Busy Monday

The first thing I did this morning was to investigate the possibility of moving two of the batteries in the rear of the boat so that I could get good access to the stern of the boat below the cockpit to look for possible sources of water leaks. I removed the wooden clamp holding them down and moved one of the batteries around go gauge its weight. It was seriously heavy. I managed to slide myself on top of the batteries to get a good look at the area in the back with a strong light. Everything was dry and the hosing appeared to be in order. The design and construction of the rudder post housing seemed to prevent any possibility of leaks. There was some minor leakage from the cockpit around the binnacle into the lower area. I felt the two clamps at the top end of the muffler and they were secure.

It did not make sense to me to go to the effort (and risk) of removing the batteries for a closer while I wasn't sure that there was a leak in that area. Now that I knew that I could squeeze in far enough for a good look I decided to inspect the area when when we are sailing hard to windward.

I've included a photo of the four batteries in the stern. The two lower ones are the original Delkor batteries for starting the engine. The two upper ones are two of the four gel batteries installed in Opua, New Zealand. That black pad on the side of the battery with two attached wires is the temperature sensor, required because gel batteries can overheat and burn.

After that I removed part of the ceiling on the starboard side of the cabin and exposed the area to be treated for leaks. The problem appears to be identical to that on the port side which Arnold and I successfully treated in Hawaii. I'll do the same fix with epoxy and am fairly optimistic about the result.

Then Dan from Port Townsend Rigging paid his visit and my task list was significantly changed. The good news was that he thinks that my rigging is OK. The age of the rigging (about 4 years) and the mileage on them (8000 nm perhaps?) is well below the expected life of the rig. I attribute to the failure of my headstay to excessive flexing because it was allowed to get too loose. I cannot explain the corrosion failure of the inner forestay.

Dan then turned his attention to the various deck fittings with the thoroughness that I have come to expect. Many of my blocks are undersized. Three of them have sheaves for wire and not rope and must be replaced. The blocks on the traveller are in particularly bad shape. I knew this when I left Fremantle but was too busy to take the time to lift the track off to get access to the blocks.

The four wooden platforms on the cabin to accommodate winches for serious ocean racing were cracked and would not last much longer so it was agreed that I would remove them and the two wooden bases for the stainless steel manager of the lines between the mast and cockpit to be replaced with synthetic material.

The attachment of the topmost slide of the mainsail was badly frayed and would have to be repaired by a sailmaker. I would drop the sail, pack it, and lower it to Dan who would take it to the sailmaker in his vehicle.

We agreed that a new topping lift arrangement would be set up using an external sheave at the top of the mast and the freed internal sheave would be used for a second halyard. This would act as a backup for the main halyard and would allow me to set up the trysail complete with its own halyard and ready to go up at short notice.

I would drop the headsail and remove the halyard for inspection and possible replacement.

Changes would be made to the boom vang. A new attachment would be made on the mast to replace the awkward one at the base of the mast. Also, one of the ropes would be replaced with spectra or similar standard.

Dan would try to find a short section of track compatible to what is already up the front of the mast in order to carry the spinnaker pole at the front of the mast instead of on the deck.

The first thing I did after Dan's visit was to remove the traveller. I have enclosed photos of the removed traveller and a closeup showing the pitiful state of its sheaves, this on a boat trying to circumnavigate the world.

Then I removed the four wood winch bases on the cabin. The photo shows the first one that I removed. You can see that the original base was of fiberglass molded on the deck. The wooden bases were put on top of the fiberglass bases to accommodate bigger winches. The plan is to clean off the fiberglass, fill in the holes, then sand the area smooth.

This will extend my hardstand time well into next week.

Oh, and I got word on that gear that I need for my port spinnaker winch. The good news is that the part is available. The bad news is that it will cost $237 USD.