No Linkage, No Sail

When I went to start the engine to warm it up 20 minutes before departure on today's sail I found that the gear lever was firmly stuck on "forward".  I could not understand it because the lever had worked as recently as 3 weeks ago with no hint of trouble.  The problem seemed to be at the control lever rather than at the transmission.  Soon Bob and Ib were on board and Ib proceeded to dismantle the control box.  We got to the point where either there was something wrong with the gear lever mechanism that we could not understand or the cable had seized up.   I felt that I needed Joel's advice, given that he had made the installation.  Bob had seen Joel in the area and 15 minutes later had him on board Pachuca.

Joel had a look at the control levers then removed the cable at the transmission end and confirmed that there was no problem with the transmission.  He pronounced it a cable problem, possibly due to it having kinked up inside of the sheath. 

The cable is non standard to say the least.  It is a steering cable because that is the only type that will fit the strong but antiquated controls that probably date to when the boat was built in 1983.  Bob asked if it were better to replace the controls with modern standard ones rather than replacing the steering cable and Joel replied that yes, it would be better.

Bob and I then tried several suppliers in the area but non had controls suitable for a sailboat. 

My plan is to try to get standard Volvo controls while I am in the Port Townsend area.  That means that the boat will remain in this slip until I return to La Pa on 5 January.  However, I will still exercise the engine in the slip, managing the propeller direction directly at the transmission.

Once again Pachuca has tested my character.  Today's events remind me of a similar incident in New Zealand where two days before we were due to depart for French Polynesia I went to start the engine and discovered that the steering wheel was frozen and would not move.  That turned out to be the autopilot linear drive that had seized up and had to be replaced.  And as in New Zealand I can see the bright side: at least we discovered this problem in the safety of this slip, with supporting friends on board, Joel close at hand, and no urgent sailing plans.  Better yet, it has manifested itself before my visit to the Port Townsend area.

It's all a great shame because today's winds were splendid and we would have had a great day out. 

I owe Bob and Ib a sail and Pachuca owes me Big Time!