The Captain's Golden Touch

It was with a little trepidation that Jens started the repair on the GenSet.  It has been a long road of trying out things and talking to people about what the problem could be.  The generator was running fine but it just wasn't creating any charge to replenish our batteries.  We went down the expensive road of trial and error, replacing parts until we found the problem.  We know for sure it is not the voltage regulator, but I guess the good news is that we now have a spare one.  After talking to a few more people and some local experts, Jens decided it could be the carbon brushes.  So we ordered a couple of new sets since they are not an expensive part themselves, but the cost of shipping is often quite high.

We got back to the boat Friday around noon after our trip to Panama City to pick up the parts but thinking it would be a long and tedious job and afraid to be disappointed one more time, Jens delayed the repair until Saturday.   As it turned out it only took him about 15 minutes to install the new brushes. We started up the GenSet and waited to see if the green light indicating it was generating electricity would go on.  We didn't have to wait long.  That lovely green light went on!  Jens was so excited you'd have thought it was Christmas.  Hurrah!!  Finally, we have all things operational aboard SY SEGWUN.  What a lovely feeling.

Then we had even more good news.  The adjustment that Jens made to the propellor has resulted in a nice improvement to our fuel economy.  We figured it turns out to be about a 20% improvement.  Not too bad!!!  That kind of adjustment is easy to get used to.

I had some time over the last few days to go through my photos from San Blas and thought to share a few of the nicer ones with you.  Hope you like them.

A Kuna Hotel on one of the islands in San Blas.  Very rustic and peaceful.

The mountains along the coast.  Usually the clouds come rolling over the mountains just before a rain storm.

Is the Repair to the GenSet Within Sight???

October 4, 2012
We arrived back to Shelter Bay on Tuesday after having spent 18 days in the San Blas Islands.  Our pantry was looking a little bare and I think we were all starting to grow fins and gills from spending so much time snorkelling and swimming.  It was also time to do some serious laundry.  And, the best news - we heard from Fredrik who had just returned from a couple of weeks traveling and ... he had the spare parts for the generator (or GenSet as it is referred to).

Why do we need a generator on board?  And how have we managed for so many months without one?  Good questions!  We use the generator to charge our batteries which powers our fridge and freezer, lights, and our navigation equipment as well as our autopilot.  Options to a generator would be wind and/or solar power, which we don't have.  Another option of course is to run the engine which also charges the batteries.  So, why don't we just run the engine?  Well, it's quite noisy and also consumes almost twice as much fuel as the generator would.

We have been using the ship's main engine to charge our batteries whenever we are not connect to shore power ever since the GenSet went on the blink way back when we were in St. Martin.  It takes about two hours a day of charging to provide us with the energy we need.  As you all know,  I have had to forgo the use of my hair dryer while at sea and we also don't use the microwave or the air conditioners (which is really sad cause sometimes the nights are really hot and sticky; but somehow, we have survived) otherwise it would probably be more like 4 hours of charging.   We have toyed with the idea of investing in solar and/or wind power but are reluctant as it seems like bit of overkill if we have an operating generator.  So, this is our last kick at the can - if the parts we ordered don't fix the generator, then we'll review our options again.

We took the bus to Panama City today to meet up with Fredrik and pick up the parts.  Tomorrow we travel back to Colon and ... keep your fingers crossed ... Jens will fiddle with the generator one more time and with any luck, we'll have a fully operational GenSet once again.  You see how exciting life on a sail boat can be?

The Daily Routine

September 26, 2012

Well, what to say that I haven't already said! Life rolls by slowly with long lazy days of snorkeling and exploring the islands. The weather here is less rainy and a bit less hot than it had been in Colon with morning temperatures at about 25 c. Mind you, by mid-afternoon it is well above 30 c and if our barometer on the boat is right the humidity levels never go below 70%. It's always nice to jump in the water which is lovely and warm ranging between 30 and 31 c.

Chores: There are the daily chores of sweeping and vacuuming the cabin, cooking meals and charging batteries to keep us busy. And we need to do laundry now and then so it's the old fashioned process of hand washing and hanging out to dry. In this climate very little clothes are needed and we spend a great deal of our time in our swimsuits. We are all nice and toasty brown!

