This will be my last routine post on aegir-ran.com. This website is now officially an archive. I have created a new website ashbysailing.com, which is a splash page for my other websites. I have created a new website for S/V Saint Brendan, my new-to-me Tartan 34C. Saint Brendan will be my Sea of Cortez boat while I search for a replacement for Aegir-Ran for bluewater sailing. I have also created a blog for the boat and I will be publishing the boat’s log on-line. If you visit the blog or log page, it is possible to subscribe to each individually. If you subscribe, you will receive e-mail notification when I post to the blog and/or log.
Boom Repaired
I was horrified during my passage from Tahiti to Tonga that the plate that holds the gooseneck onto the boom was missing a screw (it had stripped out) and two if the remaining three screws were very loose. Furthermore, the gooseneck itself was missing a screw, but there was nothing I could do about it while at sea because the screw had a nut on the inside of the boom that had fallen off. The outcome could have been catastrophic had the plate broken free. I tightened the loose screws and monitored the situation for the remainder of the passage.
I have been in Tonga several days now and have managed to find the parts to fix the boom. I started by swinging the boom to the starboard and lashing it so it was not over the solar panels. I then lashed the mainsail to itself (not the boom), released the clew and the tack, and lifted it out of the way (up the track), before lashing it to the mast (to reduce the windage). I unbuckled the bottom of the stack pack and folded the port side up so I could see what I was doing. I secured the topping lift so the far end of the boom was about level and released the pneumatic boom vang. I tied a line about two-thirds down the boom, ran it through a block I had attached to the deck and back to a winch (so I could keep the boom from swinging forward). I ran the spinnaker halyard around and attached it to a loop that was near where the boom vane attaches so I could lift/lower the near end of the boom. At that point I removed the remaining three screws on the side of the boom and used the winch to separate the boom from the gooseneck plate.
Once inside I discovered my plan to put a threaded rod through the hole that was stripped was not going to work because there is a tube welded inside for the gooseneck that is in the way. However, I decided to tap the stripped hole to 10 mm. I did not have a 10 mm tap and I didn’t want to spend the $150 to by a set, so I took the 10 mm 316 stainless rod and fashioned a tap, which wouldn’t work for hardened steel but was just fine for aluminum. The thread is not complete because of the rounding of the hole when it was stripped, but I believe there is enough thread to hold. All of the 5/16” screws were replaced with 5/16” bolts with lock washers, except for the stripped, which was replaced with a 10 mm bolt and lock washer. Before I put everything back together, I searched for a 7/16” bolt (I have a 7/26” tap), but could not find one. I have 1/2” bolts and taps, but did not want to remove that much material from the boom. I had to be careful tightening down the bolts because there is not much aluminum in the female thread. In fact, when putting in the second bolt in on the port side, the same side as the stripped thread, I found it too was stripped. I tried putting in a 10 mm bolt, but it did not feel secure, so I put a 10 mm rod through the boom and used nuts to secure it. That certainly is not going to fail.
Putting the boom back on the gooseneck was a challenge because of the weight and forces involved and the fact the alignment had to be perfect to pass the pin through it. I ended up using the windlass capstan to drag the boom forward to align the holes. I could tell by the forces on the rope I was using that I could never have done it by hand. The rest of the job was easy, just putting everything back together. What I find during jobs like this is you take one step forward and two steps back. I discovered a zipper on the sail pack needs to be sewn and I saw one screw was missing, one had the head broken off and several others were loose or stripped on the boom vang.
