Pachuca Circumnavigation
This blog began in late 2006 with the planning and preparation for a circumnavigation of the world in my 39-foot sail boat Pachuca. It then covered a successful 5-year circumnavigation that ended in April 2013. The blog now covers life with Pachuca back home in Australia.
Pachuca
Saturday, May 4, 2024
Pachuca Re-Rigged
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
Water Cooling Problems
After a day sail two weeks ago Peter commented that he had noticed that the engine temperature although not at the overheating zone was a bit higher than he would have expected. I thought that this presented an opportunity learn how to inspect and replace the engine's raw water pump impeller. I am ashamed to state that after over 650 engine hours of operation spanning ten years of use I had never inspected, much less replaced, the impeller. A search through my spares revealed that I had only one used impeller on board, and I suspect that the impeller had been replaced by the diesel mechanic who recommissioned the engine after the boat's refit in 2018.
We had returned to my pen relatively early in the afternoon and had a go at inspecting and replacing the impeller, but I lacked the the tools or know how to extricate the impeller and all that we could do was to look at the impeller from the side and see that it appeared to be in good condition. Sometime during the session Peter commented that he had removed the cover to the raw water filter and found it to be relatively clean. I replaced the impeller plate, started the engine, and we found that beyond some feeble sputtering of water during the first few seconds of operation, fundamentally there was no cooling water emerging from the exhaust. We decided to put the matter into the hands of a real diesel mechanic. I sent a message to Bruce who managed the refit of Pachuca and has become a personal friend, and soon he arranged for a visit on the following Tuesday by Kevin Woodham, a diesel engine mechanic whom he rated very highly.
That night I realized that we had not primed the hose leading from the raw water filter to the impeller, and I decided to have another go. I prepared myself by viewing some informative Youtube clips on changing impellers which gave me confidence, and armed with a pair of good needle nose pliers and 240-grit sandpaper I returned to the boat a couple of days later. On the way I stopped off at Seapower, which after many years has moved on from being a Volvo agent and picked up their last impeller in stock for my Volvo D2-40. I had discussed my plan with Bruce and we both agreed that regardless of the outcome it would be prudent to have Kevin visit the boat and have a look at the engine. I also purchased a new anti-siphon valve along the way.
Replacing the anti-siphon valve and priming the inlet hose did not solve the problem but I think that I did a pretty good job of swapping out the impeller. I managed to tease out the impeller which was in such good shape that I have kept it as a spare, then cleaned the impeller housing with gentle use of 240-grit sandpaper and mentholated spirits. I gave the cover plate a similar treatment. I then used the trick of using a cable tie to bend over the ends of the new impeller to facilitate its insertion into the pump then coated everything, including the gasket, with the supplied glycerine grease. I then inserted the new impeller, screwed on the plate, primed the inlet hose, started the engine, and still got no water from the exhaust. At this point I realized that the impeller had never been the problem.
Pump Plate |
Pump After Cleaning |
New Raw Water Filter, Top Left |
On Tuesday morning I met Kevin the mechanic in front of the club house and as we made the long walk to my pen at D81 I recounted the work that Peter and I had done. At the boat Kevin found the engine in plain view with the cover well out of the way, with the engine and bilge as clean as I could make them.
Kevin immediate got to work with no interest in the impeller. His primary suspect was an anode fitted at the rear of the engine behind the heat exchanger that I didn't even know existed. He told me that the anodes hang down inside of the housing and are prone to blocking flow of incoming raw water when they break up and drop. He unscrewed the plug holding the anode and sure enough there was a big remnant of it blocking the water inlet. He then used a screw driver to break up the remains of the anode, informing me that the fragments would be carried off and dumped overboard by the exhaust system.
At this point I commented that anodes are termed sacrificial because they are supposed to degenerate, so wasn't it a maintenance issue? A careful search through the engine owner's manual confirmed to me that there is no mention anywhere of even the existence of the anode, let alone its listing in the maintenance schedule.
I then started the engine and although there was a bit more water sputtering out Kevin was not happy and said that air was getting into the system. I told him that the only sources of air that I could think of were the anti-siphon valve that I had just replaced and the raw water filter.
He then had a look at the raw water filter and what a mess he saw! There was a crucial rubber seal missing from the bolt used to screw down the lid, and the lid had several hairline cracks. Worst of all, after thinking that the rubber seal for the lid was missing, he dug out of the channel the remains of the seal which had become rock hard and brittle. I told Kevin that I was ashamed of letting it get to that state and he replied that these things happen.
We agreed that I would replace the raw water filter and he would use the spare key to enter the cabin and replace the anode at a later time. I purchased a beautiful new filter from Yacht Grot and the next morning I fitted it then fired up the engine
Soon I has happy to see big globs of water being belched out of the exhaust every few seconds, an amount of water that I had not seen in years. I put the engine into gear so that the boat was tugging at the pen lines and took the engine up to 1400rpm while I watched the needle on the temperature gauge slowly climb. It finally settled at about 197F, under the 200F final mark of the gauge, and well bellow the excessive temperature range starting at about 210F.
