Current Position: 12 25.753’S 130 48.795’E; Local Timezone: UTC+9.5 SOG: At Anchor. COG: N/A; TWS: 14 kt; TWD: 158; Distance to Waypoint (Darwin, Fannie Bay): At Anchor; Total Miles Sailed: 9567 nm; Engine Hours: 221; Estimate Fuel: 49+7+50;
Comments: I started this morning by measuring the length of the furler control line (75’) so I could order some Falcon Braid (sheathed Dyneema). The winds were light, so I decided to unfurl and drop the jib so I could do maintenance on the top bearings. First, I had to go back and forth to twist the sail by hand to get it to release. It would get hung up and when I twisted it there was an audible pop when it was released. When I finally got the sail unfurled and I loosened the halyard, the sail dropped about a foot, then got stuck. No amount of tugging would budge it. Further, I couldn’t raise it back up with the halyard. The wind started to pick up and with no way to lower the sail or way to lash it, and with no engine to get me out of trouble, I tried to furl the partially-lowered sail and to my surprise it furled pretty easily, furthermore, after it was furled I was able to raise it with the halyard. Perhaps pressing my luck, I unfurled the sailed and it did so without a hitch. When I tried to furl it again, it stopped with about 10% remaining. The halyard was tight again (even though it had already been loosened once) and when I loosened it some more, I was able furl in the sail. This was repeated about ten times. The only pattern I saw was it did not seem to matter how loose the halyard was to begin with, it still had to be loosened more to furl in the last 10% of the sail. I note again that this is not halyard wrap. The halyard is wire and is attached directly to the top swivel (no pendant to wrap). I suspect it is the tension of the forestay. I ran through my punch list on the boat … sewing the asymm with the Sailrite machine, organizing the propane locker, etc., then went ashore, did laundry, visited the chandlery (got backup/replacement lines for the dinghy, furler, and sheets for the jib), visited the hardware store again, visited a barbecue store to look for a high-pressure hose (which I discover leaking this morning), visited a plumbing store to actually pick up two of the hoses, picked up the part for the engine that had been sent overnight, and returned to the boat and installed the part. In a bit of wonderful news, the engine works perfectly. Swapping out the injectors has cured the knocking and eliminated the smoke. Five minutes after I started the engine, I got an e-mail from Biosecurity asking when I want to schedule the appointment. I am going to try to do it tomorrow. Sent from my iPhone
Comments: I started this morning by measuring the length of the furler control line (75’) so I could order some Falcon Braid (sheathed Dyneema). The winds were light, so I decided to unfurl and drop the jib so I could do maintenance on the top bearings. First, I had to go back and forth to twist the sail by hand to get it to release. It would get hung up and when I twisted it there was an audible pop when it was released. When I finally got the sail unfurled and I loosened the halyard, the sail dropped about a foot, then got stuck. No amount of tugging would budge it. Further, I couldn’t raise it back up with the halyard. The wind started to pick up and with no way to lower the sail or way to lash it, and with no engine to get me out of trouble, I tried to furl the partially-lowered sail and to my surprise it furled pretty easily, furthermore, after it was furled I was able to raise it with the halyard. Perhaps pressing my luck, I unfurled the sailed and it did so without a hitch. When I tried to furl it again, it stopped with about 10% remaining. The halyard was tight again (even though it had already been loosened once) and when I loosened it some more, I was able furl in the sail. This was repeated about ten times. The only pattern I saw was it did not seem to matter how loose the halyard was to begin with, it still had to be loosened more to furl in the last 10% of the sail. I note again that this is not halyard wrap. The halyard is wire and is attached directly to the top swivel (no pendant to wrap). I suspect it is the tension of the forestay. I ran through my punch list on the boat … sewing the asymm with the Sailrite machine, organizing the propane locker, etc., then went ashore, did laundry, visited the chandlery (got backup/replacement lines for the dinghy, furler, and sheets for the jib), visited the hardware store again, visited a barbecue store to look for a high-pressure hose (which I discover leaking this morning), visited a plumbing store to actually pick up two of the hoses, picked up the part for the engine that had been sent overnight, and returned to the boat and installed the part. In a bit of wonderful news, the engine works perfectly. Swapping out the injectors has cured the knocking and eliminated the smoke. Five minutes after I started the engine, I got an e-mail from Biosecurity asking when I want to schedule the appointment. I am going to try to do it tomorrow. Sent from my iPhone