Tag: Trouble At Sea

2021, Maintenance, New Zealand, Whangarei

Anchors Aweigh Or Not!

You know how you go through life thinking all your ducks are in a row.  Everything is working on all cylinders and your harmonic convergence has all of its feng shui maxed out.  That’s when you’ve told God your plans and you can hear the laughter coming as the last words of your plans slip past your lips.  Well, this has happened aboard Dazzler.  Having been tied alongside a concrete float in the marina was starting to feel like a permanent fixture with some roots starting to replace the dock lines.  Time to break the bondage, get off the dock and do what a boat was meant to do.  Move through the water and explore.  

Sunset at Urquharts Bay, New Zealand

So, that’s just what we did.  Call it a trial run of sorts.  We had a new mainsail resting atop the boom begging to be filled with the wind and harness its power of propulsion.  Oh to feel the movement of the water beneath the keel and the gentle rocking during the evenings while at anchor watching the last rays of light filter upward through the clouds along the horizon.  How could life be any better?  Do you hear the laughter from God yet?  Neither did we.  

Two days on the hook at Urquharts Bay and we decide to weigh anchor and head out of the mouth of the river, hoist the mainsail and let her fly.  Can you hear the laughter yet?  Wait for it….  With everything secure below and on deck we geared up.  Headsets, check.  Engine on, check.  Sail cover removed, check.  Here we go!  There I was on the bow using the 12 volt Lighthouse anchor windlass to retrieve the chain and anchor from its holding power on the sea floor.  A few minutes into the process a small puff of smoke rose from below deck followed by the all stop of the 12 volt mechanical beast.  “Well that can’t be a good thing.”  There’s still more than 100 feet of 5/16” chain and the 66 pound Lewmar anchor yet to be hoisted.  Where the hell is Grape Ape when you need him?  I now have the task of hoisting the remaining chain and anchor by a hand over hand technique that should be duplicated in gyms across the world to provide a real world experience to your daily workout.  

With the chain and anchor now secured onboard we set out to fly the sails to evaluate the new mainsail.  Its performance was nothing short of outstanding.  Its fit and its functionality was amazing.  Thank you Dave at Calibre Sails in Whangarei.  There is nothing like that first outing with your new wind engine.  We wished we could have kept going.  Alas the tide in the Whangarei River, the dock and the windlass issue was calling us back.  By late afternoon we were tied safely to the dock and I hit the ground running after a brief internet search for some local supplies needed to affect our windlass repairs.  Fortunately, back in 2009, before setting out away from Southern California I obtained a complete set of windlass seals and bearings to do an overhaul service of our windlass and only a few other parts would be needed.  Some odds and ends electrical components were needed.  Two days before Christmas isn’t the best time of year to search for components needed, but by noon on Christmas Eve I had everything I needed.  

Saturday after Christmas the job began.  What was I getting myself into?  I first had to remove a couple hundred feet of chain and anchor rode from the anchor locker.  Next was the removal of the 12 volt electric motor mounted below deck.  Once removed the top of the motor had visible grease/oil residue which meant that the lower seal of the windlass gearbox above had been leaking.  This meant that I would also have to disassemble the electric motor to clean all the oil from inside and hope that it would surge with life once the 12 volt power supply was added to the equation.  While in the anchor locker I found that the two main 12 volt terminal posts and lugs had some surface corrosion.  This was the first of several issues found that needed to be corrected.  I had a new deck switch to replace the existing switch that I had to repair and make work in Fiji about a year and a half ago.  While inspecting this switch and its connections, I discovered that the switch had given up the ghost and in fact needed replacing.  By the way, this switch is a high load style switch that I had direct wired to the windlass motor over 7 years ago eliminating the solenoid.  I know, I know.  What an idiot.  

I decided to install a new solenoid back into the system to remove the heavy 12 volt load through the foot switch and add a layer of added safety to the system.  Now it is time to get to the real work.  Pulling the windlass, tearing it apart and learning what I don’t know about the greasy innards.  

Captain Dan working on the windlass in the cockpit

Where do I begin.  I do have all the instructions from the Lighthouse Windlass manufacturer to follow.  I read through them a dozen times or so in attempt to somehow be blessed with some form of enlightenment.  At this point I would have given anything to have had a work bench available to me.  The windlass is machined out of a large block of stainless steel which is why it’s is SO heavy to muscle around while bending over on the dock.  Carefully following the directions, I dissected the beast trying to memorize where each part lived as it was removed from the 3 pounds of grease that was inserted the last time it was serviced.  Literally three pounds of grease had to be removed and cleaned from the gears and case.  I think I went through a kilo of rags, two rolls of paper towels and a half a box of nitrile gloves during this process.  Sure I could have done this on the hook in some exotic local but I’m glad I was on the dock and had access to the trash cans and supplies nearby.  

