Category Archives: Boat Details

A Double Steering Failure

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Matt and I were enjoying a lovely sail from the Marshall Islands to Kiribati.  About 55 hours into our 63 hour passage we noticed an issue with our starboard steering.  Yikes!  Our engine throttles are on starboard so we use starboard as our main helm and port as a “back up.”

The good news is that auto pilot is working ok and the port steering is working ok.  We were able to safely navigate through the Kiribati pass to the anchorage.  Matt jumped in the hole as soon as the engine cooled off.

What Type of Steering is on Sugar Shack

There are multiple types of steering on yachts: mechanical, hydraulic, electric, and electric hydraulic.  We have mechanical on our boat.

How does mechanical steering work?

The mechanical system is usually made up of a Rack-And-Pinion or Worm-And-Sector steering gear that is physically connected to the helm. When the steering wheel is rotated, this mechanical system also turns. These mechanical systems, in turn, drive a pitman arm that physically turns the wheels of the boat.

Which is the same as “Christine speak”

When you turn the starboard wheel it turns the “Steering Gear Box”. The steering gear box then turns the “Arm” which is also connected to the port steering box.  That in turn rotates our port and starboard “Rudder Arms” which turns the rudders which turns the boat.  It works the opposite way as well when you turn the port helm it turns the starboard steering.

I am sure there are more technical terms for this system, but hopefully I described it well enough for you to follow along.

What Happened?

Steering Gear Box:  We are not 100% sure what happened to the starboard steering box.  It could be age and regular wear and tear.  It also could be something else???  We tie off the wheel while at anchor to reduce movement of the boat.  Could this have been a problem??

Matt disengaged the steering box after a lot of struggle.  It is super heavy and located in an awkward position.

What we discovered was the following:

  • Water appears to have dripped from the either the compass or a seam into the gear box.  We will have to reseal the helm.
  • The bearings were shot and the balls were floating around
  • A lot of gunk was in and around the gears
  • One section of the gears was stripped

Temporary Fix

There is nothing we can do in Kiribati (where we are now) or Tuvalu (where we are going next).  But we can disconnect the starboard steering box so that we don’t do any more damage by using the port equipment.

Matt ordered (8) new bearings and (4) new seals.  It will take approximately 6-8 weeks to get to us from Germany.

What Else Happened?

A few days into our passage from Kiribati to Tuvalu we discovered another problem.  The wind had dropped to 5kts so we decided to drop the sails and motor.  Matt jumped in the engine room and  found a major problem.  The port rudder arm (tie rod) was broken at the attachment point.

You have got to be kidding!!!

We don’t know what happened, but the only way to fix it is to weld the stainless back together.  Obviously we can’t do that while underway.  Matt lashed the arm down to prevent further damage.

How Are We Able to Steer?

Auto pilot is located on the starboard helm.  He has been running great!  Auto turns the port gear box which turns the arm connecting the starboard and port helms.  The arm then turns the starboard tie rod / rudder arm which turns the starboard rudder.

Basically bypassing the two broken parts on both starboard and port.  Thank goodness for redundancy on a catamaran!

Repairs

There is not much we can do until we get to Savusavu, Fiji.  So, we are being super gentle with the boat and her steering.  Good news we have very light winds and moderate seas so there is not a lot of pressure on Auto Pilot or the rudders.

Stay tuned for repairs…

Our blog posts run 8-10 weeks behind actual live events.  We were under passage from the Marshall Islands to Kiribati, then Tuvalu, and then Fiji in mid to late April.

Be sure to read the good news about this passage here.

Boat Projects

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There is a never ending list of boat projects that need to get done.  And just as you finish one project, two more will appear.  Just like owning a house.  Matt tackled several projects while we hung out and waited in Majuro.

Anchor Shank

Our stainless steel anchor shank decided to wrap itself around some coral.  This could have happened a number of ways including strong winds, dragging, or raising the anchor.  Most likely the anchor was stuck and the swivel twisted causing too much pressure on the shank.  As you can see….it is really thick 316 Stainless Steel.  But the shank is hallow.

We have 4 shanks onboard for 2 anchors.  This shank is beyond repair and will be donated or trashed.  Comparison of good shaft to bent shaft.

We ordered an X140 from Sea Tech & Fun based out of Tunisia!  The shank comes with one hole drilled for the connecting point to the swivel as that is a universal size.  However, we had to drill the hole for the connecting point to the blade.  The shank itself is hallow. Matt drills through the top 1/4″ and then down to the bottom 1/4″ and hopes it lines up!  This requires a new, large drill bit!

Security Camera

We have had a security camera on the boat for a few years.  It’s been great and has captured some intruders who boarded our boat while we were on shore once.  But the paint on the outside has flaked off and it looks horrible.  It still works perfectly, but we need to give it some love at some point.

In the mean time, Matt purchased a higher end security camera.  This new camera illuminates the entire cockpit when it senses movement and then starts recording.  This camera captures intruders coming onboard from both port and starboard.  It also captures the entire cockpit.  The only thing missing is an audio portion with a barking dog or a menacing voice saying “intruder alert.”

