Category Archives: Boat Details

On the Hard: Raiatea Carenage

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It is that time again – time to haul our beautiful boat out of the water to do some general maintenance and repairs.  It is always nerve racking to pull your boat out of the water, but the team at Raiatea Carenage really take care of you.

We pull into a narrow waterway (which will be expanded this year) with rather large boulders on either side.  Several team members grab our lines and slowly direct us toward the travel trailer.  In addition, there are guys in the water watching our rudders, dagger boards, and props to ensure they play nicely with the boulders.

The Work List:

  • Repair Port Bow (damage from another boat)
  • Repair Port Hull (damage from coral head)
  • Port Rudder Repair (damage from coral head)
  • Re-fix Port Hull side (fix color match from previous work)
  • Sand down all bottom paint to gel coat (22 years of paint)
  • Apply barrier coat (sigmacover 280) and 3 coats of bottom paint (Carboline AF 3000)
  • Apply Peller Clean on sail drives and props
  • Rudders: replace bushings (DIAM 67 JP3)
  • Sail Drives: change oil and replace sealing and O-rings)
  • Drill hole in new anchor shaft
  • Weld/Sauder lifeline
  • Rebed starboard large window (leaks)
  • Rebed deck and hull (about 60% of it replaced)
  • Complete wash and wax of entire boat
  • Spinnaker Repair (taken to Marina Apooiti)

Dominique, the owner, expertly uses a remote control device to maneuver the state-of-the-art trailer.  It is frightening and yet so very impressive to watch them pull Sugar Shack out of the water.

The first thing they do is pressure wash the boat to get all the grime and stow away critters off the bottom.  Then they remove both of our rudders which need repair and service.  The photo shows them removing and installing the rudders.

Next we are placed in our new temporary home.  Dominque is able to squeeze us in right up close and personal to other boats.  Thank goodness we won’t be onboard for the entire stay.

Repairs

The bottom of the port hull needed some extra love.  We had the yard sand down to the gel coat, apply fearing and fiberglass, barrier coat and paint.  Just like new.

The port rudder needed additional love.

While in Huahine, another boat lost control and hit our port bow.  Causing about $3300 worth of damage.  Lucky for us he was insured and covered the cost.  

When we returned, we had lots of beautiful sunsets.  The waterway at Raiatea Carenage.

Our view from the hard at Raiatea Carenage.

Splash Day

The day has come to put Sugar Shack in the water – exactly 1 month from the haul out date!  We are so excited to go back on the water!!!  Dominique is driving or should I say using the play station remote control while 3 guys are in the water and 2 guys are on port waiting for lines.

The team expertly maneuvers Sugar Shack’s wide back side around the many boulders on both sides of the boat.  She slips by without a scratch or bump!  That is how good this team is!

The Team

Dominique is the owner and such a sweet, fabulous man!  Fa’ura is the office manager and she always had a smile for me.

Spinnaker Repaired

We took our spinnaker to be repaired and they did a great job.  She was efficient, reasonably priced, and on time!  We flew her a few days later to see how she looked and we were very pleased.  Sure some of the colors don’t match, but hell she is a 22 year old sail!

We spent a lot more time on the hard than anticipated but it is always better to get the job done correctly rather than quickly.

Dominique at Raiatea Carenage certainly took good care of us. We are so very grateful for his help, patience, and care!

We finally say Toodles to Tahiti in our last blog post.  Events from this blog in April and May, 2022.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind our adventures.

Life Saving Life Raft

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What do you do when you have to abandon your ship (or in our case, our home)?  There are a few different trains of thought here.  Some people say that you jump in your life raft and get away from the boat.  While others say, jump in your dinghy or life raft and stay tethered to your boat.  If your boat is not sinking, which catamarans don’t sink, then they are a much bigger target to spot than a small dinghy or life raft.  Of course, everything has to be reconsidered if you are on a monohull.