I’d like to interject here.  I like to think of myself as on top of a good maintenance schedule aboard Dazzler, but I have to admit that this job was something that kept being pushed down the To Do list as others might be guilty of as well.  As I came upon projects like this I swore to myself that I wouldn’t let this happen again.  I’ll be more diligent in the future by replacing seals here and there, cleaning electrical connections and the like to help prevent issues in the future.  My intentions are well meant but reality gets in the way thus pushing certain items down that all powerful To Do list.  Let’s face it I’m not a slave to the boat and there has to be some time for enjoyment, fishing, visiting with locals and sundowners.  Right?

Back to the grease bucket.  LOL  After the windlass was all taken apart and cleaned, I set it aside to get into the anchor locker to do some maintenance and electrical work.  I first cut off the old 2/0 cable lugs from the positive and negative cables and re-installed new cable lugs.  The terminal posts were removed and cleaned as well.  I replaced the foot switch and installed wiring to actuate the windlass solenoid.  Over the last voyage from Fiji, we noticed there had been a leak emanating from the top of the anchor locker bulkhead that separated the Vee berth, so I added a thick bead of caulking along the upper edge of the bulkhead in the anchor locker to prevent any further leaks.  I also replaced and re-bedded four large bolts that were the apparent source of the water intrusion into the anchor locker.

Next I decided to disassemble the 12 volt motor.  My philosophy regarding things that don’t work is simple.  If it doesn’t work before you tear it apart and then doesn’t work once you put it back together you haven’t lost anything but your time.  But!  If it does work again and provides many more years (or days, weeks or months) of service you have gained a level of confidence.  The disassembly went well.  After about a half a can of contact cleaner, brushing here and there and a pound of rags it looked clean enough to reassemble.  Before I added silicone to the the end caps, I decided to give the motor a test.  I hooked it up to a 12 volt power supply and bingo.  The motor surged both forward and reverse with gusto.  Wow!  Onto the next part of the project.

Dan injecting grease into windlass

Back to the windlass.  I had three 465 gram tubes of grease to insert into the gear case as I started the task of putting it all back together.  I only ran into a few glitches during the reassembly that required a trip to Donovan’s Engineering supply for some replacement bolts.  I also had to order some replacement seals for future repairs.  Hopefully they won’t be needed for many months from the completion of this service.  The reassembly went smooth.  Perhaps too smooth.  It was now time to finish this project and reinstall the windlass onto the foredeck.  Very straight forward install.  I bolted it down onto its deck plate and then went below deck to crawl into the anchor locker to install the 12 volt motor.  Check!  I finished all the electrical connections in the anchor locker.  The 250 amp fuse had blown during the windlass failure so it also needed to be replaced.  

Drum roll please…Time to push the foot switch and feel the power as it roars back to life.  Waiting, Waiting, Waiting.  A few small adjustments below deck to correct my oversight during the electrical connections.  Drum roll take two…Pushing the foot switch and the windlass lurched into operation.  Tada!  Wait a minute.  It is running backwards.  Okay.  Back to the anchor locker to change the connections of the solenoid.  Back to the windlass.  It’s now turning in the right direction, but something isn’t right.  Another setback by the mechanic, me that is.  I somehow flipped the shaft and main gear 180° during reassembly.  Apparently the one way rotation of the shaft slipped by my eagerness to reassemble the gearbox.  Damn!  This meant, removal of the motor and windlass, reopening the gearbox full of fresh grease, flipping the shaft 180°, reassemble, reinstall and reattaching the motor.  Let me tell you this…  With the precision of a racing pit crew, I had the windlass back in the cockpit being disassembled in less than an hour.  Within the next two hours it was reinstalled on the foredeck with the motor below deck reattached and now working properly.  

The only difficulty this shade tree mechanic experienced during the whole process was that the anchor locker seems to have shrunk some over the years.  The last time I was in there I remember there being more room between the motor and my belly.  I didn’t know fiberglass shrinks over time.  Good bit of information to know.  LOL

Until the next time from the shrunken anchor locker, may your wake be bountiful with fish, your soul free and your anchor windlass always rise to the occasion.  Cheers!

