The work goes on...
Ile Jeudi
Bob and Lin Griffiths
Tue 27 Sep 2011 15:49
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Monday 26 and Tuesday 27 September
The work on the rudder bearing was difficult in
that the engineer decided he wanted to change the design and find another way to
eliminate the excess play. We had a long debate and
my limited Portugese and his limited English didn't help but the engineer
was adamant that he knew best. In the end I went off to see the Sopromar
MD who spoke good English to explain why I felt this new design cannot
work. He eventually saw my point and we went back to the boat where
the engineer had finally also reached the same conclusion and had backed off
because he wasn't convinced it was working. Sometimes pride and ego gets
in the way and no doubt I will find the extra time taken for the
experiment on my bill.
To instal the rudder the boat has to be
craned well above the supporting cradle to allow enough space to for the
rudder and the stock to stand on the ground underneath. The rudder is then
forklifted slowly upwards and guided through the centre of the refitted
bearings. I was impressed by the speed of the engineer's technique
compared to last time in Torrevieja. That was until we found much later
that he had knocked a gasket out of position inside the boat. This
means the boat should be lifted again and the job re done. The second
use of the crane is something which requires explanation to 'management' if it
is not charged for. The engineer accepted this was his mistake so
wouldn't charge us but as he cast a furtive glance around the yard he saw
one of the MD's on a nearby boat. Realising that using the crane again
would be noticed by one of the 'high ups' he decided to find another way.
This involved some fork lift work and a lot of dismantling of the steering
assembly inside the boat. This of course took more time. This
engineer is a very nice chap but is seriously adding to my stress levels so is
not my favourite person at the moment.
In the meantime another engineer had removed the
heat exchanger and the exhaust elbow and turbo from the engine. They
showed me the crud in the heat exchanger - including bits of impeller from
the saltwater pump which had broken off and passed around the cooling
system until they had become trapped in the small bores of the heat
exchanger. This is always a problem. If for some reason the pump
runs dry the impeller gets hot and blades break off. You then dismantle as
much of the cooling pipework as you can to retrieve the broken bits and make up
a jigsaw to see if you have found everything. Evidently I have not always
found all the pieces! This together with the build up of muck would
definitely have contributed to the engine overheating. The bits were
removed and the cooling bores cleaned and the unit tested for leaks. All
OK.
The turbo and exhaust elbow was not such good
news. There was considerable wear in the walls of the elbow which erode in
the heat over the years. The expensive bit - the turbo - was fine but it
is an integral part of the elbow which comes as one unit. We need
a replacement one and Sopromar got a quote of about €1750 from
Volvo for a refurbished elbow, net of a credit for our old one.
Gulp. Oh, and it will not be here before the end of the week so
can't be refitted until next week! Oh good. Time is whizzing by and
we still need to fit the satphone and AIS before we can sail for the Canary
Islands.
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