Category Archives: Repairs

Marie Alice in Hao Pass

A Morning of Pure Havoc

A day full of havoc!  This is a continuation of the previous blog titled “Sorry Charlie – Yellow Fin Tuna” where we were under passage from Mangareva, Gambier to Hao, Tuamotus.

Hao Pass – ABORT!

We approached the pass at 5:10am and saw the standing waves inside the pass.  We approached again at 5:30am and decided not yet.  At 6:10am we saw an opening where we could enter.  Marie Alice was hot on our tail which was not ideal.  It would have been best if they gave us more lead time. 

Matt was able to maneuver around the first set of standing waves that break at the opening of the pass.  We made it in about a ¼ of the way before the 2nd set of breaking waves measuring at 3-4 meters (that is 9’-12’) started pushing us around.  Matt had both Volvo 50hp engines running full throttle at 2400rpm and we were not moving forward.

I rolled out the jib to give us more horse power along with the engines and still nothing. We literally stayed in one place for over an hour trying to make forward progression.  In the meantime, the waves are at our stern pounding and threatening to overtake us.  The current was so strong 7-8kts of outgoing current that it was preventing us from moving.  Look at our SOG compared to our boat speed.  It means at the time of the photo we had 5kts of outgoing current.   I was too scared to have my camera out when we had 8 kts of outgoing current as I was helping Matt with the boat.

Sugar Shack in Hao Pass

Sugar Shack in Hao Pass

Marie Alice had it worse as they are a monohull.  The waves wreaked havoc tossing them around like a toothpick in a washer machine!  I felt so bad for them as they took on so much water.  Wave after wave after wave crashed over them.  They later took out their jib as well but they could not move forward either.

Marie Alice Struggling in Hao Pass

Marie Alice Struggling in Hao Pass

Abort! Abandon! Exit Now!

Matt made the decision to abort after an hour of heart stopping attempts to move through the pass.  It felt like everything was causing havoc to our boat!  On the one hand I was relieved because this terrified me not being able move forward and having the huge waves at our back.  On the other hand, the thought of turning around in these wave conditions with another sail boat on our stern was even more terrifying.  And in order to turn around we had to roll the jib up which takes some of our power away.

No choice.  We rolled the jib and Matt waited for enough space to avoid hitting Marie Alice, avoid the waves as much as possible, and certainly avoid the reef.  It was dicey, scary, and challenging. It seemed like there was havoc everywhere!  But Matt’s expert skills at maneuvering the boat got us out.  Marie Alice was able to turn their boat around as well once we left.

These photos show our track into the pass.  The red line shows zig zags right and left where we tried for over an hour to move forward and couldn’t.  The right photo shows you how narrow the pass is with reefs on either side of us.

Going no where fast

Going no where fast

Regrouping In the Chop

Once we were outside the pass we went back to the Pacific’s choppy, uncomfortable, but safe waves.  Everyone regrouped and tried to make a decision.  We could either wait until the next “slack tide” which was predicted at 11:35am 4+ hours awa; we could go to Amanu which was 17nm away into the wind; or we could go to Fakarava a 2.5-day sail.  Pros and cons for each decision.

Fakarava has great internet and provisioning but we would have to sail in the upcoming weather system which was predicted with 30kts of wind.  Not fun or safe.  Amanu would be a 4-hr motor sail into the wind and waves, but we would have better protection waiting for slack tide.  The pass is “easier” and the lagoon not as crowded.  But no provisions and 2g internet.  Hao had a lot of our cruising friends waiting for us and hoping for some of the yellow fin tuna.  But we would have to wait for 4-5 hours in $hity conditions for the next slack tide.  We have a love hate relationship with Hao – see previous posts.

As we were “deciding” we got a call from Marie Alice.  He told me that the waves had soaked their instruments and they no longer had navigation or GPS.  Oh $hit!  They could not go anywhere safely without help.  Why don’t they have backups?  Gesh, we have the ship’s navigation, a hand held GPS, and navigation on Matt’s iPad and computer.  Yes, we run it all while underway.

Danger! Alerts! Alarms!

Alarms starting going off as we are contemplating the best thing to do for Sugar Shack and Marie Alice.  We both go running inside to see what is going on.  The starboard fresh water tank alarm was going off telling us that it was low.  What?  We just filled the entire tank with fresh water less than 24 hours ago.

In addition, the starboard bilge alarm is sounding.  This tells us that there is water in the bilge, inside the boat (NEVER a good thing).  We lift the starboard floor boards and then the false floor and see water sloshing around. Fuckity, fuck, fuck.  It is one bilge that flows under from the head (front of the boat), under the hall floor, to under the bed (back of the boat).  Well that sucks.  What other havoc can bestow our day? 