LP Tanks from Mexico Should Not Last As Long As LP Tanks From Tonga
I took two LP gas bottles to be refilled today in Tonga and was told, after they tried, that they could not fill them. The tanks were previously filled in Mexico. Some research on the internet taught me that Mexico gets almost all of its LP gas from the US, and the US refines its LP gas so that it is almost pure propane. The LP gas in Tonga is a mixture of propane and butane. Because the former is more volatile than the latter, Tongan LP gas cannot be condensed into a tank that has US LP gas in it. It is also noteworthy that propane burns hotter than butane on a per molecule basis. So the question is, can you expect a tank of liquid propane to last longer than a tank of butane (or propane/butane mixture)? The heat of combustion is related to the H/C ratio for hydrocarbons and propane has a higher H/C ratio than butane. The formulas for combustion are:
C3H8 + 8 O2 → 4 H2O + 3 CO2
2 C4H10 + 13 O2 → 10 H2O + 8 CO2
The additional heat for propane vs. butane per molecule is given roughly by:
(8/3)/(10/4) = 1.0667
The heat of combustion (at standard temperature and pressure) of propane is 2220.1 kJ/mol and for butane is 2877.5 kJ/mol. The density of liquid propane at room temperature (25°C) is approximately 0.493 grams per cubic centimeter. For butane it is 0.599 g/cm3. So if we assume are tank is 1 cm3 (does not matter what size it is for the calculation), propane produces:
0.493 g/cm3 X (1/44.10 g/mol) X 2229.1 kJ/mol = 24.92 kJ/cm3
Butane produces:
0.599 g/cm3 X 58.12 g/mol X 2877.5 kJ/mol = 29.66 kJ/cm3
So, for a given volume of liquid gas at room temperature, butane produces more energy than propane (29.66/24.92=1.19, about 20%). While propane has a higher calorific value per unit of mass, butane’s higher specific gravity (density) means it packs more mass into the same volume, resulting in a higher overall energy output per volume.
There is a potential issue regarding mixtures of gases (if we are not dealing with pure propane or butane), namely if the molecules interact in some way, but hydrocarbons are generally considered to be “ideal gases” (and ideal liquids).
Bottom line … same-sized LP tanks from Mexico should not last as long as LP tanks from Tonga.
You might ask why there are different formulas for LP gas. Propane is more volatile than butane, so it is more suitable for the cooler climates. Tonga does not have to worry about vaporizing butane.
Formalities Completed
I completed the “formalities” this morning. My transit papers were accepted and my passport was stamped. Although I will not likely use all the time, I can stay in French Polynesia for three months beginning today. When I got back to the boat, I replaced the yellow Q flag with the flag of French Polynesia. The flag features two red horizontal bands on top and bottom, enclosing a wider white band in the center. The emblem of French Polynesia, a stylized canoe with the sun above and waves below, is centered on the white band. The canoe represents the Polynesian way of life, and the sun and waves symbolize the natural environment. Five stars in the emblem represent the five archipelagos of French Polynesia. Yesterday at sunset, while waiting for a ride, I sat on the dock and watched five men paddle a big white sea-going canoe into the marina.
Why I Carry So Much Stuff Onboard
There are few days that go by when something doesn’t break on a boat. This morning, I was do my “pre-flight” check when I discovered my main bilge pump was not working. The problem was a wire on the level switch had corroded through. It was unrepairable (because the wire is sealed in plastic). Yes, I had a spare onboard. In fact, I have a spare for just about everything that is important … and just as important … I usually know where the spare part it.
Tour of Aegir-Ran
Today I am getting ready for a passage to the Marquesas via San Benedicto Island. It’ll be my last day with Starlink/fast Internet. So, I thought I would upload some videos. Here is the cabin:
Here is the engine room:
Here is the cockpit:
The foredeck:
And the instrumentation:
My Boat Sings to Me
When I was at anchor at Ensenada de Los Muertos, I would sometimes hear an interesting “flute” melody. It was not a single tone, but a true melody. I thought it was coming from encampments on the shore. I enjoyed the music. It was enchanting. Today I am at a anchored at Los Frailes and to my surprise the music started again. It’s my boat. Under certain conditions it plays music, which emanates somewhere in the rigging. I am doubly-pleased. First, I am not going insane. Second, I know I can continue to enjoy the music.