Cooking: I have been trying out the beer bread recipe which is fast and easy to make. Only the Captain complains because I need one can of beer for each loaf of bread. But he doesn't complain too much when he is eating the results. The other day I added cheese and chili peppers to one loaf and cinnamon and raisins to the other loaf which made it fine for dessert or toasted for breakfast. Both turned out really well. It is a bit of a heavy bread and fills us up. But we have learned that it is best eaten the same day or soon after as it doesn't keep well.

We had received some coconuts from a Kuna on the island next to our anchorage in return for filling his water jug. With a few extra coconuts I thought to make a coconut cake, but without a recipe and few ingredients I had to improvise a little. I added grated coconut to the batter and used coconut milk instead of cow's milk. I had a package of vanilla flan that I used for a topping and decorated it with some maraschino cherries. It looked pretty and tasted yummy. The crew on Segwun really do enjoy their desserts.

I've tried my hand at the 'No Knead' bread and changed a couple of things. Much better this time, but not yet perfect. I think the high humidity might have something to do with it so next time, I'll use lest water. Stay posted. When it comes out as it should, I'll post a photo and the recipe. :-).

Now that we have restored faith in the freezer, next time we provision, we'll be sure to stock up on chicken and beef. We were a little uncertain this time around so we were cautious with how much meat we bought and although we can buy some groceries in the San Blas I am a bit reluctant to buy meat. We've been eating a lot of pasta as a result. Nothing like good old spaghetti and macaroni, right?

The Spider: we have a stowaway aboard Segwun. It is a spider that is living at the stern of the boat. He/she must take refuge in the Bimini during bad weather. He's been with us since we left Shelter Bay and every evening, just around the time we are having our sundowners, out he comes and builds a new web up at the back of the Bimini stretching out to the davits for the dinghy. I guess even spiders make good sailors (I wonder if they get seasick??)

Entertainment: we finished watching Season 1 of Game of Thrones and are now halfway through Season 1 of Boardwalk Empire. We have also kept ourselves busy with a backgammon tournament which I didn't make past the first round. Poo! But I guess someone has to lose and Christian is just so darn lucky!!! He makes up for beating everyone at backgammon with a little soothing guitar music.

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Getting Closer to Getting Ready

The Bow Sprit - newly sanded on the left - with the first coat of lacquer on the right

It has been long, hard and very hot work for the crew of Segwun.  Sanding, sanding, sanding and then more sanding.  The bright work is now getting a few coats of lacquer and is starting to look so very good.  Anna and Christian are tireless workers - on the job at 7AM and finally hanging up the tools at 6PM with only a few short breaks for lunch and an afternoon ice-cream.

Jens has been getting the sails back up and all the rigging installed.  It was much faster work taking them all off and takes a bit more work figuring out where all those ropes have to go.  Just a couple of coats of lacquer more, a couple more sails to raise and we'll be ready to set off.

Oh and not to forget one more trip to the grocery store to stock up and fill our now fully functioning freezer!  Hurrah!   I also will buy more flour and continue on my ambition to start making our own bread.  We have a hard time finding good tasting bread in this part of the world and Pat gave me a recipe that is supposed to be fool proof.  Hummm...  I'm sorry to report the first attempt was a bit weak.  Second attempt coming up soon.  I've not given up yet.  

SY Segwun is back in the water!

SY Segwun went into the water yesterday after spending the last three months on the hard.  We were able to get a fresh coat of paint on the bottom, polish the hull and start on the lacquer work.  Jens fixed the bow thruster and had adjusted the propeller when she first came out of the water in May.  So, in she went and the engine started without any problems.  A great start!  We headed over to the slip as we still have some other repairs to do before we set off to the San Blas for a week or two of enjoying paradise!   This gave Jens enough time to see if the bow thruster was working again (2 thumbs up ... bow thruster is operational!) and to see if the propeller adjustment he made was correct (another 2 thumbs up).

Then came the nagging issues.  Those ones that have been on our snag list for a long time.  We secured spare parts over the summer to see if we can fix the thermostat for the freezer and get the generator to produce power.  Jens started with the repairs to the generator with some doubts in his mind as to whether or not the new voltage regulator we bought would solve the problem.   Well, it seemed not to work, so we parked the problem.

