Day Sail to Woodman Point

Peter and I met at 8 AM on Sunday 16 January for a short sail to Woodman Point not far from the club with the purpose of seeing how the new anchor windlass would handle the recently installed chain-rope rode. We motored out of the marina at about 9.30 AM and set sail in a brisk easterly wind with one reef in the mainsail and no jib. The boat moved well as we sailed south next to the shipping channel on a port beam reach, comfortable reaching speeds of more than 6 knots.

Peter at the Helm

Approaching Woodman Point

 

We dropped anchor in 4 meters of water off the beach and the anchor easily bit into the sandy bottom. We then successfully paid out the 30 meters of chain but when we attempted to continue by paying out the 20 meters of rope the windlass jammed, instantly throwing the electrical breaker. Even though the splice of the rope onto the bitter and of the chain appeared to have been professionally done there was enough lump in the splice to cause the jam. It was a disappointing result but we were satisfied that we had achieved our mission and were pleased that we had identified the problem in home waters rather than during the Bunbury Cruise. I had no patience for an attempt to make the chain-rode system work, possibly with a new splice of a new rope, particularly since we had not been able to perform the second test of whether a wet rope would have sufficient weight to fall into the anchor well fast enough to prevent a jam, as the dry rope had done.

After some relaxation on the boat we set sail in the early afternoon for our return to the club marina. By then the wind had shifted to a variable SE so we sailed more or less downwind with a partial headsail. After clearing the Parmelia bank we rolled in the headsail and motored directly for the club. When we switched off the engine in the pen at about 3 PM it had 600.3 hours on the clock, amazingly few hours for a engine that is now 10.5 years old (commissioned in La Paz Mexico on 16 Aug 2010). Peter and I plan to meet at the boat shortly before the start of the Bunbury Cruise on 6 Feb to replace the failed rode of 30m of chain and 20m of rope with the all-chain rode of 38m that had safely taken me around the world.

Chart Plotter Replaced

 During last year's Bunbury Cruise the Raymarine C120 chart plotter started the pattern of rebooting itself every 3 minutes or so.  Despite the annoyance I was able to use it for my return to Fremantle. 

During the winter I described the problem go Greg Hansen, a semi retired and extremely experienced marine electronics specialist.  After an inspection he deemed the unit irreparable due to its age in this era of fast turnover of models and to responsibility to long-term support.

The cost of a replacement was from memory about $2500.  It took me a few months to get over the sticker shock and bow to the inevitable so I contacted Greg to arrange a replacement.  Fortunately toward the end of our discussion I casually asked if my radar would work with the new chart plotter.  The answer was No because the new "Quantum" radar supersedes the old analogue technology. From memory a new radar would cost just over $2,000.  My choice were (1) new chart plotter and radar at probably more than $5,000 if labor was included, (2) new chart plotter only and trash the current working radar at a cost of more than $2,500, (3) get creative and find another solution.

I purchased a appropriately sized computer monitor which I would mount in place of the chart plotter to project the screen of either one of my excellent laptop software packages. I got far into this plan before realizing that there would be problems in interfacing the output from  the AIS transponder to the monitor, with a solution costing hundreds of dollars.   This failed effort cost me only $20 for the monitor and a few hours of time at the computer and in the garage.

Then I got the bright idea of searching for a used C120.  To my delight I found one on eBay out of the Sydney area for $650.  I placed the order, paid, received confirmation, and a day later the order was cancelled by the vendor, who reported that when he went to the boat to fetch the unit he learned that the owner had sold it to somebody else.

So I looked again and found one out of the U.S.A. for about $450 USD.  I ordered it knowing that I would take a hit from the currency exchange, shipment, and import duty of 10%.  All up the unit cost me about $900 AUD.  However, the unit was in excellent condition, was fully functional, and once again I had a chart plotter with radar.

I mentioned this to Greg as a courtesy and he replied that had he known he could get his hands on two used C120's for me.  (Grrrr!)  I replied that I would be very interested in the units as spares, but given that they were out of town I told him to take time to get them at his convenience because I was in no hurry.

The months passed and just before sending a query to Greg I had a look in eBay and found another C120 for sale out of Airlie Beach, Qld for $350.  I snapped it up and it arrived a week later.  The next day I mounted the unit and tested it to find that it could not see my radar, no matter what I tried.  I contacted Greg who came to the  conclusion that some sort of radar interface component in the C120 was faulty.  OK, I asked, is it feasible to get a replacement radar interface from my original and faulty C120?  Greg replied that it was worth a try.  I then contacted the vendor, explained the problem, and told him that I was happy to keep the unit with no claim from him given the modest price of $350 and at the very worst I would wind up with a backup chart plotter which is much more important to me than the radar.  I also noted that the cabling that had arrived with his unit did not include a radar cable, so who knows, the C120 had perhaps been originally supplied without a radar option.

