After more than four months on the hard – during which time she received a new fuel system, a bow thruster, bottom paint, etc. – she was put back in the water this morning. The launch was not without its problems. The dripless seal is dipping (and needs to be adjusted) and the engine would not run. Eventually, the problem was traced to an oil pressure sending unit that is attached to the alarm system. Because the sending unit was not tripping, the electric fuel pump was being shut off. I “hot-wired” the sending unit so the boat could be moved from the ramp to the slip.
A 15 gallon aluminum day tank was installed in the engine room on the shelf where the genes used to be mounted. Since it is located above the engine, the diesel is gravity-fed, which reduces the chances of an air blockage in the line.
Since the day tank will be filled from the main tank via the fuel polisher, the fill line for the day tank was located in the bottom of a lazarette. The fill line will only be used for emergencies, were for some reason it is not possible to transfer diesel from the main tank.
My sister ship Arabesque (also an Alajuela 38) and the Aegir-Ran happened to both be on the hard at Marina Seca in San Carlos, just a few boats away from each other. I had only arrived in San Carlos that day and had taken the owner out for a couple of beers and some almejas chocolatas (chocolate clams) at one of our favorite restaurants, La Manga Restaurante Doña Rosita. The Arabesque was to be moved from the work yard to storage at 2:00 PM, and we arrived at the yard exactly at 2 only to find that the boat yard had begun to move Aegir-Ran, not Arabesque. While there are many differences between the boats (e.g., Aegir-Ran had a hard dodger), the hulls of the boats are almost identical, right down the the color of the paint of the hulls (Awlgrip Insignia White) and the waterline stripes. Flagging the workers down, we all had a good laugh about the incident, and in the days following, I still poke fun at them for trying to “steal” the Aegir-Ran.
Here is a photo of the Aegir-Ran on that day:
Here is a photo of the Arabesque being hauled to storage:
Sailing from Bahia Algodones to Bahia San Padro, the starboard jib block failed. It’s nut suffered unseen crevice corrosion, causing the pin to pop out and the sheave to be slingshotted across the cockpit. The nut that failed was split in four places! Chloride ions can cause localized corrosive attack (pitting and crevice corrosion) of stainless steels.
Fortunately, the winds were light at the time , all of the parts were recovered, and a replacement nut was on-board.
Since the solar panels were installed in the hard dodger, I have been concerned that the topping lift was not beefy enough. Quarter inch double braid seemed to be insufficient and it was not possible to increase the diameter without significant modification of the boom. Also, the single block did not deliver sufficient leverage to lift the boom with the extra weight of the sail pack when the mainsail is lowered. The boom vang struggles with the extra weight as well. To deal with these issues, I replaced the double double braid with block with Dyneema and the single with two blocks, a Schaefer 3 Series Single Block Stainless Steel Cheeks with Becket and Swivel Shackle and a Schaefer 3 Series Single Stainless Block with Front-Side Shackle. A Brummel Lock Eye-Splice was used to attach the Dyneema to the becket.
I have been focusing safety equipment this week (ditch bag, InReach, AIS, etc.). Today I registered an Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon. The beacon was registered with US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Since a Category 1 EPIRB is being used (which means it is capable of automatically deploying, it was mounted out-of-the-way on the deck.
Category I EPIRBs are housed in a special bracket equipped with a hydrostatic release. This mechanism releases the EPIRB at a water depth of 3-10 feet. The buoyant EPIRB then floats to the surface and begins transmitting.
Upon deployment, the EPIRB’s built-in GPS will fix your position to within a few meters and then utilizes a powerful 406 MHz signal to relay a distress call to orbiting satellites. When triggered, the EPIRB broadcasts a unique registered distress signal (that includes the vessel’s MMSI) that not only tells rescuers where you are, but who you are.
An additional feature of the EPIRB is a 121.5 MHz secondary homing transmitter which means that once Search and Rescue teams have been deployed, they are able to home in on your exact location. The rescue is also assisted by a a LED strobe built into the EPIRB.
When I purchased the boat, it can with a hard-chined rowing boat for a tender, a Walker Bay 8, which was poured by a Yamaha 2.5 hp engine. While the Walker Bay was perfect for the Sea of Cortez, it was inappropriate for where I plan to go. I needed a dingy that could carry provisions, that I could beach in a surf, and that I could dive off of. The new dingy had to fix on the foredeck (9′ or less) and had to be light enough to launch single-handed. I also wanted a RIB (that could plane, and thus be relatively fast. I settled on an AB 8UL, which is constructed of Hypalon and has an unfinished aluminum hull. I saved $800 in taxes and $800 in shipping (and perhaps a month) by driving to Oxnard California to pick it up. I sold the Walker Bay to a local for $150 today and the RIB is now in its place. I need to sew chaps for the new dingy and a cover to store it on the foredeck.
I am preparing to install a Simrad TP32 Tiller Pilot. I have read that the lifetime of the autopilot can be expanded markedly by keeping it covered, so I sewed a cover. It has a piece of vinyl that allows access to the control buttons and it is held on with a piece of velcro.
The previous owner of the boat had removed all of the plumbing for the head and the holding tank. He had left behind precut lengths of Shields Series 148 hose to put it back together again. After staying the lengths of hoses, I realized the the boat had been previously plumbed so the head would only deposit to the holding tank and the holding tank could only be pumped overboard. I wanted the options to pump the head directly overboard or pump the holding tank out via the port on the deck. Further, I wanted to replace the manual pump with a macerator. The small space available to accommodate the plumbing required considerable planning. The components were laid out in the settee area for a couple of weeks as various options were explored inn what amounted to a three-dimensional chess game:
Eventually, a configuration was decided on and work was begun to route the plumbing through some very tight spaces. Shields Series 148 hose is very stiff, so the order of the pulling and connecting of the tubing had to be carefully planned.
Since a new model of toilet was installed, the fiberglass of the shower pan was patched and painted with Interlux Bilgekote.
When the plumbing and painting was complete, the wood was refurbished with teak oil and the toilet was installed.
Because the fixtures were corroded and the manual pump handle was broken, all the fixtures were replaced.
A panel just to the left of the sink provides access to the macerator, the two diversion valves, and the main seacock.
