Hull Clean, Monitor Ready, Engine Ready

On Thursday I launched the Zodiac and washed the hull of the boat.  I held a slow running hose (water is plentiful in this part of the country) and washed with fresh water, dish detergent, and a sponge and in places a green scouring pad.  There were 4 or 5 of black thick sticky oily patches left there by my older boat fenders during our stay in Argentina.  For these I used a rag soaked with paint thinner followed by a water and detergent wash.  Two of my fenders are well past their prime, with the outer covering deteriorating and becoming sticky.  I'll go with what I got until the end of the cruise and purchase a new set of fenders with proper canvas covers in Fremantle.

After I finished washing the hull I stepped back and deliberated on whether or not to go to the expense of polishing the hull (Enrique estimated a whopping $250).  Given that the paint job has seen better days and I am about to set off for for Cape Town I decided that polishing would be a waste.  I promised Pachuca years ago that if she got me safely back to Australia I would treat her to a new paint job on her hull, and so I will, though it may take a year or two to make that happen.  It will be a deluxe job with no expense spared and when it is done I hope to see a mirror finish on the hull.  CUOF's can indulge in these follies.  (cashed up old farts)  Anyway, I finished up the day satisfied that the boat was now clean inside and out with new anodes on propeller shaft.

Yesterday I took advantage of having the Zodiac in the water to attend to the Monitor wind steering.  I swapped the control lines with the new ones that I had brought back from the U.S.A. I then made sure that every nut on the unit was tight.  One of the blocks was a bit stiff so I backed off on the nut and sprayed it with WD40.  I made sure that the double wires passing through heads of the lower bolts were secure.  This work was very, very easy with the boat backed up to the floating jetty because I could work from the jetty in relative comfort with the Zodiac positioned underneath the unit to catch any tools or fastenings that I might drop during the operation. I'll mount the water paddle a day or two before sailing. 

To be honest, the cordage recommended by Fisheries Supply in Seattle for the control lines does not seem to have a particularly strong covering, which is an important issue because chafing is a bigger problem than load.  Nevertheless I was told that it was what the locals use so I'll try it and see how it goes.  If the lines don't last I'll make a mental note to grumble to Fisheries on my next visit then swap back to the lines I installed in MdP.

While I was sitting at my morning internet session Ricardo said hello as he passed by.  Ricardo had the boat at the end and I had not seen him since before my departure for the USA. He and his wife alternate between their property toward Santos and Bracui.  It was great to see him again because I like him a lot.

Just before the internet session I dropped by Alexandre's office to show him a photograph of the starter battery setup.  He thinks that the batteries that I will wind up with will have their posts on two side corners rather than two end corners, meaning that I might have to find someone to make new cables.  Alexandre will help me with this.  It is just as well that I dropped in because he told me that Tuesday is a holiday so that we will be going into Angra on Monday. 

After the internet session I popped into the marina office with a note asking for the Bracui-Angra bus schedule. When this was done the office manager used her Google translator to ask me about my departure plans.  I replied on her keyboard that I expected to leave Bracui on 15 December.  I also told her that I think that I am paid up at the marina until the end of November and will pay for December in a few days (when I have a better idea of the exact departure date.)

In the evening  tested out the Sailmail system.  This was important because for the first time I was using the new navigation computer, the Toshiba laptop that I had purchased in the USA, with its recently downloaded Airmail 3 software.  All of the components played nice with each other and at 8.30 PM I sent out a test message to 3 people via the Chile station asking that they confirm reception of my test message.  [All 3 confirmed my message within 24 hours.]  Next I'll send a test blog update.

Today, Saturday, I had an easy morning working with the two Toshiba's on the internet.  (There is a a third Toshiba, the original one on board Pachuca when I sailed out of Fremantle.  It work fine and is loaded with backup software, however it has no battery and must be run directly off boat or shore power.)  I upgraded their versions of Marine Plotter, installed some desktop gadgets, and found free 128 encryption program that I used to produce a secure spreadsheet containing my passwords. 

In the afternoon I turned my attention to the engine and ran it for the first time since before my departure to the USA.  I started off by exercising the cooling water inlet and exhaust thru-hull valves.  I had left them open in case somebody tried to run the engine during my absence but I wanted to ensure that they still close and open freely.  I then checked the levels and found the transmission and oil levels to be spot on then added a few ml of coolant. The belt tension was good, as usual. 

Using the starter bank which was down to 12V after sitting idle for well over 2 months I manage to start the engine with a few more turns of the starter than usual.  After reaching operating temperature while running at 1000 rpm in forward gear I moved the lever to neutral, pushed in the little red button to disengage the transmission linkage, then took the revs up to 2000 in order to assess the state of the fuel filter by looking at the vacuum gauge.  At 2000 rpm the vacuum gauge was still on the peg, inside the little square labelled “0” on the Hg and kPa scales, and well away from the beginning of the yellow warning zone at 7 Hg and 25 kPa.  I had intended to change the fuel filter on spec but  decided that it would be a waste of time and material.  … I like to think that my fastidious approach to fuelling (principally being careful where I purchase the diesel, adding anti algal additive, and using the Baja filter) has paid off.

The engine hours on the eve of my departure for Cape Town is 319.1.