Decision made.  We will go to Amanu to help Marie Alice get somewhere safe and to deal with our water issue.  They did not want to wait in the horrible sea conditions for another chance at the Hao pass either.

Water Inside the Boat – Never Good

We set course and Matt gets to work trying to evacuate the water.  No need to find the source yet as we know the fresh water tank emptied into the bilge.  Matt has several pumps that he tries to use.  The issue is trying to evacuate it while underway in big seas.  You can’t exactly open a hatch and our hoses are not long enough to reach the cockpit from the starboard hull.

We tried sending the water outside the bathroom hatch as one of them is high above the water. But the crashing waves kept sending water inside.  We also tried stretching the hose from the bilge, up the stairs, across the salon into the cockpit. This finally worked with both of us holding and stretching for the hose.  Eventually we got enough water out where it would not slosh onto the floor boards.

We are still underway, heading into the wind and the seas.  It is uncomfortable at best. Poor Matt is a$$ up and head down into the bilge.  This is a recipe for disaster for someone like me who gets sea sick.  So I focused on helming the boat and getting us to Amanu. 

A few trial and error experiments and we discover that the leak is coming from a fresh water hose on the toilet. Matt takes it apart and finds the culprit.  A hose ruptured during the bouncing in the Hao pass and leaked all our fresh water from the starboard water tank into the bilge.

Fresh Water Leak

Fresh Water Leak

We Arrive Amano

Four hours later, we get to Amanu and get in the lee of the island.  The waves are down to .5-1 meter and the winds are blowing 18-20kts.  We wait for 4 hours for slack tide as we slowly make circles so that each hour, we can check the pass.

Marie Alice calls to tell us they are taking on water.  They cannot find the leak.  We continually check back with them for a few hours.  Finally, they tell us that they think the water came from the Hao pass as they took on so much water.  It must have entered through their companion way.  They had so much water that it flooded the interior.  They will have a mess on their hands but at least they are not taking on water.

Matt fixes the leaking hose on the toilet and then we continue to evac the water while we wait and circle.  Matt also determined the reason why the bilge pump did not do its job of evacuating the water.  Evidently the bilge filter had a clog (most likely my hair and dirt) which prevented the water from leaving the boat which caused it to fill up the bilge.  Havoc upon havoc.  By the time slack tide rolls around 2:15pm we have most of the water out of the bilge. 

Entering this short pass is fairly easy except it is really narrow which makes the water rip through and there is a dog-leg at the end where you have to maneuver quickly to the right.  We try to explain to the French boat that they must follow us exactly to avoid the reef and they do.

Both boats enter with about 3 kts of incoming current, but no problems.  We motor across the lagoon for an hour to a safe anchorage away from the upcoming SE weather system.  The hook is dropped and we both look relieved.

A nice hot shower, our last pork chops for dinner and a bottle of rosé!  We both pass out early.

Marie Alice

The owner, a 20-year seasoned sailor had never seen a situation such as that and had never had his boat in such a dangerous situation.  He said he truly thought he was going to lose his boat and his wife has decided she is done sailing.  They had a hatch blow out which caused loads of water to come into the main salon and cabins.  They have lots of damage including navigation and auto pilot which are critical to sailing.  His current thoughts are to file a claim with insurance, fix the boat and sell it.  They are done.

Sailing is not for the weak that is for sure.  Havoc can be upon you within moments.  It requires quick thinking, a jack of all trades captain, knowledge of weather and all systems, and patience.  It is sad that they are ending their sailing adventure on a sad note.

Despite the havoc showered upon Sugar Shack we were able to repair all damaged areas and are now smoothly continuing out our sailing journey.

Events from this blog post occurred during the first week May, 2021.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind our adventures.

Sweetie back from the spa

Dinghy Spa for Sweetie

Our sweet 20-year-old dinghy has had a slow leak for a few months.  However, she has required air 2-3 times per day over the last few weeks which is simply unacceptable.  One it is annoying and two it is not good for the velcro holding the chaps (chaps=sunbrella dinghy cover).  We decided it was time to take Sweetie out of the water. 

Getting Sweetie onboard Sugar Shack

Our Yamaha 25hp outboard is a beast weighing in at 50 kilos (110lbs).  Way too heavy and awkward to lift by ourselves. We used the main sheet and the boom to hoist the outboard over the transom (stern of the boat).  Matt was in the dinghy, in the water, holding the outboard steady as I hand cranked her up over the lifelines.  She is secured on the stanchion while we work on the dinghy.

Next, we had to find out how to get Sweetie onboard Sugar Shack.  Matt decided it was best to copy our monohull friends. Using the spin halyard that comes from the top of the mast, hoist her over the side of the boat.  Our dinghy is an Avon rib with a hard bottom.  She weighs in at 82 kilos (180lbs) and is 3.4 meters in length (without the outboard).  Matt cranked this time raising the main sheet as I attempted to keep the dinghy off the side of the boat and over the life lines.  Once onboard and safely resting on towels (to prevent scratching the deck), we deflated her.  She looks so sad.