So, unless Sugar Shack is on fire, we would stay with the boat.  One of the safety features on Sugar Shack is the life raft.  We currently have a Winslow 6-man offshore life raft which came with the boat (2001) and was last serviced in 2011.  Yep, that was a long time ago.  We needed to service and re-certify our life raft before our next big Pacific Crossing (from French Polynesia to Fiji).

However, as luck would have it, some friends of ours gave us their old Viking 8-man ISO Pro OffShore Life Raft.  They bought a much smaller life raft as their boat does not require an 8-man size.  This is a bigger life raft than our original one (8-person vs 6-person) and is a very well-known brand.  The problem with the new to us Viking is that it too needed to be serviced and re-certified.  We decided to keep the Viking and sell the Winslow.  Which means we needed to take the Viking to Station de Survie Nautisport to be serviced and certified.

The Viking Life Raft

We rented a car to transport the life raft which weighs in over 115lbs (not something you can carry on the bus).  This is super exciting for me as I have never seen a life raft inflate nor have I seen the inside of one!  Lots of firsts for me.  The tech at Nautisport, Terangi was super nice and spoke excellent English!

The life raft came to us in a hard case for storage which helps maintain the integrity of the raft.

We immediately search for documentation that tells us when it was serviced last.  We discover it was born in November 2002, the last service was 2015 on the raft, and 2014 on the cannister.  Well drat!  Typically, the life expectancy of a life raft is 20 years, so this only gained us 2 years before we have to buy a new one.  New rafts can cost up to $6000-$6500! 

The cannister has to be serviced every 10 years.  Since the last service was 2014, we did not have to service it.  However, we do have to service it in 2024 which means our certificate will only be good for 2 years (rather than the typical 3 year certificate).

Opening the Case

The shell is removed exposing a gray shrink wrap which is then removed.  The black fabric (upper right) is the bottom side of the raft.  Slowly we unwrap the raft exposing the orange top side.

Inflating the Life Raft

When you pull the emergency cord to inflate the raft it will automatically blow the large zip tie holding the outer shell and blow off the shrink wrap covering while simultaneously inflating the raft in 2 seconds.  Since our cannister is in good working order we decided to use an outside source to inflate the raft. (which took about 2-3 minutes).

There is a built-in tether to the raft that gets attached to your boat or to the rescue boat.  This tether connects to another line which is accessible around the entire bottom of the raft.  If you decide to get in the water (for swim, bath, or fishing) and need to get back into the raft, you step onto the white line (left photo) under the raft and use the triangle rope ladder to pull yourself up.

Features

Terangi pointed out a lot of features.  There is a water catch feature on the outside that can be funneled inside.  (top photo and left bottom photo).  The black edge leads to a small pocket that collects water.  In addition, there is a window (lower right) and a small hole (top and middle right) to stick an antennae out (your EPRIB or beacon).

Inside the raft are a few elements including flares, flashlight (with spare batteries), whistle, mirror, horn, sea sick medicine, bucket/scoop (top left).  There is a large white arrow pointing to the emergency knife, a drogue (sea anchor), spare line and empty bag, life ring with line, and small paddles.  In addition, the life raft has a flashing light on the exterior and a small interior light.

There are two different trains of thought when it comes to additional perishable items.  Some people like to have water, food, batteries, and other items inside the life raft.  But you may be forced to open or service the raft more often to replace those items. So many people, like Sugar Shack, have a separate ditch bag.  In our ditch bag we have everything from t.p., glasses, sunblock, batteries, can opener, blanket, medical supplies, utility knife, money, water bags, long-term food (space food) and oh so much more.  We can then toss this into our dinghy or the life raft if we need to.  Plus, it is easier to access and replace items when needed.

Keeping the Life Raft Upright

Under the raft are four large pockets that hold water to keep the raft upright.  Or as Matt stated, it is a good place to store his beer while keeping it cold.  You can also see the rope that is used as a ladder (center U shape) and the line that goes around the entire raft to hold on.

The life raft technically can fit 8 people.  But, to be honest it would be a cramped stay.  But for the 2 of us it was very roomy and spacious.  The silver floor lining helps keep your warm inside and acts as a barrier between you and the sea.