Then he and Christian installed the new thermostat and that too seemed to work, but not correctly.  In the meantime, it was pouring rain and there was little for Anna and I to do other than tidy up the cabin.  To make things even more difficult, the marina is without water since a couple of days now.  A water main broke and they are in the process of repairing it.  We were told it would be a couple of hours before we had water, but by the end of the day, it was still not running.

After a night of sleeping on the problems and an internet search by Christian, they returned to the boat with some ideas of how to fix the problems.  I am happy to report that the thermostat for the freezer is now working!  Hurray!   The generator is still causing Jens some grief, but Fredrik has given us the name of a local contact that should be able to help us out if we really get stuck.

We decided to move onto the boat instead of commuting back and forth to Panama now that the boat is in the water and the air conditioners are working!  It is hot like heck here - about 30C and 79% humidity (feels like 42C).  The only problem is, we still don't have water.  We thought we had been very clever in May when we decided to store the boat with a dry water tank rather than a full one.  Which means, we have no water on the boat and have to fill our water jugs up at the Marina Hotel. They had expected to have the water back running today, but it is now 4PM and no sign of it yet.  We now hear it could be another "day or two"!!!   Washing and polishing the deck will have to wait a little longer.

Here you can see the difference in the bottom once it has been painted

The paint crew :  Our Panama host Fredrik helped us out!

The final result - painted and polished!

And now the Bright Work begins (in normal language this means lacquering all the teak)

We got the first coat of lacquer on the "rub rail" before she went in the water.

Anna is busy painting the inside of the Dorado's with a fresh coat of red.

Christian is doing an impeccable job.  We're just happy we don't have to pay him by the hour!

And the Captain is busy with the mouse sander.  

A little manual labour ... for Jens, a labour of love!

So, we have spent the first couple of days in Panama City, hanging at Fredrik's condo in the sky.  Not so bad; in fact it has been downright comfy.  Anna and Christian were up before dawn two days in a row eager to see as many of the city's sites as possible - up to Ancon hill to catch the sunrise - off to the national park to see the wildlife.  Oh, the energy these young people have.  In the meantime, Jens and I were dashing around the city picking up lacquer for the trim and hunting down new filters for the watermaker.  We made a quick trip to Shelter Bay to have a glimpse of Segwun and to watch her being moved from the secure yard to an area where we could have access to start the work.

After two days of sightseeing, Anna and Christian were whisked away with us to the marina on Thursday morning where we started the job of sanding the bottom of the boat.  For the non boaters out there, our boat has a fiberglass hull and the portion of the boat that is below the level of the water is painted with an antifouling paint.  Actually, regardless of the material, all boats are painted with antifouling paint.  This is a paint designed to discourage barnacles, weeds and other marine animals and plants from clinging to the hull.  This is important as a non-smooth bottom would severely slow us down while at sail and if left too long would corrode the boat.  Before repainting Segwun's bottom, we had to sand it to rough it up a bit and take off any loose bits.  This turned out to be a very messy job as the picture below will prove.  But we were done by noon and had to shower before we could do anything else.  After a good shower, swim in the pool and a little lunch, we started polishing the sides above the water line.  Ah, but it was not to be.  It is still the rainy season here so we were quickly interrupted with a heavy rain which continued for the next hour or two.   We decided to call it a day and head back to Panama City and our home in the sky.

Anna, Christian and Jens in front of Segwun, covered in the paint dust from sanding.  

We came back across to Shelter Bay early this morning to continue the work of polishing even though it was raining pretty heavily when we left Panama City.  It rained most of the way there, but luckily cleared up just as we arrived and we managed to get the boat nicely polished before lunch.  She's starting to look really good.  Tomorrow morning we start painting and I'll take a picture of her once she's freshly painted so you can see the hard work we have been doing.

A quick geography lesson for you :  Panama is a country on a fairly narrow strip of land and it is about 80 kilometres from the Caribbean sea to the Pacific Ocean.  Segwun is at Shelter Bay Marina which is on the Caribbean side, near the city of Colon.  We are currently staying with Fredrik who has a lovely condo on the 26th floor with a fabulous view of the Pacific Ocean in Panama City.  It takes us about 1.15 hours to go from point to point, not accounting for the traffic, which in Panama City is like in any large city - pretty miserable during rush hour!!