Dinghy deflated and sad

Dinghy deflated and sad

She IS 20-years old which is remarkably old for an inflatable dinghy.  We’ve been very happy with her and hope to get a few more years out of her before having to buy a new one.

Patching Sweetie – Slow Leak

One day while snorkeling, we noticed a leak on the port side bow (just below the attached line hold). The valve cover also has a slow leak.  It was time to repair them. But first, Matt took dish soap and water to the entire dinghy to see if he could find any other leaks.  Luckily those were the only ones that were found.

The pontoons are made of Hypalon (it like a heavy-duty rubber).  Matt had purchased specific glue made for Hypalon.  Unfortunately, it was a few years old and had dried up making it unusable.  Of course!  You try to be prepared by purchasing necessary items in advanced – but it doesn’t always work out.  Instead, he used G/Flex waterproof, flexible glue which we had used before.  Matt cleaned the area, applied the glue to the patch, then applied the patch to the dinghy, and added weight to it.  Now we wait 24 hours until it is dry.

The valve leak repair is only temporary as we are waiting for our new valve covers to come from the States.  We need a visitor (or as we like to call them “pack mules” – you know who you are :).

The first image shows the exposed or weak area causing a leak.  The upper right photo shows the glue during with “weight” and the last is the new patch.

Patching a slow leak

Patching a slow leak

Sealing Up another Leak

Our dinghy has a false floor.  The floor inside the dinghy is a flat surface and is called the “false floor.”  Which is great as the “V” shape floor makes it hard to stand, walk, keep your gas tank, and groceries flat and dry.  Back to our false floor.  Between the false floor and the actual bottom of the dinghy is a space that would periodically fill up with water.  Not a big deal as you simply pull the plug to drain it (see bottom right photo with 2 plugs).  The top plug drains water out of the dinghy (above the false floor) and the bottom plug drains water between the false floor and the bottom of the dinghy.  But how did the water get in there?We also would get water in our forward locker where we stow our dinghy anchor chain, tools, and inflate pump.  Everything can get wet, but they rust and make a mess.  How did water get in there?

With Sweetie out of the water we are able to explore all possibilities.  Matt decided to remove the tow eye (bracket) in the front of the bow that holds our painter (long line that we use to tie the dinghy up).  He noticed that it was not sealed properly which is not a surprise considering it is 20-years old.  It appears that water was getting in through these two holes filling up the bow locker and the space under the false floor – ah ha!

Photo: top right is the bow locker.  Top photos show the holes that hold the tow eye.  Bottom row shows the tow eye out and then secured back in place with new sealant. 

Sealing a leak at Tow Eye

Sealing a leak at Tow Eye

Gluing Velcro to Hold the Chaps

Sweetie has a blue dress that covers her pontoons to keep them safe and last longer.  The dress, aka “chaps” have been sewn and patched several times over but are still in good working condition.  The chaps are attached to Sweetie using velcro.  The velcro is stitched to a small strip of Hypalon which is then glued to the dinghy.  Glue adheres better when it is Hypalon to Hypalon. Part of this strip needed all new velcro.  No small task as the thread/stitching is smothered in glue.  After a few hours of picking, I was able to remove the old velcro and stitches.  The new velcro was stitched to the strip which was then glued back on to Sweetie.

The top image shows the old velcro (white) just above the rub rail. The new velcro (black) was sewn on to the strip of Hypalon which was then glued on to the pontoon (bottom photo)

Re-attaching the velcro strip

Re-attaching the velcro strip

RE-ATTACHING THE RUB RAIL

Every dinghy has a rub rail as the rub rail takes a beating to protect the pontoons.  It is not us ramming into things, but rather the dinghy bumping against docks while we are at shore.  Also, the glue loses its adhesiveness when the dinghy deflates as there is no pressure holding the rub rail to the pontoon.  So, we had to do lots of gluing with special epoxy to get the rub rail back in place.

Attaching the rub rail to the dinghy

Attaching the rub rail to the dinghy

SCRUB AND SHINE

The last part of Sweetie’s spa day is a scrub and shine.  I know she looks really disgusting with the green growth, but I have to tell you this is nothing compared to most dinghy bottoms.  However, this is bad for us and for our dinghy.  It is really difficult to clean her bottom as she has to be out of the water.  Our dinghy and outboard are too heavy to lift by ourselves unless we bring her on deck which is a huge ordeal.

It takes a lot of muscle and several products to clean the growth off.  We use “On Off,” bleach, and soap and water.  Some of the products we can only use on the hard-bottom surface while others we can only use on the Hypalon.  I’m pretty darn pleased with how she turned out.  The hard-bottom is white again and the green, black, and brown spots are done.