Captain Dan 

New Zealand

Cut, Cut! Stop Rolling!

I’ve spent the past two days searching Dazzler from stem to stern and still can’t locate the tiny hidden cameras. This has led me to believe that either they are some microscopic feats of engineering that are undetectable to the human eye or that we are not in fact part of some evil psychological experiment. If the ladder is the case then I can only assume that we have surely been involuntarily cast in some aquatic themed Twilight Zone episode. I think I can even hear the music drifting over the sound of the sea as I write. Dododo…dododo!

Why would a perfectly sane (well somewhat sane anyway) sailor believe this? Well, let’s just recap the past 24 hours shall we? You already know everything up to that point and honestly I think that alone would prove my point but let me add some fuel to the fire of madness in my head so that you too can join in the delusions that presently afflict my muddled brain.

Yesterday was a truly delightful day on the sea. We had amazing winds and the swell was just right. The sun came out to warm the air a tad and we were sailing across the open ocean with a certain assertiveness that comes from being truly confident that you finally have your whole world under complete control. Both Captain and mate were beaming with pride as Dazzler cut through the swells with determination and grace. The white foam of the ocean splashed high above her bow as she plunged into the sea in her typical dramatic flair. Yes, this was the most perfect day of the seven we’ve spent on this roller coaster passage from Hell. Smiles were abundant and hope was in the air.

We performed our expertly choreographed passage routine like true professionals switching between watch and naps, food preparation and mealtime. Finally as the sun began to dip low in the sky I too looked toward a night of slumber in my warm and cozy bunk. I confidently left Dan on watch in the cockpit. The winds had dwindled so he had put on the engine to keep us moving at a good rate of speed. We were still trying to make up time that was lost over the past couple of days and there’s still that pesky low pressure system we’re racing to New Zealand.

I slept soundly with the crashing waves thundering away against Dazzler’s stout hull and when I said my prayers I thanked God for a glorious day without so much as a simple problem…err challenge as Dan refers to them. Before I knew it Dan was waking me for my normally scheduled watch. As I began to stir I asked him why I thought I heard the engine go on and off several times. He told me he’d tell me when I got up. That “Oh holy hell” feeling washed over me like the tsunami that hit Sri Lanka years ago but just then I remembered my pledge to try to keep a good, can-do attitude about these “challenges” so I crept out of the bunk and let Dan begin explaining the newest hurdle in our race to New Zealand.

It seems once again we have no water exiting Dazzler’s exhaust. Cue the music …. dodododo dodododo. “How can this be?” I calmly question. “I’m not sure.” He replies. “But I will figure it out and fix it. Don’t worry. I’ll fix it.” He goes on to tell me that we are sailing nicely and don’t need the engine right now so he’s going to get some sleep, have me then get some sleep and when the winds begin to die he will clear out the lazarette (almost as bad as emptying the quarter berth) and he will go down and fix it. With that he kisses me goodnight and retires to the bunk for some well earned rest.

I, in the meantime, gather my watch materials and snacks and head to the cockpit. After completing my instrument and sail checks I sit beneath the dodger where it’s out of the wind and a bit warmer. I gaze out to the ocean and as I do it dawns on me. I’ve absolutely zero emotional response to this news. I’m not mad, frustrated, frightened, sad….nothing. I’m completely devoid of all feeling whatsoever. I guess it could be called being at peace except for I just wasn’t feeling anything at all. It was odd to be sure but I kind of liked it!

I think I’ve finally resigned myself to the fact that there is nothing I can do about any of this. I certainly can’t diagnose and fix the problem. I believe in Dan and his ability to do so wholeheartedly so I just need to sit back and let Dan and God do what they need to do. The rest of my watch I hardly thought of the issue at all.

I wake Dan at 0400 for his watch and make him coffee as usual. We’re sailing along at close to seven knots and we have following seas which is making it a very nice and somewhat speedy ride. Once he’s clipped in on deck with his go juice I head to the bunk. I’m hoping to sleep well because I know he’s going to wake me in a few hours so we can tackle our newest challenge.

Several hours later I hear the Watch Commander alarm go off. The beeping goes on just a little longer than normal so I wait…it continues so I jump out of bed calling for Dan. As I race up the companionway stairs he’s nowhere in sight. My heart is driven into my throat like a shot from a pistol as I climb higher to get a look on deck. My head swings right then left. In the light purple haze of the dawn I finally see the dark outline that is Dan standing on the starboard deck holding onto some line as he’s tightly gripping the handrail on top of the dodger. Dazzler is healed over close to 30° as she’s slicing through the sea at top speed in the 20+ knot winds that are blasting our port quarter. There’s white water splashing up behind the dark figure and then the Watch Commander sounds its 130 decibel alarm. In the confusion I forgot to reset it.