Segwun is scheduled to go back into the water early Monday morning.  Fingers crossed!

The First Season of Sailing Comes to an End

Early this morning, we did the final cleaning in the boat, laundry and purged the fridge preparing to put SEGWUN on the hard for the next three months.  She looks a little naked now that the sails have been taken down and stowed, the ropes are off and we have removed the bimini to be restitched.  

We motored over to the travel lift where she was put in a sling and lifted out of the water.  Jens couldn't wait to inspect the bow thruster and the propeller.  The bow thruster looks like a minor repair; just replacing a safety pin.  And the problems with the low RPM's on the engine looks like it might be the propeller.  For some reason, the pitch of the blades was wrong.  We won't really know until we get back in the water.  

After a power wash, SEGWUN was hauled over to the storage yard and is now nicely nestled in with Snowaway and Milagro; a couple of Canadian boats we have befriended.  

Because of the high humidity in Panama, we arranged for a dehumidifier to be put in the boat for the duration.  This should avoid returning to find a layer of mould on everything.  Then Jens blocked the through holes with screen because we have heard that insects like to make nests in them.  We had already plastered all the windows with foil to keep the sun out of the cabin and we put a tarp over the boom to keep some of the harsh sun off the deck.  

After doing our last minute packing we jumped in a taxi to Panama City.  Thursday morning it's off to the airport and home for holidays.  

   

Our Progress on the Maintenance List (this one is for the guys)

We, well I should say Jens, because when it comes to this sort of thing I am just an innocent and ignorant bystander, had a long list of maintenance and repairs to do before we tuck SEGWUN away for the next few months.


THE LIST:

1. Pickle the water maker for storage. DONE
2. Check auto pilot (it gets a bit noisy when it has been used for 20+ hours consecutively). TESTED AND CONSIDERING HYDRAULIC FLUID CHANGE
3. Bimini restitched. AWAITING QUOTE
4. Change oil and oil and fuel filters on main engine (Yanmar). DONE
5. Repair generator (Northern Lights). AWAITING DELIVERY OF VOLTAGE REGULATOR
6. Repair crack on main engine silencer.
7. Repair and service bat-car system on main sail. WAITING FOR PARTS
8. Repair UV protection on stay sail.
9. Repair bow thruster (appears the propeller may be missing).
10. Dismantle and grease all winches. DONE
11. Service aft head pump.
12. Replace rivets for the latches on hatches.
13. Repair hand bilge pump in cockpit.
14. Repair hand water pump in galley. DONE
15. Sand bottom of boat. New antifouling paint for bottom.
16. Finish lacquer work on deck.
17. Repair pressure switch on fresh water pump. (Eric and Liz may remember the last time we had a problem with the fresh water pump and had no fresh water available on the boat for a couple of days. Fresh running water is a luxury we take for granted. That time is was a ruptured membrane. This time it appears to be the switch and luckily we have a spare switch on board.) DONE

After completing item 4 on the list above, Jens found a few more things to do...

1. Check raw water pump on main engine. DONE
2. Clean water cooler on main engine. DONE
3. Clean turbo charger on main engine. DONE
4. Change thermostat on main engine. DONE
5. Service injector valves on main engine. IN PROCESS

THE BIG JOB ... GETTING TO THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM:

Jens serviced the engine with an oil change and new fuel and oil filters. This went smoothly and as far as I was concerned it sounded just fine. But Jens wasn't satisfied. Over the past few months the engine output was not what it should be. It felt a little sluggish when engaging the motor and twice we had temperature water alarms when we were running a little fast. Basically, we weren't achieving the right RPM's getting maximum 2000 when we should get at least 2800.

We asked for a service guy to help trouble shoot the problem. He and Jens started by cleaning the turbo charger. It was dirty, but not really bad enough to think they had gotten to the root of the problem. Jens and the mechanic took SEGWUN out for a sea trial and managed to get 2400 RPM's out of the engine. After some time running at 2400 RPMs the high temperature alarm sounded. Back to the slip for more trouble shooting and more dismantling. They checked the heat exchanger expecting it to be dirty, but that was not the case. Next check was the functioning of the thermostat which was in fact faulty and needs to be replaced. This may the cause of the alarms, but not the sluggish engine. The search continues with checking the injector valves, so out they came. They definitely need to be serviceloft they go to a diesel lab in Panama City for cleaning and adjustment.