Raymarine C120 Chart Plotter Hospital

So the matter stands, and here is a photo of my C120 "hospital", the original faulty one at the left, the Airlie Beach one that cannot see the radar in the middle, and the fully functional USA one at the right.

New Anchor

 On 28 November I attended a monthly "Topics Night" presentation by Kim Klaka and Richard Macfarlane into recent advances in anchors and anchoring.  I was so impressed with the performance of the new generation of anchors (e.g. much quicker to bed down, significantly more holding power) that after some investigation I settled on a Sarca Excel No. 5, one of the new generation of anchors at a cost of .  I chose the Sarca to replace my 16kg Delta at a price of $749 because it is Australian designed and built and has an extremely good reputation, particularly in Tasmania with it demanding conditions. One message from the presentation was the advice to purchase an anchor two sizes heavier than that recommended by the various vendors, so I purchased the No. 5 at 22kg (48.5 lb) rather than the recommended No. 4 at 16kg (37 lb) which listed 12m as the maximum suitable boat length. The extra weight of the anchor should not be a problem for me because from now on it will be the electric windlass that will raise and lower it.  The extra 6kg of weight on the bow from the heavier anchor will be more than compensated by the fact that we have replaced the previous 38m of all chain rode with 30m of chain and 20m of rope.  That shorter chain represents a reduction of 19kg in weight.

Peter helped me make the anchor change on 28 November.  

Peter tidying up extracted rode, foot on last of new rode

 I fed the Delta anchor and its all chain rode from the bow of Pachuca directly to Peter who was on the jetty and placed the tackle onto one of the club carts.  Peter then fed me the 20m of rope attached to 30m of chain (10mm or 3/8" dia) which I passed around the windlass and directly into the chain locker.  Last came the Sarca anchor, which from memory had already been shackled to the chain by Peter. The entire operation went as planned and very well. 

While  I was at it I replaced the "spare" 16 kg Swarbrick "fisherman" anchor with the heavier 20kg Swarbrick. The Swarbrick is more than a spare.  It is my "go to" anchor for unknown or difficult holding ground, and also my last-resort survival anchor.

New Sarca Excel No. 5 Anchor

The next step, to take the boat out and test the new anchor setup, particularly how the windlass handles the change from chain to rope and vice versa.  This was delayed because the anchor foot switch at the bow was not working, which surprised me because the switch was fairly new and had worked well the last time that I had used it.

Later I removed the switch and found that the electrical cabling was badly corroded at the end.  In fact, one wire broke off completely as I lifted out the switch.  This was result of my inexperience many years earlier, either I had used ordinary house wiring for the cable run between the windlass below and the foot switch which had to operate in extremely wet conditions.  It did not take me long to establish a firm policy of using only tinned marine grade wiring on the boat.

White sheath of corroded wiring replaced with marine grade

For various reasons it was 3 January before I was able to complete the replacement of the cable run.  Fortunately I had taken photographs and made a good sketch of the wiring, so the foot switch worked on the first try.

Back to Normal

After the hatch installation was completed my boating life settled down to the normal equipment and maintenance work associated with owning a boat.

In mid-September Peter Austin, a work colleague from my early years at Murdoch University who had helped me get my start in sailing in the mid 1980's, helped me with a task that involved an unpleasant climb to the top of the mast.  

The project was to reinstate the cord barrier between the mast steps and the shrouds to stop the main halyard from wrapping around the mast steps, something that could be dangerous when raising or reefing the mainsail in rough conditions. 

It's a long way to the top if you want to rock and sail

The rigger had recommended a solution using very light building cord that didn't make sense to me so I used the same system that had gotten me around the world with no problem.  In 2008 in preparation for the circumnavigation and in Mexico before departing for the Horn I had made this climb alone, but being older and wiser I now had the precaution of a harness with Peter down on the deck working the safety line.

I passed 3mm polyester cord between the mast steps and the shrouds and after about one hour of slow and methodical work the job was done.  We celebrated with lunch at the club.

Peter and I did what was my first JAM ("Jib and Main") afternoon sail on Sunday 18 October, accompanied by John, a very experienced sailor who usually crews with Jim MacBeth, a fellow sailor from my Murdoch University days. We also did a short "shakedown" sail to Rockingham and back.

Hatch Replacement Finally Completed

Fitting the section of ceiling and associated wood trimming that we had dropped in order to replace the  hatch took a lot more time and effort than we had expected. 

No matter how hard we tried we could not screw the ceiling panel firmly in position.  We finally figured out that it was the Megapoxy glue that was causing the problem.  We then  dropped the ceiling and I returned to the boat the following week armed with a Dremel tool and a light drill for fitting screws.  Bruce used a chisel to remove the excess glue and finished off by using the Dremel tool fitted with rough sandpaper. 

