We're in Morocco........kind of. We're in an area call Cueta, which is on the African coast, but is actually owned and controlled by Spain. So, it's technically still Europe. But, they have a travel life here, and looks like as good a spot as any to get the ongoing propeller saga dealt with.
Between losing the propeller, finding it again in the bay, ordering the 'missing link' spacer, and finally getting the right tools everything together to get the boat hauled out and repaired, we think we're ready!
We tried to think of everything to have on hand to avoid delays in the sling of the boat lift. Drill charged, new sharp stainless drill bits (for the piece broken off in the shaft) a tap and die set in a "worst case" of having to drill the whole thing out and re-thread the hole, everything. Knowing full we couldn't guess it all, but I guess that's the adventure :) we were as ready as we could be.
While we were waiting, we were able to replace our batteries in the 'house bank'. We have two battery systems on the boat, starting batteries, for the engines, and a bank of batteries to run things whenever the engines aren't running, which is most of the time. Things like refrigerator, lights, instruments, everything electrical, all run off these batteries. The ones on the boat now are almost 4 years old and just not holding a charge anymore. So, it was a two-birds-with-one-stone and all that sort of thing at the boatyard, and another huge check-mark for the never ending To-Do List. :)
Between losing the propeller, finding it again in the bay, ordering the 'missing link' spacer, and finally getting the right tools everything together to get the boat hauled out and repaired, we think we're ready!We tried to think of everything to have on hand to avoid delays in the sling of the boat lift. Drill charged, new sharp stainless drill bits (for the piece broken off in the shaft) a tap and die set in a "worst case" of having to drill the whole thing out and re-thread the hole, everything. Knowing full we couldn't guess it all, but I guess that's the adventure :) we were as ready as we could be.
While we were waiting, we were able to replace our batteries in the 'house bank'. We have two battery systems on the boat, starting batteries, for the engines, and a bank of batteries to run things whenever the engines aren't running, which is most of the time. Things like refrigerator, lights, instruments, everything electrical, all run off these batteries. The ones on the boat now are almost 4 years old and just not holding a charge anymore. So, it was a two-birds-with-one-stone and all that sort of thing at the boatyard, and another huge check-mark for the never ending To-Do List. :)
There was another big boat ahead of us and it took them most of the day to get it on blocks and get the hoist freed up for us, so we ended up staying the night in the slot, waiting until first thing in the morning. We took a trip into town and hung out at the park, and the kids made some friends, they had a decent little shower room for guests, and us and the night guard were the only people there after 6 pm.
Next morning, they came down with the lift, and got the slings underneath, and began the hoist up. Thankfully, everything went really smoothly. Levi and I did end up having to drill out the entire broken bolt and re-tap the hole for a new bolt, but after that, it all 'smooth sailing' pardon the pun. We did put it all back together with very liberal amounts of LocTite thread sealant, just to be sure we don't do this again.
A big thanks to Peter, an English bloke who was a marine engineer in the boatyard, for advice, help, the LocTite, stories, and some chuckles. I hope you like land life, although the sea is always bekoning..... :)
A big thanks to Peter, an English bloke who was a marine engineer in the boatyard, for advice, help, the LocTite, stories, and some chuckles. I hope you like land life, although the sea is always bekoning..... :)
1 comment:
Happy to hear all your repairs and fixings got done....big relief
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