Greetings from Fiji,
A quick, slightly longwinded, note to report what happens to a boat
left alone with her keel in a hole for too long...not pretty.
We expected the mold to be growing on almost every surface since we
knew there would be very few nice days for our boat-minder to air her
out, and had already been informed that the solar charge controller
had gone kaput so the batteries would be flat and the fans not
operating. Since the engine couldn't be started we kind of expected
some probems there too.
The reality of things was kind of shocking, though, and I doubt I'll
ever leave our girl alone like that again. Bottom line is what we've
always known- the worst thing you can do to a boat is not use her for
too long.
Getting her cleaned up really wasn't too hard; just wipe everything
down with bleach and you're good to go. Luckily all four golf cart
batteries were tough enough to come back since they cost about $500
each here to replace, and the new solar charge controller we brought
back was a cinch to install. Most of the pumps and motors still
worked, which was cool, but the bilge pump float switch had given up
the ghost- no prob there, had a spare. Then came splash day.
The short trip from the travel lift to the tie-up spot would have been
comical if it weren't so stressfull on poor Ladysailor. There really
wasn't a practical way to test the engine before we hit the water
besides a quick crank, or at least that's what I thought, so there we
were, hanging in the straps, cranking the old Isuzu, running down to
bleed some more fuel, trying again, etc. with a very patient lift
operator wishing we'd hurry up and just s**t or get off the pot. We
could have gotten a tow to our berth, but no, gotta get this beast
going I'm thinking. Finally with a cloud of smoke she sputters to
life, whoopee, happy time now, she's smoothed out and purring like a
kitten. Ha ha.
Transmission seems to work OK, something I actually had tried in
advance, so off we go for the 200 yard voyage across the little lagoon
that is the marina here. "Why's all that smoke coming out of the
cabin?" shrieks Ladysailor as we pull away from the launching area.
"Oh, nothing too major," I answer after a quick look, "just a belt
slipping a little," as the engine alarm starts buzzing loudly. "No
problem" says I, reaching for the kill handle that is rusted solid and
unmovable, "just put her into neutral and we'll coast in." You
guessed it, the trans lever no longer wants to move and we're stuck in
forward, heading for a really hard sea wall. All was well once we did
a quick donut and I somehow was able to budge the kill lever on the
engine enough to shut her down, but I think we both grew a few new
grey hairs that afternoon. Turns out the alternator was rusted solid
and the belt that also spins the water pump just melted down going
over the stationary pulley.
Amazingly enough, almost everything seems fixed now, after going
through a can of WD-40 and Tri-Flow, and we may actually get out
cruising in a week or two, or at least do a sea trial. Here's a link
to Fijian-style boat storage http://www.sailinglinks.com/IMG_1709.JPG
Seaya,
Mike and Barb
s/y Arabella, a Swift 40
www.sailinglinks.com

On May 17, 3:40*am, wrote:
On Fri, 16 May 2008 19:24:57 -0700 (PDT), cruisin
wrote:

Greetings from Fiji,
http://www.sailinglinks.com/IMG_1709.JPG
Seaya,
Mike and Barb
s/y Arabella, a Swift 40
www.sailinglinks.com

Having the anchor deployed was a nice touch! :')- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Yeah, have to be prepared for tsunamis y'know. :0) Group seems a
little quiet, BTW. Sure hope it's because everybody went sailing ...
M

cruisin wrote:
Greetings from Fiji,
A quick, slightly longwinded, note to report what happens to a boat
left alone with her keel in a hole for too long...not pretty.............
... The reality of things was kind of shocking, though, and I doubt I'll
ever leave our girl alone like that again. Bottom line is what we've
always known- the worst thing you can do to a boat is not use her for
too long.

Yep, gremlins invade boats that are left too long... it sounds like
you all had some bad ones, but made a speedy recovery. Glad to hear
everything worked out.

Just a suggestion: it may be cost-effective to replace the electrolyte
in your batteries. Batteries that are left flat invariably suffer loss
of capacity. It may be a relatively easy & cheap way chase out a few
electrical gremlins.

Putting the keel in a hole for dry storage may be common in the
tropics... that's the way boats are kept in much of the eastern
Caribbean. Harder to work on the bottom, easier to work on everything
else!

It's good to hear from you!

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

On May 18, 6:05*pm, wrote:
cruisin *wrote:
Greetings from Fiji,
A quick, slightly longwinded, note to report what happens to a boat
left alone with her keel in a hole for too long...not pretty..............
... The reality of things was kind of shocking, though, and I doubt I'll
ever leave our girl alone like that again. *Bottom line is what we've
always known- the worst thing you can do to a boat is not use her for
too long.

