{"id":1999,"date":"2025-08-04T07:16:40","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T07:16:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aegir-ran.com\/?p=1999"},"modified":"2025-08-04T07:29:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T07:29:11","slug":"check-in-august-4-2025-715-utc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aegir-ran.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/04\/check-in-august-4-2025-715-utc\/","title":{"rendered":"Check-in August 4, 2025; 7:15 UTC"},"content":{"rendered":"
Current Position: 12 25.753\u2019S 130 48.795\u2019E; 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: 220; Estimate Fuel: 49+8+50;
\nComments: I woke up at 2:00. Not sure why. I tried to get some more sleep at 6:00 and was awaken shortly after that by the propane alarm. It was going off intermittently. Sensor 2 in the galley has been \u201cfaulted\u201d for a month or so, probably a loose wire. But this was sensor 1 on the propane locker. I have had it go off before due to various fumes including a leaking gas tank for the dinghy (that is not in there right now), a broken jug of teak oil (now gone), and a leaking propane regulator (I replaced and have a backup). I note the solenoid is closed, which is before the regulator, so if there is a leak it has to be one of the bottled or the short hose that is connecting one of the bottles to the solenoid. Or, maybe the detector is defective. I opened the locker, did not smell gas, and left it open until I can sort it out. The alarm went off again, even with the locker door open. It is not intermittent, but continuous now. I do smell a bit of gas in the locker. I reached for the portable gas sniffer that I also store in the locker and find it has been destroyed by seawater, even though it was stored in a plastic bag. I shut the valve to the tank in use \u2026 still beeping. I opened the solenoid and bleed the gas in the line so there is no pressure \u2026 still beeping. I remove the two unused tanks from the locker \u2026 still beeping. I disconnect the tank in use, remove it from the locker, and the beeping stops. The tank feels completely empty. I open the valve and there is some fuel in it. I put the tank back in the locker and crack it open briefly to test the sensor \u2026 it does not go off. Normally the detector is very sensitive. After a few minutes, the sensor goes off. Thinking it may be a delayed effect, perhaps it took time for the gas to settle down to the sensor, I let it run. At this point there are no propane cylinders in the cabinet, but there may be something else in there setting it off. I crawl into the engine room behind the bulkhead and disconnect and reconnect the sensors \u2026 no longer beeping. I disconnect the one going to the galley to confirm #2 is in the sink cabinet \u2026 it is as the fault light goes off. By this time I have the both the cabinet and the propane locker cleared out if anything that could set off the alarm. I test #1 with a propane lighter and it does not work. Apparently the seawater that destroyed the portable sensor has also affected the permanent sensor. I could swap the sensors, but there is no guarantee the sensor in the cabinet is good (I don\u2019t know why the fault light is on), but also it would be a major hassle as it would require the wires to be rerouted. While reconnecting the original tank to the hose I discover on of its brass adapter fitting is split. Further, there is corrosive evidence it has been split for a while. I am supposed to leave for the horse race soon, but I decide too much is going on with the boat and the wind had come up making a dinghy ride difficult \u2026 at least that is what I tell myself. My choices are to abandon the tank (it is almost empty and I have only gone through a little over one tank in four months) or to switch a connector from another tank (because I can\u2019t refill the almost empty tank with the broken fitting). I decide to swap the fittings so I can finish off the tank and get it refilled as planned. The tank without a fitting will be saved for emergencies going forward (such as one of the tanks accidentally bleeds dry in a remote location where I cannot get it refilled). When putting the second fitting on, it splits. They are failing from fatigue. Down to one usable tank, I dare not try to swap another fitting. I recalled having to special order these adapters in the US, so there is zero chance of finding them in Australia, especially as they are non-metric straight pipe thread. I am first going to search my spares to see if by chance I have an extra (not likely) or if I can rig up an adapter with the parts I have (probably also not likely). The alarm had stopped going off for about an hour. When I connected the third \u201cundamaged@ cylinder and opened the valve the alarm went off within a minute, even with the solenoid closed. I removed the tank again and allowed it to air out. The alarm continue to buzz for half an hour with essentially nothing in the propane locker, so I disconnected the sensor convinced it had gone bad. That does not mean that the cracks in the tank adapters are not real or that they leak. I will leave the locker open until I get a sniffer in Darwin. As for the two tanks that are rendered unusable, I was unable to find the parts to fix them onboard and are unlikely to find anything in Darwin to fix them. I may have to abandon the two tanks and try to find new ones in Darwin. The problem is only special sizes fit in my propane locker. On the engine front, although the Kubota parts department is supposed to be open on Mondays, no one is answering, to they probably are closed for the horse race holiday. So, after a disaster of a couple of days trying to fix things, I find myself having taken two steps back. The checked the weather forecast and the winds are supposed to die down to 3 kt this afternoon. It is practically slack tide now and will be again at 7:20. I\u2019m going to the horse races before I break something else (or find something else broken \u2026 \u201cEverything on a boat is broken, you just don\u2019t know it yet.\u201d). Along with the propane issue, Biosecurity in Darwin couldn\u2019t find any record on me, so I spent an hour forwarding all the e-mails and documents I have received only to be told that it was all there after all and they had not been putting the hyphen in the name. I need a beer. I dropped a pin where the boat is in case I come back after dark. The ride in was pretty smooth. By the time I beached the dinghy and walked the 30m to the track, the first race was underway, about noon. I settled in with a beer, had something to eat that was sort a fusion of Asian and SW Texas BBQ served on little white fluffy pancakes. It was quite a spectacle, I was told the biggest event of the year. Virtually all the women were dressed like it was the prom and all the men were dressed like me, in shorts and a T-shirt. I learned how to bet in the second and third race, loosing $10 AUS each time, then I won $20 in the fourth and loosing $20 in the fifth. I am glad I went early because by this time everyplace was packed. I had the experience and glad I went. I walked back to the Darwin Sailing Club, had another beer, and was back at the boat by 16:30. the ride back was a bit rough. The dinghy would not plane because of the chop, but I got back eventually. The Kubota parts department is supposed to open at 8 tomorrow. If they have the part, I am going to have to figure out how to get it. I would rather not rent a car tomorrow because as soon as the engine is fixed I need to arrange for the biosecurity inspection, and I am required to stay onboard during that.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Current Position: 12 25.753\u2019S 130 48.795\u2019E; 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: 220; Estimate Fuel: 49+8+50; Comments: I woke up at 2:00. Not sure why. I tried to get some more sleep at … <\/p>\n

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