Peter commented that he had made things worse by disturbing the raw water filter and I assured him that he had done us all a favor first by pointing out the heating problem in the first place, then by drawing attention to the deteriorated state of the raw water filter, which was under-performing and doomed to completely fail before too long.
As for me I could not complain, since I had (finally) learned how to manage the engine's impeller and anode.
Sunday, October 17, 2021
Maintenance Hardstanding
Pachuca's hull had not been anti-fouled since her relaunch in May 2019 and she was due for hull maintenance in May 2021 because her anti-fouling was rated for two years. Nevertheless I had managed to get 28 months out of the antifouling with the hull still looking respectable with the help of two hull cleans by a diver along the way, so I could not complain.
After several delays due weather and booking issues Bruce Diggins (Albatross Marine) and I ferried Pachuca for her liftout on 20 September. The plan was for Bruce to perform the maintenance and other work partly because as a water pollution reduction measure the club had instigated a new policy of dry sanding of old antifouling instead of the traditional method of scraping and washing down, partly because I wanted to have a more professional job done and partly because, well, at the age of 77 I did not want to finish maintenance days covered in blue after hours of hard overhead work sanding the hull.
Out She Comes |
I had done some preparation. The growing number of cray (lobster) pots all along the coast, found in the most unexpected places with many of the floats painted red or black rendering them much more difficult to see particularly at night, had led me to consider installing a rope cutter on the propeller shaft. Given that the damage of a cray pot rope wrapped around the propeller shaft can range from a dive overboard with a knife to a bent propeller shaft to - one case I heard of - the engine ripped from its mountings, I figured that a rope cutter would be a good investment. About 6 weeks before liftout I asked Bruce to investigate a good rope cutter for my 1 1/4" propeller shaft and he came up with a French made Macour at what I thought was a reasonable price of $519. Its material was stainless steel grade 316L and its blades were razor sharp, making us very careful about not touching them with our fingers. The rope cutter would be installed between the cutlass bearing the propeller, with the requirement that there be enough gap between the rope cutter and the cutlass bearing to allow water flow for cooling of the bearing. I calculated that required a gap of at least 25mm to make the installation feasible, which would be easy enough to measure once the boat was out of the water but in this day of pandemic related shipping delays it would be too risky to place an order once the boat was on the hardstand. Fortunately I found a photo of that area and used the fact that the shaft diameter is 1 1/4" or 31.75 mm in diameter to estimate the length of the gap by using a ruler to measure diameter of the shaft on the photo and transferring the result to the gap in the photo. The result looked good and I asked Bruce to order the rope cutter.
Propeller and Shaft Clean and Taped Ready for Coating |
Propeller and Shaft Coated with Propspeed |
Closeup of Rope Cutter |
Raw Water Filter Reversed |
The hull came out amazingly clean after being pressure washed immediately after the liftout and Bruce then spent several days preparing the hull for the spraying of the antifouling. Then there were delays to the spray painting due to rain and a staffing problem, but there was a break in the weather and the antifouling was sprayed on the hull on 5 October. Ten litres of International Micron AP, blue were purchased for the job and I wound up with about 1 liter which will be used next time.
Bruce engaged Diverse Engineering to remove the propeller and install the rope cutter and what a wise choice it was. The mechanic was not happy with the looseness of the "propeller-nut" anode that was to be removed from the end of the shaft to allow the propeller to be extracted in order to install the rope cutter. The mechanic identified the problem as probably a worn thread on the nut holding the anode in place. The "probably" worried me because the alternative was a worn thread on the propeller shaft itself, requiring its removal (gulp!) at serious expense. Either way, both men figured that I had been lucky not to have lost the propeller during one of my outings. Fortunately a complete anode (i.e. anode and supporting frame) was found ("The last one on the shelf") and the result was a good solid fit. Also, the diameter of Pachuca's shaft calls for a size D propeller-nut anode and all of these years I've been replacing with larger size E anodes because that was what had been installed during my refit in Mexico. Now the boat is fitted with a smaller but proper size D anode.
Dynaplate for the HF Radio Clean and Definitely Not Coated
The application of Propspeed is the only way to go with protecting shafts and propellers from marine growth, and that process is a lot more complicated than simply a quick clean followed by a couple of coats of one material. Bruce cleaned the propeller and shaft back to "as new" condition then described the several coats of different material that must be brushed on.
Bruce also attended to other unexpected issues.
He noticed that for some reason the grate fitted to the hull used as a rough filter for the sea water entering the engine heat exchange had been installed backwards, so that the water scooping was optimized for movement of the boat in reverse rather than forward. Correcting this involved drilling new screw holes and filling the old ones on the hull.
