Teak Block, Package Arrived, Low Bow, Rescue

I arrived at the boat just before 8 AM and found the wooden block that Reggie had produced.  It was cut to perfection out of a 35mm (1.5") thick piece of teak.  I then visited Reggie who was working on the deck of Ozark Lady and he charged me only 200 pesos for the job.  What a bargain!  Just the piece of teak was worth 200 pesos to me. I gave him an extra 50 pesos for doing the job so quickly.

Raymarine Fluxgate Compass

For the last 2 days I've been arriving at the boat early enough to hear the 8 AM Club Cruceros net on VHF 22.  That was how I learned that Rick had arrived in La Paz.  Today I heard that there was a large package for Pachuca at the "bottom of the mail box".  It turned out to be the Raymarine flux gate compass that I had ordered 2 weeks earlier, and it was in the Club Cruceros mailbox.  (The dark display at the rear in the photo is the Trimble repeater that I recently removed from the binnacle.) I was wondering why it had wound up in Club Crucero's hands instead of at the Marina office, to where it was addressed.  David told me that it had not gone through the Mexican postal system.  I asked how the US Postal Service had gotten it to La Paz.  He said that they must have their own means, possibly through Mail Call in San Diego.  Better yet, no duty had been charged.  David says that the Mexican Aduana is very inconsistent regarding duty on items valued at less than $1,000 - sometimes it charges and sometimes it doesn't.  Anyway, I have safely received the package at a grand total of $32.57 via USPS vs close to $140 plus over $50 customs duty for the GPS via UPS.  This experience has made me less reluctant to order items from Defender and other internet sites.

I've had several comments regarding Pachuca's very low bow.  In fact she is now sitting slightly up at the bow, according to her painted waterline.  The accompanying photo shows the stark contrast of Pachuca's bow (the low one with the metal plate) with that of two sail boats on the near side and two motor boats on the far side.  You can see why the lower chain locker drain takes water in when the boat dips into the waves.

How Low Can You Go

At the Club Cruceros net session I heard the captain's account of his loss of power and steerage.  The vessel is a 40,000 lb sail boat that lost engine power at 6.30 AM due to a blocked fuel line while its batteries were low.  They were 25 nm out of La Paz and tried sailing in light winds up the Cerralvo but were forced to turn back.  I know that channel.  It can act as a wind tunnel and can have serious tidal currents.  Another sailboat came to their aid but its engine was not strong enough to successfully tow the stricken vessel.  Unfortunately the tow line somehow fouled the rudder, if I heard correctly, robbing them of steerage.  At this point they would have put out their general distress call.  I think that it was the next morning, when they figured that they were 3 hours from hitting the rocks and getting nervous, that they saw a Mexican navy vessel approaching through the mist.  The sailboat was put under tow with Mexican navy personnel on the sailboat and the sailboat crew on the navy ship.  A navy man explained that it is their policy to ensure the safety of the crew and boat, which means that the rescued crew must ride on the navy boat.  Outside of the entrance the La Paz Marina pangas took over and brought the boat in for a happy ending.  The sailboat captain seemed very relieved, happy, and grateful, and who can blame him: the entire operation was a credit to everyone involved.  I am particularly impressed with the Mexican navy. I keep hearing over and over how prompt and helpful they are to boats in distress.

Projects for the Week

John the rigger will visit the boat on Wednesday or Thursday morning to (1) mount the cheek block above the trysail track (2) Cut and fit the trysail halyard (3) file the join of the two sections of the trysail track to eliminate the discontinuities of a slight misalignment that forces me to manually pass the sail slides through (4) probably fix another cleat to the mast.

Today I got a visit from Sergio, a welder of excellent repute, and his helper regarding the fabrication of an emergency tiller that will fit over the end of my rudder post, which can be accessed by removing a plate on the cockpit floor. 