Security Bars – escape Hatch

The boat has the best escape hatches!  They let in a tremendous amount of air that circulates throughout the cabin.  They are always open when we are on the boat.  Our concern was that these can pose a security risk.  It would be very easy for an adult to climb through the window.  So, Matt devised this super strong security bar made of carbon fiber.  It took some ingenuity to install it while still giving us access to open and close the hatch.  I would prefer to put a secondary bar perpendicular to the ocean but that would really obscure our view.

Bilge Pump – Float Switch

We have bilges which collect water to protect the boat.  The bilge will fill up first before it becomes a problem.  Inside each bilge is a bilge pump that is has a float switch.  When the bilge fills with water the switch activates the alarm and the pump to pump out the water.  Matt noticed that one of our float switches was broken.  He lifted it and it no longer activated the alarm or the pump.  That is not good!  Especially considering we are leaving the boat unattended for 2 weeks.  Luckily, Matt was able to repair it.  But we will get 4 new float switches back in the states as these are original to the boat (24 years young!)

Bow Speakers

Our amazing WetSounds Rev9 bow speakers take a beating while we are under passage.  They often get soaked with salt water.  Yet, they continue to produce great sounds.  Lately however we noticed the starboard bow speaker was not producing good sounds.  Matt took it apart and found them corroded and covered in salt (me being sheepish now).  So, we replaced some of the innards and now they sound just like new! Here are the old and new side by side.

VHF Replacement

Our B&G V90 (handset H50) had been giving us problems and was not transmitting properly.  In addition, the handset cable starting falling part (see arrows).  We finally replaced it with an ICOM 510BB (handset HM195 GB).  It took Matt several hours to pull out the old gear and install the new gear.  Now we seem to be transmitting well (both near and far).

Cover Photo:  Not really related to boat projects, but a great image of two locals using a canoe to transport (2) 50-gallong drums!

Our blog posts run 4-6 weeks behind actual live events.  Matt worked on these boat projects during the months of February and March while we were in Majuro.

In our last blog post we spend a day at the Alele Museum – check it out!

Drama on the high seas

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First and foremost everything is fine on board, we are continuing on toward Fiji as planned still with a stop in Tuvalu.

We left Majuro bound for Fiji with 2 stops along the way, Kiribati and Tuvalu.  Its the end of cyclone season, Yippie, except for the one that just popped up between Vanuatu and is heading toward New Zealand.  We are heading to “Bula” country, home of friendly people and kava ceremonies. 

When we left the Marshall Islands we had 2 steering helms, 2 rudders, 1 auto pilot and 2 souls capable of steering the boat with any of those.  And we have an emergency tiller too, in case everything goes pear shaped.  Let me say, we have had some “challenges” on this passage south. 

First arriving Kiribati, one of the steering boxes on the starboard side decided 24 years was enough, and demanded attention.   One its bearings on the inside the steering gears rusted through and burst into pieces.  One steering station down. Now we can no longer steer the boat from the starboard helm, and that is also where the gas pedal is.   So picture a clown car with the clowns carrying around the steering wheel, yet the car won’t turn. Turn as you might the steering wheel, helm, just spins indefinitely.   To actually turn, you have to run to the other side of the drivers end clown car to steer and run back to give it gas or slow down.  What can go wrong?  🙂  The clowns always make it work, right?   I actually removed the steering gear (red below) where the bearings disintegrated, so that the pieces and wobbly gear wouldn’t lock up the steering completely.  So whew,  order bearings to repair and head off to Tuvalu.  Not ideal but we have 2 of everything, part of being a catamaran.

Left Kiribati bound for Tuvalu.

The sail started out as champagne sailing doing great speeds and making short work of 700 miles we were making toward Tuvalu. It devolved a bit into prosecco sailing when the speeds dropped a bit, but still great fun.   Day 3 the squalls of the ITCZ (convergence zone between north and south hemispheres), quick wind shifts and gusts made for some exciting times.  Nothing out of the normal for this part of the pacific crossing the equator and the convergence zones.   When the wind went too light and on the nose, it was time to check the engine fluids before starting and to spot any potential issues.  I found the port rudder “control arm” broke at some point, probably during one of those pesky 30kt squalls.  The ones that steel your perfect wind and force you off course.  Thinking back, the broken bit might explain why it took longer than normal to turn downwind to run in the storm.  So the port rudder is down till we find a stainless welder.  Its lashed to the central position now, its just not wobbling too and fro willy nilly, and getting a free ride.

So for those keeping count, we have 1 working steering helm station (port), 1 working rudder (starboard), 1 auto pilot(starboard), and 2 less than pleased souls on board.   And of course the emergency tiller when all else fails.    So now we still use the gas pedal on the starboard side, run to port side to steer, the steering rudder is actually on the starboard side.   Got it?  A bit complicated but we are still trucking along, albeit a bit more conservatively till we arrive Fiji and work on getting cold beer to tackle fixing the steering project.

Is it Fiji that doesn’t like our steering?  2 years ago, one of our rudders vanished on the way to Fiji.  This year, other steering components are making their voices heard. 

275nm to Tuvalu, then another 500ish to Fiji.. we will get there!