He expressed unhappiness with incipient corrosion in the stainless steel thru-hull fitting servicing the wash basin in the head. To him it looked like the result of galvanic action, and I pointed out that Greg Hansen had installed and electrolysis blocker on the boat during its refit and besides and I no longer leave the boat permanently connected to shore power. The only other possibility that we could think of is that the grade 316 stainless steel thru-hull fitting installed during the refit 5 or 6 years ago along with all of the other ones was simply a flawed one. Whether or not to replace it was one of those 50-50 decisions, but given that we were in the moment with the boat out of the water and Bruce on the job as well as the consequences were the fitting to start leaking before the next haul-out I said "Let's change it."
Bow View
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Pachuca was put back in the water on 15 October after a 26 days on the hardstand, but that almost didn't happen. Before the arrival of the boat lifter at 8.30am I prepared the boat for sea by removing the binnacle and instrument covers, switching on the instrumentation, getting the boat hook ready, etc. I turned on the main electrical switch for the engine then at the cockpit hit the "on" button of the engine control panel and nothing happened. I then went over everything that I had done then checked the cabling below and everything was in order. The starter battery was well charged at more that 13 volts. I then turned the main switch off and on then went back into the cockpit and held down the "on" button of the engine control for about 5 seconds several times and still nothing happened. By then the lifter was in position and I rushed down and told Glen the driver about my problem just as the straps were being fitted under the boat. I apologized for the delay and he replied that it was better to learn now than when the boat was in the water. Bruce soon got back and after going over the problem he went topside while I remained below and I soon heard the double beep that meant that the control panel was active and the system had checked out OK. I then returned to the cockpit and turned the panel on and off several times with no problem then left it on to make sure that we could start the engine when we were in the water.
And just as well I left the panel on because yesterday I visited the boat to check the pen lines in anticipation of heavy winds on Tuesday and before leaving I tried to activate the panel and it was dead again. The original panel had lasted from the installation of the engine in Mexico in 2010 through the at times very rough passages back to Australia until about two years ago when it failed and I replaced it with the current one that appears to have also failed. Very disappointing, but that's boating. I'll probably buy a new panel on spec and ask Greg to fit it. If it turns out that the panel was not the problem it will be useful to have a spare on board.
After the boat was safely back in her pen Bruce and I had a discussion about the future over a cup of coffee. He agreed with my idea of hardstanding the boat in about April rather than spring when the weather is generally clear, the temperatures mild, and there is less demand on the hardstanding facilities. That means that the next hull maintenance will be in April 2023, 18 months from now and six months short of the life of the antifouling. However, I think that it is worth that cost because the plan brings the prospects of more certainty and fewer delays and frustrations, not to mention a pleasant time of year for that sort of work. Yes, there is good sailing to be missed in April, but Bruce agrees that I should have the boat back in the water in well under 10 days.
Saturday, October 16, 2021
Day Sail to Garden Island
On Saturday 20 March 2021 a group of us sailed to Garden Island and hooked up at a Fremantle Sailing Club mooring from which we jumped overboard and swam to the shore to spend time on the beach for several hours of swimming and relaxation. It was a day of "firsts" for me and Pachuca: (1) I had never before sailed with a total of 8 persons on board, (2) I had never sailed with two young children on board, (3) I had never made a night entry into Pachuca's pen.
On board besides myself was Brenda, her nephew Donald and Niece Heather, Donald's children Ryla (6yo) and Dallan (3yo), and Heather's boyfriend Dan.
Father and Daughter at the Bow |
Donald, Children, and Heather |
Making their Way to the Beach |
It was a great day for it with a sunny sky, moderate temperature, and calm sea. We arrived to find another boat on our mooring so we hooked up to a free one on the understanding that if the owner of our "borrowed" mooring arrived we would have to move to the mooring assigned to us. Fortunately neither of us were forced to move our boats.
Young Dallan was at first very reluctant to climb down the ladder and get into the water but when he saw everyone else in the water he simply jumped over the side to join us.
Brenda and Children, Pachuca in Background at Right |
The boys were keen to do some brisk sailing and we found the opportunity after clearing the Parmelia Bank on our return to FSC and setting course for the sailing club, which resulted in a moderate breeze off our starboard beam. I gave the OK to hoist all sail and soon we were hiking along at a respectable 6-7 knots with a nice heel.
Pig Trough Anchorage, Pachuca 3rd boat from the right |
We made our entrance after sunset and the boys searched for Pachuca's pen from the bow using a strong spotlight. Fortunately reflective tapes that I had glued on the pylon fenders years earlier proved to still be reflective enough to clearly show us the entrance to the pen. I had shown Donald, Heather and Dan the mooring rope layout before departing and with that inexperienced crew with more than a few drinks under their belts and in the darkness of night we made the best entrance into the pen that I can recall.
For me it was a successful and enjoyable day that encouraged me to do more of this social sailing in the future.
Thursday, April 29, 2021
Bunbury Cruise 2021
Tuesday, April 6, 2021
Winches Serviced
Saturday, January 23, 2021
Day Sail to Woodman Point
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.