Jak and I had discussions about this and I kept working on the problem after his departure.  A few days ago Bob Carrol and I threw some ideas around and he came up with some very good suggestions.  Why, for example, settle for hand steering with an emergency tiller when I can design the tiller to be controlled by the Monitor wind steering. 

But then a couple of points emerged from the discussion that made me doubt that an emergency tiller was worth the trouble. 

For one thing, Pachuca has a Cobra pedestal steering linkage which uses a gear and shafts supported by bearings.  This is considered a very reliable system because it does not rely on chains or cables that can break or jump out of position.  Thanks to Reg Kelly in Perth, we removed the pedestal and had it refurbished shortly before my departure from Australia.  Two of the three bearings were found to be seized.  But the gears and shafts were in excellent condition and with new bearings the unit was good as new.

There is also the autopilot, which uses an electro-mechanical linear drive to operate directly on the rudder post.  So if the linkage failed without jamming up the autopilot would steer the boat.  Even if the linkage jammed, it would take a bit of work, but I think that I'd be able to disconnect the linkage between the wheel arm and the rudder post, giving sole control to the autopilot.

However, in the end I decided to have an emergency tiller made as a matter of "duty of care" because I would be very hard on myself if I lost the boat for lack of one.

So I spent several hours yesterday producing mechanical drawings to scale on graph paper.  The tiller will be tall, to the level of the cockpit rails so that I will be able to easily either lash the tiller or connect it to the Monitor control lines.  The tiller handle will face aft to achieve the 20" minimum length specified for the Monitor.  It will be supported 2/3 of the way up by a collar to be held in place by lines running from the aft corners of the cockpit to the forward winches on the opposite sides.  I expected the material to be mild steel but they suggested 1.5" diameter stainless steel.   Those drawings came in very handy at today's discussion with the welders.  They took the them away and will give me a quotation tomorrow. 

By amazing coincidence a distress call came in to the 8 AM session on VHF 22 from a boat 25 miles out that has lost both its autopilot and manual steering.  Then later in the morning David Miller told me how his spare tiller saved his bacon when he had a broken autopilot and the steering chain broke as he was leaving an anchorage with bad weather on the way.

In the morning I started work on mounting the new GPS on the binnacle.  I removed the faulty Trimble repeater then started to drill holes in the stainless steel support.  After drilling for 5 minutes and getting nowhere with the hard metal it dawned on me (Duh!) that I could use the four existing holes to mount a nice piece of teak upon which I could mount the GPS.  This would have the advantage of giving me a greater area of choice for positioning the unit.  I telephoned Reggie the carpenter and an hour later he was on board to discuss and basically design the piece.  He suggested improvements for both the positioning (i.e. make the board bigger to get the GPS antenna clear of the holding bar and better eye level) and mounting (i.e. use screws rather than thru bolts).  He hopes to have the finished piece, close to an inch thick and with all edges nicely rounded, tomorrow.

I plan to set up the GPS wiring in the morning.  The tricky part will be squeezing the 6-core cable through the fitting at the cockpit floor.  At minimum I must provide power to the GPS.  However, I'll take up Jak's advice and connect the NMEA wires to the VHF radio and its DSC capability. (DSC: "Digital Selective Calling".  At the push of a button the radio can send a distress call on Ch 70 in less than a second, that can include your location if the radio is connected to a GPS. http://www.boatus.com/husick/c_dsc.asp provides a readable description of DSC.)

Staysail Work

Large Snap Block on Padeye. Note Angle of Aft Block

I spent several hours experimenting with staysail setups using the padeyes on the forward winch platforms.  The padeyes are 21" (520mm) from the center line of the boat, whereas the jib tracks that I was using are 44" (1130mm) from the center line.  Ideally the blocks for the staysail jibs should be 28"-32" from the center line of the boat.  The new turning block position now allows me to pass the sheets between the shrouds and the mast, rather than between two of the shrouds.  For the first time I'll be able to heave to without having the weather sheet making a tight bend around the inner shroud. 