As Dan steps into the cockpit I reset the alarm asking what is going on and why the hell he was on deck without me being up. He tells me the jib sheet got ripped right out of his hand and he had to go get it. He says he needs to walk it back around deck. I suggest that maybe we could wait until the winds die a bit and it gets a tad lighter out. He agrees as he tosses the line into the cockpit. Having been in a deep sleep before being rousted by the incessant beeping of the Watch Commander I was not dressed to be outside. It was cold and damp and I needed more clothes. I went below to curl up in our thick Sherpa blanket in the bunk for a few minutes to get warm before I got dressed.

This would probably be a good time to tell you that we have a hard and fast rule on Dazzler. No one, including the Captain, is to go on deck without making the other person aware that they are going there so they can keep watch. It’s a good safety rule and one that my dear Captain has been known to break. In an emergency such as the line taking off and him needing to get it I can understand and forgive him. That said, what happens next was not one of those times where I could just look the other way.

I’m in the bunk warming up and all of the sudden I hear an out of the ordinary sound above my head. I stop and listen a bit harder and realize it’s footsteps. “Are you freaking kidding me?” I gasp as I go back up the companionway. As I do I see the winds have jumped up to 24 knots. We’re screaming through the water as I look toward the bow and there is Dan on the port side restringing the sheet around the deck.

Remember that feeling of nothingness I had on watch? Well let’s just say all feeling has returned and the emotion that immediately rears its head is pure anger. “What in the hell are you doing on deck without telling me?” I scream above the wind and waves. “We have rules damnit!” You think the wrath of a woman scorned is bad…try a woman at the edge of her sanity on a boat hundreds of miles from shore as the love of her life is on deck breaking one of the most critical safety rules of all. It’s not a pretty sight and one that would strike fear in the hearts of the most macho of men.
Dan returns to the cockpit explaining that he yelled down to say he was going on deck. No! Just no! We have had this discussion many, many times before. If you don’t get an acknowledgement you must assume your message was not received and act accordingly. I’m furious and he knows it. He doesn’t say another word as he clips in and sits down. I storm down below to cool off a bit.

The thing is we never let an argument linger. It’s not worth it and we both know in the end we’re still going to love each other and be together when it’s over. I leave Dan to consider his actions for ten minutes or so then return to discuss what happened. Certainly he tries to defend himself but when I turn the situation around and put me out on deck he realizes that I am probably right and apologizes. I apologize for yelling and just like that everything is good between us again. Just as it should be.

Now we still have the issue of the exhaust to deal with but we’re sailing along at six to six and a half knots so we don’t want to slow down. No, we’ll wait until the winds start dying off and then tackle that. It looks like that will be later this afternoon so we go on about our normal routine.

Mother Nature provided us with some beautiful weather that allowed us a rather spirited sail today running as high as 7 knots with kind and somewhat mellow following seas. It certainly helped us to make up some lost time. Alas around 1700 the winds and seas started to settle down and we knew it was time to get working on the exhaust repair. Dan went on deck to drop the sails and I started praying this would be an easy fix.

With the sails down and the boat slowed to about a knot Dan cleared out the lazarette and went in to see what else had gone wrong. He ended up pulling out the exhaust lift silencer unit. We found a large crack in one of the elbows. Dan filed it down with the dremmel and we used the Minute Mend epoxy to repair it. I’m telling you this stuff is amazing! With this repair we used the last of it but will definitely be buying more in New Zealand.

After an hour and a half of floundering while he worked on the exhaust we were ready to fire the engine. It took several minutes but eventually we had water coming out of the exhaust! I’m sure we don’t need to tell you what a joyous moment that was for us. There was lots of shouting and a few high fives! Of course a few praise the Lords were in there as well. Within 2 hours we were up and running again.

What we hope for now is that the repairs last for at least three more days. We just made the turn near John’s Corner and are now headed toward NZ. Our hope is to arrive just ahead of the 25 knot blow that is expected on Saturday. Nothing like sliding in at the last possible moment.

As for this episode of the Twilight Zone let’s just hope the producers haven’t decided to make it a two parter. I don’t think these two battered old salts can endure much more. Dodododo Dodododo.

Until next time…
Jilly & Dan