The Outcome

We stayed for an hour to watch the initial assessment and reveal.  But left them to their work to complete the service and certification.  They replaced all of the essential items including flares, batteries, medicine) and tested the air pressure over 3 hours.

We left with a fully serviced and certified Viking Life Raft good for another 2 years at a cost of $690.  Not bad.  We anticipated it being well over $1000 so I felt good about the overall process and I learned so much about our life raft which I hope to NEVER have to see again (especially out in the open water).

Farewell Fakarava was our last blog post (see passage post).   Events from this blog occurred in March 2022.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind our adventures.

Boat Projects

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We have time on our hands as we wait for a weather window and as we wait for storms/squalls to pass.  So, we fill those gapes with a few boat projects and general maintenance.  Just in case you are wondering, we do work as well as play. 

Jib Roller Furler Pin

There is a rather large shackle that holds the tack of the jib to the furler (very important).  The pin inside the shackle had weaseled its way out and was almost lost.  Thank goodness we caught it.  We had to unfurl the jib to release the pressure from the shackle in order to get the pin back into place.  Once inside, we zip tied it to secure it.  Yes, the bottom shackle is twisted as it is designed to be a 90 degree shackle.  Although, we never did understand why there are two shackles here.

Jib roller furler pin

Jib roller furler pin

Sail Bag

Our sail bag (which holds our main sail) has a panel with “Sugar Shack” stitched on each side.  The letters were starting to come off so we decided to take off the two panels and stitch the letters back on.  A lot easier said than done.  The panels were stitched on to the main sail bag and had an adhesive 2” tape around all four edges.  The stitching was rather easy to cut and remove, but the adhesive was a mess. 

We removed as much of the adhesive as we could (we did not want the sticky stuff on our sewing machine).  Then Matt began the slow process of sewing on each letter.

We had to remove the sail bag in order to sew on the repaired panels..  That is another huge project as we have to secure the main (which weighs in at 300lbs) using the lazy jacks, then remove the sail bag.  The sail bag needs some reinforced stitching and then we can put the panels back on.

About a month later, we had calm weather conditions and began the process of removing the sail bag.  Matt secured our heavy dacron main using the lazy jacks (the lines that hold up the sail bag).  He had to remove the reefing lines and a lot of other stuff to get the sail bag free. I must say hat it looks so naked without the beautiful sail bag!

Matt sewed the sail bag’s weak spots and made a few small repairs before sewing on the two panels.  We laid out the sail bag on the deck in order to properly place the panels.

And she is all repaired.

Washing Machine

Yes, we have a small wash/dry machine on the boat.  It is a 2001 Splendide WDC 1024C.  I have to be honest I love it.  We don’t use the “dry” portion of the machine as it takes too much energy/power to dry the clothes.  The spin cycle is so good that I can hang the clothes in the sun and they will be dry in an hour or two.  Having a washer is a true luxury on the boat. Well, frankly anything beats washing clothes in a bucket!  The only downside to the washer is that I can only run laundry when we have full sun (it takes a lot of power), full water tank (which means running the watermaker), and light wind (to dry the clothes).  It’s a lot to ask of Mother Nature. 

But I can usually do a full load of all our clothes every 2 weeks.  Of course, we do wear our clothes several days in a row (don’t gross out – we live on a boat!).

The Problem

There is a small 110v water pump that evacuates the water from the machine.  It has been on its death bed for about a year and we keep it limping along.  The machine is 21 years old after all.  Matt took it apart 8 months ago and fixed the fan that keeps the pump cool.  Each time I use the machine I test the fan to ensure it works before starting a new load.

However, during my last load, the machine would not evacuate water.  Fiddle sticks!  We had to drain the water into a bucket and out the window, spin the clothes, and then remove them. The machine is bolted onto a 1” piece of wood which can’t be removed.  So, in order to access the back of the machine, we have to unscrew the wood from the cabinet. This after I remove all the cleaning products from the cabinet of Course.