A big question of my mind was the vertical angle at which the sheet meets the sail when it passes through the new block position.  I found the angle maybe a bit high, with the sheet line projecting to just above the half way mark of the luff of the sail, but it was good enough for me. 

I had an issue with the strength of the platforms supporting the padeyes, given that they flare up from the deck - not the best geometry for strength.  However, those four platforms on the cabin were designed for winches in the harsh conditions of ocean racing, and they are well backed with aluminum plates.  So I'll use the padeyes and be vigilant for cracks around the platforms. To help things I replaced the small flat washers on the thru fittings with wide ones, spreading the load on the backing plates.

Staysail in Back Winded Heave to Position 

Padeye Backing Plate

From the turning blocks at the padeye the staysail sheets must pass through a block on the main jib track.  There are two jib lead cars on each track.  Initially it looked like I would have to purchase new cars with flexible blocks because the staysail sheets encountered the blocks at too great an angle (i.e. too far to the side, rather than the front).  But then I tried moving the rear blocks as far aft as possible and sheeting through them.  The new angle was good enough, in my opinion, saving me several hundred dollars worth of cars and blocks (not to mention transport costs).  This leaves the rest of the tracks for the forward blocks, through which I will run the main jib sheets.

My Ship Has Come In (Figuratively Speaking)

Rick arrived and with him came the package of equipment  for the trysail halyard from San Diego.

Goodies from San Diego

To the left of the photo is the shackle by which the peak of the sail will be lifted.  Below that are the cheek block and pad, which is used to deal with the curved surface of the mast.  To the right is 176 ft of line.  Part of it will make up the new trysail halyard and the majority of it will be used to replace the main halyard. 

Four people on both sides of the border put this together on short notice and I am grateful to all of them. 

Sea Anchor Chain and Dynaplate

The 18 ft diameter sea anchor parachute has been set with a chain off the bow roller.  The idea was to provide a chafe-free attachment to the boat.  Even though Para-Anchors Australia had given the OK for this I developed reservations when I became aware of the phenomenal loadings that can be place on the sea anchor line.  The bow roller assembly also supports the headstay.  Were that assembly to be ripped off the bow there would be high likelihood that I would lose the mast, with all that implies.

Today I purchased 3 meters of 10mm (3/8") chain and 2 shackles and set up a connection from the parachute line to the Samson post.  Were that post to give way I'd wind with a big hole in the forecastle, but at least I would still have a mast.

The photos show the new set up.  Bear in mind that when the sea anchor is deployed the red line stretched to the front of the boat. 

I've stowed the chain and will connect it to the red parachute line somewhere between La Paz and the equator.

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I've ordered a Dynaplate grounding plate from the local Lopez Marine.  It is to be strapped to the exterior of the hull at the stern and below the water line during my next haul out in a month or two.  I will then use four copper ribbons to connect the tuner to each of the four bolts that will protrude through the hull.  This should provide optimal RF grounding for the HF radio. 

I've ordered the largest of the series, the "Super Dynaplate", with dimensions 18" x 6" x 1/2".  The price on the Downwind Marine web site is $488 (http://www.downwindmarine.com/Grounding-Plate-Super-Dynaplate-18-x-6-x-1-2-p-17544.html).  Then I would have to deal with shipping and have to do advance work to make sure that I receive the item duty free.  For laughs I got the UPS pricing for shipment from San Diego to La Paz, and I got into near hysterics at the quotation of $216.28. Then I'd still have to deal with the Aduana (i.e. customs).

Lopez Marine will deliver it within 3 weeks for $608 all up, including customs and sales tax. 

I really missed the boat two weeks ago when I placed the order to be picked up by a friend when he passes through on his return to La Paz, but I hadn't come to a decision at the time. 

Installing the Dynaplate will necessitate the removal of the four large batteries under the cockpit floor.  The boat yard insists on this sort of work being done by their personnel, and that suits me.  However, I'll be watching everything like a hawk and won't hesitate to speak my piece.