Ceiling, looking forward

Ceiling, looking aft

The ceiling went up OK but we then had trouble fitting the wood trip  around the hatch.  It should have been a quick and easy job because I had carefully written the position of each piece.  Things got so bad that we began to wonder if I had confused port with starboard and forward with aft, juggling the pieces around made things worse.  We gave up at the point where the trim was fitted to three sides but the  piece for the fourth side was more than 5mm too long.

On Monday morning I was back at the boat with the plan to work patiently alone and use my head rather than hurling in trying this and that.  The approach worked and after two hours the job was completed.  I am convinced that the problems were caused by the use by Zelko of an impact drill  to self tap the screws into position, rendering everything too tight and inflexible.  I did thinks like enlarging the holes through the trip so that the screws could pass easily through them and elongating some of the holes.

But the time Bruce visited the boat in the late afternoon the rest of the trim was up.  The next day I put up four circular pieces of trim spent a couple of hours cleaning the boat.  I  left the boat satisfied but ru-ing the fact that there is no such thing as a quick job on a boat.

Megapoxy Filling and Leak Test

 Last Wednesday afternoon I visited the boat and used epoxy superglue to fix an  aluminum plate to which the round teak cover is screwed. (There are four of these setups in the cabin because the ocean racing boat was designed to have winches on the cabin deck.)   This had been the only one of the four teak covers that was screwed into a rough piece of wood glued to the plate instead of directly to the plate.  In knocking off the piece of wood to replace it with a properly finished one I dislodged the aluminum plate and saw that it had never been drilled and tapped like the others.  I drilled the hole and with Bruce's help found a workshop that tapped the hole at no charge.

Aluminum plate tapped and glued in position

Then on Thursday I met Bruce at the boat and watched him mix two batches of thickened Megapoxy and apply it  to the forward side of the below-deck hatch support.  The idea was to be able to use long screws for the three hatch hinges, with the screws passing through the first layer of wood, through the hardened epoxy, and into the lower layer of wood. The result was a greatly strengthened support.

The next day I confirmed that the Megapoxy had properly hardened then did some extensive testing for leaks through the fitted hatch.  There were no leaks when I used the stream from open hose but there were leaks through the middle part of the seals on each side of the hatch when I applied a jet of water from a nozzle.  The seals at the forward and aft sides of the hatch held up well with no leaking, no doubt because the hinges hold down the forward edge and the locking handles hold down the  aft edge.

Megapoxy filling on leading edge of hatch support

I am not too concerned given that the open hose test suggests that the seals will stand up to seawater washing over the deck and besides, there is little that I can do about it.  Nevertheless, Bruce and I agreed that there is a good chance that the sealing will improve once the seals are properly bedded down.  There are, by the way, two seals running along the perimeter of the hatch.  The seal on the lid has a "female" profile and the seal on the base has a "male" profile, and the two rubber seals interlock, preventing a direct path for water into the cabin. And of course I am very happy that the Sikaflex bedding work that Bruce did proved to be flawless.

New Hatch Fitted

I met Bruce at the boat early on Tuesday 16 June, which was the one dry day before the advent of several days of heavy weather. 

Conceptually the bedding down of the hatch on Sikaflex 291 then screwing it down would be straight forward and fast, but the job took about three hours of hard work by both of us.  It was imperative that the hatch not leak and Bruce is a master at that sort of work.  I provided the support and some surprisingly good suggestions. 

Bruce applying Sikalfex 291 sealant

Our first task was to drill the new holes for the hatch and fit all of these screws.  The marks for the new holes had to be precise and the selection of the drill bit diameter had to be perfect because the 20 screws holding the hatch down had to bite well into the wood and be drilled straight enough to achieve flush counter sinking.  Once we had dry fitted the hatch we removed all of the screws, lifted the hatch out of the way, and Bruce got to work with the caulking gun.  He knew from experience how much Sikaflex 291 to lay down with minimum cleanup. (Had it been been me, I would have overdone it with the sealant and spent probably hours cleaning up the resultant mess.)  We then screwed the hatch down, spent a few minutes cleaning up, then stepped back to look at the result.

The Master showing the finished product

We were both happy with what we saw, which to me appeared to be as close to perfection as possible. 

But that is not the end of the project.  The hatch was originally installed with bolts followed by a perimeter of wood to support the ceiling, rendering it impossible for those who followed to use bolts again without removing that securely glued in perimeter of wood.  We have used screws to make it easier for any future hatch replacement.  However,  Bruce has made the sensible suggestion of bolstering that wood perimeter with thickened Epiglue, and I was to replace an incredibly rough block for screwing in one of the four teak discs covering the access to the deck winches (which don't exist: the two forward positions are used for deck pad eyes and the rear ones are not used).  I have made the required new block and after I have fitted it Bruce will visit the boat for the Epiglue work then to help  me with the 2-man job of fitting the ceiling panel into position.  After the ceiling is fitted  into position it will be left to me to fitting all of the ceiling panel screws then the wood trimming.

Wood perimeter preventing access to hatch thru bolts