So, on my return to the UK, there are a number of issues to understand and address. Among these, why does my propeller anode last less than a month before disappearing? A call to Bruntons to put them on the spot suggested, from their demeanour, that it is not a unique problem and it would seem that the anode degrades from the fixing points which are close to the thinner periphery. The suggested āfixā is to antifoul the anode around the screw area so the screw integrity is more likely to survive the degradation. I have ordered some more (at nearly Ā£40 a pop!) and I will liberally treat them before my next visit. I will report back in due course.
I went to look at the replacement new water tank and it is MASSIVE.
Full of water it will weigh Ā¼ ton !
I have arranged for it to be shipped to Baie des Anges, I donāt think it would fit in āThe roller skateā (my Hyundai i10).
The mission to replace the port side water tank which exploded in Barcelona is daunting and a huge cloud on my horizon at the moment. I will have to lift the saloon seating area floor and the keel box surround on the port side. I will then have to remove two AC units and tank braces. I will then have to drain and disconnect the diesel tank and remove it. This should then allow the removal and replacement of the buggered water tankā¦ā¦
With the diesel tank removed, I should be able to locate the source of the diesel seepage. I have obtained from Tek Tanks, a set of sealing washers and I have bought some āblow bubbleā liquid so, I should be able to block the apertures and pressurise the tank to locate any leaks.
Flights are booked for mid-October so, fingers crossed – I will report back.
On the disappearing anode it is possible that you have an electrical leak from a part of your engine. This could be, for instance, corrosion near a connection to the starter motor where some current can leak to the engine frame. Another possible cause could be from a non marine alternator fitted to an engine. Marinised equipment as Iām sure you know is not āearthedā to the frame, it must have an isolated positive and negative connection. A method to determine if this is happening is to obtain an earth leakage device of some sort.
Hi Nick,
When you say exploded, what does that mean. I’m imagining a split corner seam on the Stainless Steel tank, is that correct? I’m a bit concerned about the Starboard tank on our S135 as it makes a loud bang when the level drops as a side panel pops back to its empty position. This has got to be flexing the weld seems which I discovered to not necessarily be the best when I bumped the boarding ladder in my first docking manoeuvre on Aurora Leigh. The welds to the bolts snapped clean off and if the steps weren’t attached with a rope I would have lost them. It made it easy to repair but the welding?
I’ve got to fit holding tanks straight away as La Jonquille was not fitted with them as new, and I have to find out where they should go.
Sorry I’m not there to help sort out that mess. I was at you site here to find the name of your business as I have some 3D printing to get done in a hurry.
Kind regards
Bill Bunting
Incidentally Orson, as a ‘PS’, the Scottish chap who sailed the very northern route was Peter Jennett on his yacht Exody and he has a web site:-
https://exody.wordpress.com/
We had some very helpful chats as it is my intention to do another ‘circuit’ in a couple of years time and he very kindly sold me some electrical plugs for marinas in the USA. When I asked him if he was sure that he didn’t need them anymore, he replied that he didn’t adding ‘done it and got away with it’ which I think is a very poignant comment !!!!!
Good morning Orson, so good to hear that there is ‘someone out there’ and my efforts are not completely in vain. I introduced a counter last week as the previous (hidden) stats app began demanding a fee. Historically the readings were up and down as exposure came and went – how did you ‘connect’ with the site? Have you looked at the crossing to St. Lucia and particularly, the Bermuda to the Azores blogs?
My October task is rather daunting and I did consider making an insurance claim (the tank is nearly Ā£1000) but then, not having ever made a claim in over 25 years of cruising and given some experiences of ‘botched’ workmanship, I have decided that ‘if you want a job done properly, do it yourself’ also, how would I then have been able to write an account of the process…!
In an effort to locate a matching fuel container for my aft deck to complete a set of 8, I hooked up with a very helpful Scottish chap who had sailed around the World in his Sadler Starlight 39. I had met him in Bermuda and actually got a mention in his blog! Anyway, from Bermuda, he headed north and went via Nova Scotia, Greenland and around the top of Iceland then back to Scotland via the Faroe Islands. He did it in a convoy and they collectively put together an interesting video which is worth a look:-
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1loi6ursFhCWCG5jDpCShJEx_GLG8pKxh/view
I really quite like the idea – but , looking at the ice, I think a convoy is the best way !
Anyway, thanks for your mail – spread the word !!!
Nick
Hello Nick Mines-
I’m one of four of your recent readers, says the counter. Thus, I thought I’de leave a response because I know how empty the online ether can be to the writer.
Heck of a messy – but ever necessary – project there, Nick!
There’s an old Spanish Proverb that applies here. āTake what you want and pay for it, says God.ā (Agatha Christie quotes it.) One can’t enjoy such surroundings and comfort as well as challenges and charting, no matter how expert one hopes, without paying for the odd happenstance or accident, and and then dealing with the consequences.
The yachtsman’s ever wish is for fair winds…and avoiding the payment! Is it not?
Thanks for posting and sharing your summer adventures, seemingly for me and other readers. Lot’s of good leadership and crew-related fun, is what I see. And fun is important, too valuable to overlook or fail to remember, come winter holidays, and come next season – right?
I foresee the time in October comes with a few days, at least, of built-in frustration and mucking about and problem solving – tasks you’ve quite commendably mapped out (above), I think. Ownership is always such the uncertain adventure in meeting responsibilities!
Thank you for the Cannes report, mid-month. I had read that harboring this summer was closer to 53euros (average) than so much above!
I was myself supposed to be in Italy, Eastern Germany, and Czechia this summer. I may squeeze in a month or two yet this fall, but perhaps abbreviated. I wanted to be in the Dolomites for what would have been late August snows – how remarkable!
Good luck to you and yours as pale summer fades into happy memories.
–Orson Olson
(a British educated Yank, lurking and still learning)
Denver, Colorado and Texas
PS Do content yourself with having missed this Argentine’s yacht crushing encounter with an ice floe in extreme Northern Canada!
He was too ambitious and too foolish, believing in a new “North
Passage,” I believe (reported in German): https://www.yacht.de/aktuell/panorama/drama-in-der-nordwestpassage/a118316.html