Planning Return to Oz

Yesterday I did a rough outline of my return to Australia using a great piece of software based on Google Maps (http://www.freemaptools.com/measure-distance.htm).  I got cumulative distances in nautical miles to the points that I specified in the attached photo.  It appears that Great Circle routes are used for the computations, and I am more likely to take slightly longer rhumb line routes.

The distances in nautical miles between points and (cumulative) , rounded to the nearest 100, that I got are:

1. La Paz to Horn, 5700 (5700)
2. Horn to Cape Town, 3900 (9600)
3. Cape Town to Fremantle, 4400 (14000)

Jeanne Socrates aboard Nereida was west of Cabo San Lucas on 13 November last year and would have made the Horn on about 7 January had she not been knocked down less than 200 nm from the Horn on 5 January.  I make that 55 days from Cabo San Lucas to the Horn.

This is an important guide to me.  I will quote section 9.66.01 of my copy of Ocean Passages for the World on the topic of rounding the Horn west to east:

"Rounding the Horn from W to E is a comparatively easy matter, for the prevailing winds are favourable and the current near Cabo de Hornos sets strongly east.  The passage is usually made between 56 [degrees] S and 57 [degrees] 30' S, to the N of the W-bound route.  December and January are the most favourable months; June and July, when E'ly winds are not unusual, are the least favourable.  Heavy W'ly gales, with snow and hail, may be expected in August and September; in winter, a track about 80 miles S of Cabo de Hornos is recommended"

The salient information for me is "comparatively easy" (comforting, but doesn't really mean "easy") and December and January as the most favorable months.  This is why I will aim for a rounding in late December, giving me a few weeks of slack either way.  Nereida made a fast passage, helped by her propensity to use the engine when the wind died down.  She would have made it from Cabo in 55 days. Given what is at stake I won't plan on achieving anywhere near her speed.  I'll probably leave around mid-October, giving me a comfortable 75 days or so to make my date with the Horn.

Standoffs and Check Valves

A cable connects the upper part of my backstay which acts the HF radio antenna to the tuner, down in the lazarette.  This cable runs along the lower part of the backstay that is not part of the antenna.  It is highly recommended that the cable be held off the backstay in order to eliminate coupling/signal loss between the cable and the backstay. 

Cutting Offsets

Today I finally got around to offsetting the cable.  The idea is to use a tube as the offset and use a plastic cable tie passing through the tube to hold the cable firmly to the backstay.  Where possible I used lengths of 5/16" fuel line hosing because I had it in stock and it is strong with a small diameter.  After some experimenting I settled on the technique of using a saw to cut the lengths of hose and wire cutters to cut out V-section seats for the backstay and cable.  A tape measure, marking pen, and cable ties were the other elements of the project.

Offsets along swages and fittings required larger diameter tubing and for that I used 25 mm reinforced water hose.

Recommended standoff distance ranges from 20 mm to 75 mm.  I chose a friend's recommendation of 30 mm.

Enlarge to see cable offset from the backstay

I consider this Version 1.0 of the offset.  If it holds up I'll stay with it because it is easy enough to maintain.  Otherwise V 2.0 will use rigid plastic piping.

Then I decided to follow up on Jak's suggestion to put a check valve just behind the intake of the 1 1/2" Whale Gusher bilge pump.  A check valve allows water to pass one way but not the other.  The hose has a long run to the drain at the lazarette and after I stopped pumping any water in the hose would drain back into the bilge. 

Finally I gave some protection to a cable passing from one solar panel to the other.  The sun has been cooking the insulation pretty badly.  I found a length of white1/2" water hose in my bodega, cut it to length, cut it lengthwise with a Stanley knife, then fitted it over the section of exposed wire.  I then fastened the hose tight with plastic ties.  That seemed to work OK.

New check valves on large Whale Gusher and smaller electric pump hoses