Where the Sea of Cortez Meets the Pacific Ocean
I arrived at Los Frailes yesterday evening just before dusk after a wonderful sail from Ensenada de Los Muertos. I averaged 6.2 kt with just the Yankee jib flying in 25-30 kt winds from the north. The following seas were big, driven by the fetch of the entire Sea of Cortez. There was something different about the sea conditions. The waves were steep and the intervals short, as is often found in the SOC, but I could see the water transforming as I approached Los Frailes … becoming more Pacific-like.
I rode the last of the wind into Frailies. The wind will be very light, variable for the next few days. That will help calm the seas down a bit. It looks like my weather window for sailing to San Beneticto is Monday, although it may be necessary to motor for half a day to get out of the shadow of the Cape. San Benedicto is about 300 miles south, about the same distance I have sailed the past week from San Carlos to here. The main issue is the traffic as I must sail across a major shipping lane, so I welcome the opportunity to rest the next couple of days. The break will also give me a chance to service the engine, clean the hull (while testing my new Hookah diving system), and go ashore to do some hiking (and test my new outboard engine).
Sounds Inside Your Space Capsule
When you live and work full time on a relatively small boat, you become acutely aware of all the sounds. If something is not right, you’re awakened from a dead sleep. There has been a scratching noise that has been driving me nuts. It’s the scraping of metal on metal of the fasteners that secure the boat’s ensign to its pole on the stern of the boat (you are required to fly the flag of the country in which your boat is registered). Despite exhaustion from the sail yesterday, it woke me up an hour after I went to sleep. I got up and took the flag down and in the morning I fixed it by replacing the metal fittings with Dyneema cord. Small victories. Footnote: there is a large fish next to the boat that has jumped out of the water a dozen times as I wrote this … trying to break my concentration.
Watermaker is Working
I had no way of testing the watermaker I installed a few months ago (a Katadyn 40e PowerSaver) as I have either been on the hard (no salt water) or in the marina (too dirty). I did take a quick sail in November, but I was reluctant to test it then because it would have been necessary to pickle the system for a four month storage. Yesterday I tested the system for the first time and it works! The TDS was 450 ppm (high, but drinkable) and the water tasted fine. While it is my plan for now to use it mainly to produce water to rinse dishes, wash clothes, bathe, and clean the windows of the hard dodger, I celebrated this morning my making myself a bath of chai tea.
The watermaker is just about the smallest one on the market (does not take up much space in the engine room). But, it has the advantage of being a single unit without hoses to leak, has the fewest moving parts and seals to fail, and it consumes an amazing little power. It produces 1 1/2 gallons/hour and only consumes 4 Ah (2.66 Ah/gallon). I could produce 150 gallons of water and not even use 10% of my house battery bank. In practice, I can run it for an hour in the middle of the day (when the solar panels are producing most effectively) and not even notice the power consumption. The advantage of running it every day is I don’t have to worry about pickling it for storage. But, I have plumbed it to take fresh water to flush it out (which is fine if you’re not going to use it for a week or two. However, it is important to use fresh water that has been produced by the watermaker. If you use other sources (e.g., tap water), you run the risk of introducing chlorine, which would destroy the osmotic filter.
The watermaker is just about the smallest one on the market (does not take up much space in the engine room). But, it has the advantage of being a single unit without hoses to leak, has the fewest moving parts and seals to fail, and it consumes an amazing little power. It produces 1 1/2 gallons/hour and only consumes 4 Ah (2.66 Ah/gallon). I could produce 150 gallons of water and not even use 10% of my house battery bank. In practice, I can run it for an hour in the middle of the day (when the solar panels are producing most effectively) and not even notice the power consumption. The advantage of running it every day is I don’t have to worry about pickling it for storage. But, I have plumbed it to take fresh water to flush it out (which is fine if you’re not going to use it for a week or two. However, it is important to use fresh water that has been produced by the watermaker. If you use other sources (e.g., tap water), you run the risk of introducing chlorine, which would destroy the osmotic filter.
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