Repairs Update
Ile Jeudi
Bob and Lin Griffiths
Fri 5 Aug 2011 13:42
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Friday 5 August 2011
Rudder Bearings
We established that no dealers in Mallorca or
mainland Spain or the UK carried our bearings in stock. Also the factory
in Slovenia which makes the bearings for Bavaria are also on holiday for most of
August. So we spent the down time with Dennis trying to resolve our engine
overheat and freshwater supply problems.
Engine overheat
Dennis checked over the engine with an
infra-red thermometer and established that the thermostat was working correctly
and careful inspection suggested that the air was getting in through the sea
water strainer / filter. I tried to get replacement seals for the strainer
which improved impossible and also attempted a refit of the strainer
itself. Once I put the strainer back in place there was less air getting
in to the system but still too much.
We decided a new strainer would be the best bet as
I can get new seals at leisure from the UK and keep the old
strainer as a spare. Dennis placed the order with their supplier in
Calpe, which is just along the coast, only to find that it was a public holiday
today in Calpe! So he ordered it with another supplier in Madrid who,
in turn had to place the order on Vetus in Holland. More time lost and the
possibility of getting to Lin's brother Paul in Estepona, whilst still possible,
is looking more and more remote.
To get the order placed Dennis and his
wife Cheryl had to leap through many hoops in order to set up an account
with the Madrid agent. Several phone calls were needed just to get
them to open up the email (which they said they didn't have) when they finally
agreed they had received the email they said there
wasn't an attachment, and so it went on. Their Sales Prevention department
was triumphant. By the time Madrid opened the account Vetus in
Holland had closed! So we will have to wait until Monday to place the
order and in the meantime the cash register at the marina office keeps
ringing away!
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