Yep, gremlins invade boats that are left too long... it sounds like
you all had some bad ones, but made a speedy recovery. Glad to hear
everything worked out.

Just a suggestion: it may be cost-effective to replace the electrolyte
in your batteries. Batteries that are left flat invariably suffer loss
of capacity. It may be a relatively easy & cheap way chase out a few
electrical gremlins.

Putting the keel in a hole for dry storage may be common in the
tropics... that's the way boats are kept in much of the eastern
Caribbean. Harder to work on the bottom, easier to work on everything
else!

It's good to hear from you!

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

Yeah, except in this part of the world I think they're called
menehunes, polynesian cousins of the gremlins. I always like it when
they decide to fix something they've screwed up- it actually does
happen sometimes when you leave them a plate of coconut cookies at
night.
All we're waiting for now is a small, lightweight, brave soul to
ascend the mizzen mast to r/r the windgen blades, and a very laidback
NoCal vendor to ship a new contactor for the windlass.
So how does one replace electrolyte in batteries? Gotta get the old
stuff out somehow and find an all night electrolyte store for a few
quarts of new juice? I might try equalizing them first, something
I've never had very good luck doing.
Yes, it was kind of handy to have the boat set down low for getting on
and off, and polishing the hull. Also didn't have that scary feeling
of about to tip over like when she's on stands.
Any of the rest of the old regulars ever check in here anymore? I
mean besides WilNeal? Barb and I had an 11 hour layover in Auckland
and thought about looking up your old pal the Navigator as we drove by
the university, but couldn't remember his real name. Who knows if he
even teaches there anymore.
We're still hoping to take a trip south when we get to Queensland and
see if we can't find Tadpole. We're looking forward to winetasting
our way there.
Please say hi to katysails for us if/when you see her. Tell her we're
soon on our way to Vanuatu for reals. Been getting out sailing on the
new boat much?
Best,
MandB

In article ,
wrote:
cruisin wrote:
Greetings from Fiji,
stuff deleted

Yeah Mike/Barb... nice hearing from you!

"cruisin" wrote in message
...
On May 18, 6:05 pm, wrote:
cruisin wrote:
Please say hi to katysails for us if/when you see her. Tell her we're
soon on our way to Vanuatu for reals. Been getting out sailing on the
new boat much?


Saying it is about the only way she'll get the message . . .

Didn't you hear the very sad and disturbing news? She is going or went
blind. Macular degeneration or some such. So sad! It almost makes me cry.

Wilbur Hubbard

On May 19, 8:43*am, "Wilbur Hubbard"
wrote:
"cruisin" wrote in message

...
On May 18, 6:05 pm, wrote: cruisin wrote:

Please say hi to katysails for us if/when you see her. *Tell her we're
soon on our way to Vanuatu for reals. *Been getting out sailing on the
new boat much?

Saying it is about the only way she'll get the message . . .

Didn't you hear the very sad and disturbing news? She is going or went
blind. Macular degeneration or some such. So sad! It almost makes me cry.

Wilbur Hubbard

No, hadn't heard, that is a real bummer. My parents both had that
happen, said it was like viewing the world through a broken
kalidoscope(sp?). Luckily they each had one eye less affected than
the other, still not fun. Really, really sorry to hear this.

Mike

On May 19, 12:04*am, (Jonathan Ganz) wrote:
In article ,*dougki wrote:
cruisin *wrote:
Greetings from Fiji,

stuff deleted

Yeah Mike/Barb... nice hearing from you!

Thanks Mon, hope I didn't disrupt the off topic stuff that seems to
dominate the group too much!
You guys had a major heat wave lately diidn't ya.
Say, do you ever do any business with Swendsens Marine? Those boys
have been dropping the ball big time as far as getting me a windlass
part, and won't communicate with me as to what's going on. Kinda
frustrating being all the way over here and powerless to make anything
happen. They make West Marine customer service look good!
Mike

On May 16, 6:24*pm, cruisin wrote:
Greetings from Fiji,

Bula !

So howmuch does it cost to have your boat there? Are you abouts Suva
or the dry side?

Vanakavaka levu,
Bob

On May 19, 10:09*pm, Bob wrote:
On May 16, 6:24*pm, cruisin wrote:

Greetings from Fiji,

Bula !

So howmuch does it cost to have your boat there? Are you abouts Suva
or the dry side?

Vanakavaka levu,
Bob

Bula Bob,

Funny you should ask, since I just got the marina bill today. It's
about $100 FD a week for in the water, plus $3 FD/day for
electricicity, and includes free WiFi. A bit more for dry storage,
which we found sort of surprising. We're on the "dry" side (hasn't
been too dry lately) between Nadi and Lautoka.
Sounds like you've been here?

Mike