Engine Maintenance

I think that the Volvo engine is ready for sea duty.

Base Slid Back, Impeller at Lower Left

Yesterday I changed the engine oil and filter, then changed the transmission oil.  I was slow and too messy in doing the job, but at least I am confident that it was done right and I'll get better with practice.  This work was done at 235.5 engine hours, only 163.5 engine hours since the last change.  I read in the manual that the engine coolant loses its rust inhibiting properties over time but could not find a statement of how often to change it. 

Face Plate Off, Impeller Ready For Extraction

I left the task of changing the water pump impeller until this morning and just as well.  Volvo has done a great job on making the impeller as accessible and easy to change as possible, but I found that I had to place the heavy engine cover on top of the cabin table then remove three screws so that I could slide the engine cover base a few inches back to allow enough room for the screw driver.

The impeller that I removed appeared to be in remarkably good shape, giving support to Mark's comment that perhaps just enough raw water was getting through to avert a disaster.  I'm keeping the old impeller for emergency use, although the spares kit that Mark provided me with had two impellers. 

Extracted Impeller in Good Shape

Great Impeller Kit, Includes Glycerine Lubricant

I then finished off by doing some work on the little red button at the base of the engine control handle.  Late in the passage I had to force the button down in order to run the engine out of gear and had a very difficult time teasing the button back out.  Had I not been able to do that I would not have been able to engage the transmission from the cockpit.  Mark figured that it was encrusted with salt and told me how to remove the handle by removing a grub screw at the base.  I removed the grub screw but happily did not have to remove the handle.  I found that by working fresh water around the button with a small paint brush as I worked it in and out I was able to flush out enough salt to free the button completely.  The next time I set up the hose to refill the water tanks I'll give the button a good fresh water treatment.

The last photo is of the poor creature removed by the diver from the engine raw water intake.  The aqua color at the right is where he attached himself to the antifouling.  I'm not fully convinced that he caused the water blockage but he was found at the scene of the crime.

As I was finishing up Alfredo called over from his boat and invited me to lunch at the cafe on the way to the footbridge.  We both had the same thing, steak sandwiches and beer. 

Over lunch Alfred told me that the three young Frenchmen who had sailed in a few days ago from the South had problems.  They made the mistake of calling into the Malvinas for some repairs.  The Falkland islanders apperantly do not warn visitors of the problem awaiting them if they proceed to Argentina.  Worse, they stamp passports. 

The Argentinian immigration people stick to the line that Malvinas are part of Argentina.  That is good news because they told our trio that they had departed from Ushuaia, part of Argentina, visited the Malvinas, part of Argentina, then proceeded to Mar Del Plata, part of Argentina, so they have no problem whatsoever.

However, the Prefectura, representing the military branch of the government, plays hard ball.  The Frenchmen freely admitted visiting the Malvinas, not knowing that they were cutting their own throats, but in any event their passports told the story.   They have been fined the equivalent of just under $6,000 USD for having the temerity to visit the Malvinas, even though the other branch of the government states that they had done nothing wrong.  After lunch we ran into the three and had a chat.  They have contacted their consulate, who were sending a lawyer to the Prefectura today.  The French embassy doesn't want to make waves because they are close to an election in France.  I'd been wondering why I've been seeing a uniformed member of the Prefectura watching our jetty for the last few days, and apperantly he's there to make sure that the trio don't make a run for it.  I figure that with a really good wind they would have a good chance of making a run to Uruguay during the night in the hopes that the authorities would not be able to react in time to find them, but our friends told me that they will pursue the diplomatic route, and let's face it, the French are peerless in diplomacy.