My job when all this is happening is to make myself scarce. The aft cabin is completely dismantled with the pillows and cushions stored in the forward cabin so they can have clear access to the engine compartment. On our Island Packet the engine sits under the cockpit between the galley and the aft cabin. There are three access doors to the engine; one in the galley, one under the stairs to the cockpit and one from the aft cabin. When all the doors are open and tools are at the ready on every available surface there is not much space left. So, I grab my book, computer, iPod and phone and head to the boaters lounge to chill out for the day. When they are finished, I step in and vacuum and wipe the greasy spots up, and hope that all the parts that came out of the engine are now back in where they belong.

A Day Stranded on Segwun

We had a small crisis on Saturday. Squirt got a puncture. Yes, our dear little Squirt now has a patch on the front port tube.

We were both sitting in the cockpit reading and relaxing before dinner on Friday when we saw our neighbor having a problem getting his dinghy motor started. Our neighbors here are two young guys living aboard s/v Buena Onda. They are working here for the season and that's about all we know about them. When we saw him stranded, Jens jumped into Squirt and went to help him out. The motor wouldn't start so Jens gave him a tow to the Fisherman's dock. One of the boats had their motor lifted and whilst Jens was keeping his eye on it, he ended up banging into and caused a puncture.
I was still aboard Segwun, and saw him rushing back before too much air escaped. What a sad sight to see our little dinghy damaged and deflating. We quickly lifted the motor off and then took Squirt up onto the fore deck. Luckily we had a repair kit which is to be used for 'minor' repairs. A minor repair is a hole which is less than a half inch. Ours was about 1 inch and was right up against the side edge. We were doubtful the patching kit would work, but we went ahead diligently following the instructions. Once the patch was on, we had to let it cure for 24 hours. That was the most difficult part for Jens. After beating himself up for a couple of hours for being so stupid to have this accident he then couldn't stand the wait to see if the repair was going to be successful.

Saturday, we had a lazy day on the boat. I made some banana bread and a big pot of spaghetti sauce. And Jens counted down the hours to when we could inflate Squirt again. At 5 pm on the dot, Jens started inflating. It was a lovely sight to see the patch holding and to have Squirt back in the water. Yippee! We may have to have a professional repair job done, but it looks like it will get us to Panama at least. We celebrated with a nice spicy spaghetti dinner, fresh baked rolls and a bottle of red wine.
I am now doing a bit of research to see if I can make fabric chaps for Squirt. It will not necessarily protect her from punctures, but it will give some protection from sun and abrasions. Good to have a project to look forward to.

Eric putting in the block for the new flag line.

A Week of Maintenance

With his technical background (Jens is a marine engineer by trade) he knows the importance of doing regular service and maintenance.  This past week he has tracked down all the parts he needs to change oil, filters and fluids on the genset, the Yanmar engine and the gear box.

Our dock neighbor Joe, has been very helpful.  Joe and his wife have been coming to Daytona in their 60 foot motor boat for the past eight years.   Joe knows the area quite well and he and Jens headed out one day on Joe's two scooters to track down some parts Jens needed. A fun way to do some shopping!

Part of SEGWUN's beauty is the teak trim.  Teak needs to be taken care of and since she was sitting in the sun all summer, the varnish had started peeling and needed to be sanded and revarnished.  We got started with the sanding but soon realized that to do it by hand would take a war.  I tracked down an Ace Hardware store about six kilometers away.  I was all set to walk, when Rick who works here at the Marina offered me the use of his bicycle.  Well, he just made my day!  I was back and forth in less than an hour and back to work with our newly purchased Black and Decker mouse sander.

We still have a few days of work ahead of us, but we are also dependent on the weather and today is too cold to varnish.  So, time to just sit back, relax and remind ourselves that we're not in a hurry anymore.  Maybe i'll bake some cookies this afternoon.