not identify the refurbishment kit for it. Today I telephoned Trevor at Yacht Grot and he will post me a kit after I've told him tomorrow if the toilet has a gray handle or a black on. (It is black.) I am hoping that replacement of the joker valve will help solve this recent problem of water flooding in through the toilet even with the ballcock in the “shut” position. During this operation we will remove the hose at the ball cock to see for ourselves if it is in fact leaking.
Last Friday I brought from Port Adelaide a fan heater that we have used to great effect to dry out various sections of the boat. This coupled with two days of bright sunshine have resulted in the driest this boat has been since Fremantle. We also took the opportunity to further dry out our para anchor and its 100 meters of nylon line.
So there are still a few things to be done with the boat and we do not expect to be able to begin a weather watch for a sailing opportunity before the beginning of next week.
19 June 08
I had several conversations with John of ICS regarding the Autohelm. He thinks that the Seatalk component of the computer is faulty. After discussions with him and Peter Turner in Fremantle we've decided to go for the S2 computer, without the “gimbal” option that costs another $1000. Arnold and I spent several difficult hours moving the Autohelm's flux gate compass to a more central position on the aft inside leg of the cabin table. This puts it in a more stable part of the boat and far from electric cables.
Arnold and I decided that rather than spending $100 on a refurbishment kit for the PAR marine toilet we'll spend $269 for a new Jabsco toilet. The “footprint” is identical to that of the PAR and it will be much easier to replace the toilet rather than spending hours replacing the seals and gaskets of the existing toilet, which is long in the tooth and presents some difficulty in sourcing parts.
We also set up the new jib on the forestay: head and tack shackled, sheets put on, and the bolt rope started on the slide. However, we had a side wind that was too high for my liking so we will wait for a more propitious time.
We also sealed the top of the forward hatch with silicone.
Reg Kelly is back in town and we will meet him at the Port Adelaide library tomorrow at noon.
20 June 2008
Last night we took advantage of a light wind and near-full moon to raise the new jib. Everything went well, particularly with the fit. Before dark we sealed the top of the forward hatch and we tested the work this morning with a hose and got NO LEAKS!!! (YAY!!!!).
This morning we removed the rubber seal from the plastic hatch leading to the anchor well and fitted on that we had brought back from Fitch the Rubber Man. The new rubber has a higher profile so we are hopeful that the nuisance dampness emanating from the hatch will cease.
Attached are two photographs of our drying activities at the marina. One shows Pachuca in her pen draped with clothes, bedding, etc. Note the cushions drying on the solar panels. The other photo is of the para-anchor hanging out to dry, with one of the sails on the lawn.
1 comment:
Adelaide is one of the best place where you can spend some quality place with your family.
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