29th April

Apologies to those who may find the technical side of the
diary a bit mundane. We are using the web page to update those involved and we
are also using it as a printable diary of work completed. It was a long day for
the team today with an 0600 start. Jay has now completed the re-bedding on the
for’d dorade, and in fact it has been completely rebuilt with all the
internal connections re- sealed. We removed all the components including the
fibreglass cowl and the timber framework which did not impress Alico who had
recently varnished them. All were cleaned and faired before being sealed and
bedded in caulking compound. Masking tape was used to obtain clean edged to the
sealing compound and removing the tapes and a final clean up remain for
tomorrow. Jay moved from that job to stabilising the helm seat which tended to
rock out of its mountings when we were heeled over. A pair of extra wing nuts
are being installed to hold the base down – but still allow quick removal
for access into the after cockpit lockers. We have dismounted the hatch cover
and seat and they have all been taken up to the shop so the work can be done on
the bench. Mohamed is working on a simple small Bimini screen to fit over the
main hatchway which will allow us to leave the hatch open without the danger of
random spray and rain entering when at sea. John attacked the remaining work on
the engine and was pleasantly surprised to find that changing the drive belt
was straightforward and took less than 15 minutes. The designers had position
the demountable joint in the cooling pipes exactly at the right spot and it was
easily accessible. It took longer the bleed the air out of the cooling system
afterwards than to change the belt. With a pair of asbestos hands it’s
probably doable even at sea. We looked at mounting a spare belt whilst we had
the cooling pipes apart but it proved difficult to secure the spare so that it
could not get caught up in the moving parts and in the end we abandoned the
idea. The pencil zincs were changed whilst the engine was cold – the stocks
we have on board are slightly oversize in length but work with a bit of
fiddling. A major clean up of the engine space was then undertaken with the
space being degrease and washed down. This also allowed us to test all the
bilge pumps as we turned then off whilst washing then ran them individually to
clear out the residual. The two manual pumps were also tested. We then moved on
the shaft tunnel, cleaned and degreased the grey water sump, likewise the
saddle bearing area and after end of the bilge and gearbox area. The saddle
bearing grease system was cleaned, checked and refilled. Shaft alignment was
+/- 5 thou so well within tolerance. Tail shaft bearing and packing gland was
checked and packing looked good with a minimum drip being evident. Grey water
pump and auto float were cleaned and tested OK. The shaft was degreased and
washed out. Roti’s arrived for lunch and we have finally managed to obtain
boneless chicken – mostly the chicken here is chopped up complete with
bones which makes for a long job sorting it out. After lunch we made a start on
the winches and completed three by 1800. However we have a bit of trouble with
the ST42 winch on the main outhaul which even after overhaul is a bit sticky.
By 1800 we had had enough of pulling it apart and re-assembling it so have left
it for a fresh approach in the morning. We are also going to talk to the
manufacturer in the morning as this is the only winch on board that we can’t
find an assembly diagram for. We have a suspicion that there may be a spacer
missing or wrongly positioned. Interestingly one of the crews adjacent to us
came up today and suggested we were not playing the game by doing all the work
ourselves. I can’t see why most of these crews are hired – they promptly
go out and hire other people to do the work at the owners’ expense. |