Bottom of dinghy scrub and shine

Bottom of dinghy scrub and shine

Fiberglass Repair

The hard bottom of the dinghy was a little banged up.  Partly from us dragging her on to the beach and partly just wear and tear.  So, Matt added some fiberglass and epoxy to some of the worn areas.  Almost good as new.  Top left photo is the “before picture” and bottom right is “after.”

Fiberglass repair

Fiberglass repair

After a week on the deck, she was finally ready to go back in the water.  Lucky for us, we did not need our “car” while at our current anchorage.  We swam to shore a few times. Remember, Sugar Shack is our home and our dinghy is our car to get from our home to everywhere else.  Putting the outboard back on the dinghy.  Matt tried a new method using a dynema line and 3:1 purchase which reduced the rubbing and pressure on the main sheet and boom.

Putting the outboard back on the dinghy

Putting the outboard back on the dinghy

It was really good to be mobile again. 

Sweetie back from the spa

Sweetie back from the spa

Dinghies can be very expensive so it is in our best interest to make our little girl last as long as possible.  Check out new dinghy rates.

Events from this blog post occurred during the month of January 2021.  Our blog posts run 8 weeks behind our adventures.

Wash down pump replacement

Servicing our Girl: Sugar Shack

What do you do on a beautiful day in paradise?  Get dirty?  We had a few boat projects that needed to be completed in calm weather (no wind and no swell).  So, we set out to do some maintenance and servicing of both Sugar Shack and Sweetie (our dinghy). 

Anchored in calm waters with very little breeze made it much easier to accomplish these specific projects.  We dropped the hook at North Totegegie where we had beautiful views. 

Servicing the Boat in Paradise

Servicing the Boat in Paradise

Windlass Service

What is a windlass?  It is an electric wench that raises and lowers our anchor and anchor chain. It is a very important part of our boat as it would make anchoring nearly impossible without it.  In a pinch, we can manually raise and lower our anchor using the hand crank method.  However, we have 100 meters of 10mm stainless steel chain attached to a Spade x140 anchor that weighs in at over 65lbs.  Imagine cranking all that chain and anchor up by hand – no thank you!

Our Lewmar Ocean 3 windlass (2000 watt) was running a little slow when raising the chain.  Once it got going it was fine, but the startup was less than optimal.  Not a problem, just needed a little love.  We are at anchor with our anchor chain connected to the windlass.  Can’t rightly service the windlass without removing the anchor chain, right?  First things first, Matt ties a line to the last link of chain (just at the rode) and then secures it to the anchor roller so he could remove the pressure off the windlass.  Then he jumped in the hole (locker) and cleaned the brushes and removed the corrosion.

Servicing the Windlass

Servicing the Windlass

Not yet at 100%…it might require a more comprehensive servicing in a month or two.  For now, it is better than it was and that is good for us (maybe at 95%).  A few days later, Matt took the windlass apart and cleaned all the connections.  He found a loose wire that was the culprit and now the windlass is running perfectly!

Tail Tails

Do you know what a tail tail is?  It doesn’t have anything to do with your posterior or an animal.  A tail tail on a boat is an indicator of how your sails are trimmed while underway.  They are small, light pieces of fabric attached to the sail.  When the sail is trimmed correctly, the tail tails on the windward (inside) and leeward (outside) of the sail will stream backwards.  That’s when life is good.  If the sail needs trimming the tail tail will either fly up or down indicating the need to tighten or loosen the jib sheet (working line) to give you optimal performance.

Our tail tails were very sad and in need of servicing.  Easy enough job when there is no wind.  Matt had to drop the sail onto the deck in order reach all the tail tails.  You don’t want to do this in windy conditions as your jib will be flopping all over the place.  We bought a kit which made replacing them super easy.

Washdown Pump

Our Jabsco washdown pump is located in a locker near the mast.  This pump provides pressure to our hose to enable us to wash down the boat, the anchor chain and pretty much anything we need.  It is great because we can use it with salt water or fresh water depending on how the valve is turned.  We usually hose things off first with salt water, then do a final rinse with fresh water.  Why is that?  Because we have an abundance of salt water and a very limited amount of fresh water.  Our pump was very corroded as it is in and around salt water and salty air.  It worked, but it was limping along.  Instead of ‘servicing’ we decided to replace her.

The pump is only attached with a few screws and clamps.  Matt had it replaced in under an hour.

Wash down pump replacement

Wash down pump replacement

Servicing Sweetie – Our Dinghy

I had intended on putting the work done to service Sweetie on this blog, but it was so extensive that I ended up giving it her own blog post.  Stay tuned for “Dinghy Spa for Sweetie.”

Events from this blog post occurred during the month of January 2021.  Our blog posts run 8 weeks behind our adventures.