Splendide WDC1024 Washing Machine

Splendide WDC1024 Washing Machine

Matt was able to access and remove the small motor (which by the way is no longer manufactured).  There are two problems.  1) The seal is broken so there is a small leak from the water pump.  We can’t fix this as we would have to destroy the pump to get to the seal and we don’t have a seal replacement. 

The other issue is that the fan is moving side to side and it is not supposed to.  The bracket that holds the bearing in place (which holds the fan in place) rusted and broke (see 2nd image on right). Hmmm.  Well, we can’t get a new bracket or bearing so we improvised. Matt stuck two pieces of pvc behind the bearing to keep it from moving.  This is only a temporary fix!

INSERT 5 COLLAGE OF WATER PUMP

We are working with Splendide to find a used water pump for our machine.  We found several on eBay but none would fit our old machine.  The thought has crossed our mind to buy a new Splendide but all of the new models are too big to fit our small cabinet. Drat!  Just our luck, we find one brand new part at an RV parts store.  We buy it and ship it to Wayne who is visiting soon.  Sweet luck!

Watermaker

Another joy on our boat is our fresh watermaker!  We are so darn lucky to have one onboard so we don’t have to retrieve fresh water from shore in jerry cans.  We have two pumps on our Spectra watermaker, but one of them decided it had enough of us.  Matt tried to repair it and it just won’t have anything to do with us.  Lucky for us, we were able to find a replacement and have it shipped to Wayne  as well. In the meantime, we are only able to produce 50% of the volume so we are running it a lot more than usual.

Windlass 

The windlass raises/lowers our 100m of stainless steel chain and our 60lb stainless anchor.  It is fantastic to have this done with a push of the button as opposed to by hand (can you imagine my biceps if that were the case?).  While we were trying to raise the anchor from an anchorage that was 18m deep, the windlass stopped working.  It would not go up.  Farfignugin!

Matt removed everything from the locker and proceeded to remove the motor.  After an hour, he cleaned everything, switched the up with the down (which was working), and put it back together.  This way we at least can use it to bring up the heavy chain and anchor.  To make it all go down we can do that manually in a controlled free-for-all type process.  Not ideal, but a temporary fix.

Matt realized that it was not the motor that was broken, but the relay.  We don’t have a spare one of these.  So, we get back online, order the part and send it to Wayne. Thank God Wayne is coming!!

Small Boat Projects

Table Runner

I decided we needed a new table runner for our cockpit table.  I found beautiful fabric in Papeete and went to work. Of course, Matt had to complicate (and yet improve) my pattern.  Not bad for a small project.

SUP Cover

The new stand up paddle board is very huge and it has been baking in the sun since we bought it about 2 months ago.  We’ve needed to make a cover for it – and now is the time!  We had some extra white fabric under the master bed that would work.  It is not sunbrella, but it will do for now (at least for the first iteration).  The cover fits snugly with a little extra padding on the tip and the side.  We left the fins on and the part of the board showing for photo purposes only (smiley face).

Other Completed Boat Projects

  • Replaced zincs on port prop
  • Cleaned Propellers
  • Repaired window leaks (port large window, starboard above nav station)
  • Salon Fan (this is dead and needs to be replaced)
  • Repaired freezer door trim

Pending Boat Projects:

A boat is always a work in progress (like a house).  In addition to the washing machine, watermaker, and windlass, here is a list of a few more outstanding boat projects:

  • Lazy Jacks – inspect and tighten
  • Main Sail – repair rub spot (port side stern)
  • Paint Bilge
  • Clean Engines
  • Paint Engines
  • Freezer insulation repair
  • Repair master bedroom leak

Keep in mind, that our beautiful home is over 21 years old and she has been across many oceans.  She is truly in excellent condition for her age and we are continually being praised for her beauty and good condition.  So, even though it looks like a lot is broken, it is just “normal” boat projects.

We spend the New Year celebration in Taravai with an authentic Polynesian BBQ in our  last blog.   Events from this blog post occurred in  January 2022.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind our adventures.