Category Archives: Repairs

Underwater Mechanic

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Matt wears many hats on the boat.  Engineer, electrician, mechanic, refrigeration, fix it man, chef, etc…Today, he wears his underwater mechanic hat. I will show you how he changes the zincs on our starboard prop while underwater. 

Conditions

We have to have pretty good conditions in order to do this project underwater.  First, little to no wind.  We don’t want the boat swinging around while Matt is trying to “hold on.”  Next, we zero current and shallow waters.  If something is dropped, we want to be able to see it and retrieve it right away.  And lastly, a sunny day with no rain is preferred.

Preparations

There are lots of things needed to prep.  We dig out the hooka.  What is a hooka?  It’s an underwater breathing apparatus that is operated by a 12v charge.  It is similar to scuba gear but does not require a large tank or BCD.  Matt connects the hooka to a battery and it provides oxygen for him to breath while underwater.  We also prep a bucket, tools and spare zincs.

As an underwater mechanic you need something to put your tools and parts in while underwater.  Matt ties a line from the boat to the buck and submerges it underwater.  He can then put his tools and parts inside the bucket thus reducing the risk of losing them to the sea.

Here is Matt all suited up, the hooka connected to the port engine and the bucket before and after submersion.

Preparing to go underwater

Preparing to go underwater

The Prop

We have two volvo folding props.  We can change the small zincs without having to disassemble and remove the entire prop.  However, in order to get to the larger zinc we have to disassemble and remove three small 1” screws, 3 axels, 3 zincs, 3 blades and the hub just to get access to the large zinc.  Yep, all underwater.

The Process

Our specialist, the underwater Mechanic, gets started.

Matt working on prop

Matt working on prop

First, Matt removes the first small screw, places it in the bucket and then removes the first axel. Middle photo Matt uses the end of the alan wrench to push the axel out. Once these two items are removed the first blade will come off.  Great!

On to the 2nd blade.  Using the same method our underwater mechanic uses the allen wrench to remove the screw, then the axel and then the blade.  This looks easy peasy!

I spoke too soon.  Matt removed the screw (top photo) and used the allen wrench to try to remove the axel.  The first two just look a little tapping.  After several minutes matt starts “jamming” it in with more force and still the axel does not budge (look at his white knuckled fist on lower photo)

He goes to his tool chest for a different tool.  Searching in a black bucket underwater can’t be easy.

Stuck Axel

He grabbed several tools trying to get the axel out – on both sides.  Even using the rubber hammer on each tool he still couldn’t get it out.  He even tried using a clamp and that did not work. Imagine how fun it it so try to hammer something with the water preventing you from using full force.  Poor thing did this for well over 45 minutes banging his fingers several times.

He was relentless on this axel which would not budge. 

After two leg cramps and exhausting all thoughts on how to remove it, he decided to try another time.  So, he put everything back on and called it an exhausting day.

Second Time is Charm

Matt put on his underwater mechanic hat a week later with better success.  He found a spare axel and started with the troubled axel first.  Coming at it fresh, with a better tool allowed him to finally remove the stubbornly stuck axel and prop.  The other two were fairly easy as they were last time.

He brought all the pieces on board to clean and reassemble.  The top photo shows you three things.  The green arrow points to the hub or the main part of the prop.  The blue arrow shows you an axel and the red arrow points to the used large zinc that is being replaced.  The bottom two photos show new and old zincs (large and small).

Matt cleaned up the hub, removed all barnacles, growth and corrosion.   The middle, left photo shows you how small the screws are that Matt has to handle underwater.  The bottom left shows you the size of the axels and the prop blades.  The bottom right photo shows you the numbers that Matt has to match up to the blades. The #1 blade goes in the #1 spot.  Keep in mind, this is all underwater!

After everything was cleaned and assembled in the cockpit he went back underwater to finish the assembly.  The large zinc first, then the hub, then blade #1, axel #1, and screw #1.  Once secured, he repeats the process for blades 2 and 3. 

Project complete!

Martingale installed

Aging Gracefull? The Rigging Part II

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Our Catana 471 has running rigging and standing rigging.  The standing rigging supports the mast and allows the boat to “sail.”  Kinda important.  When there is a problem with the standing rigging it is beyond worrisome and prevents us from doing anything that might possibly make it worse.

In the last blog we showed the damage of the martingale (or seagull striker).  We thought we had it all worked out with a local vendor in Tahiti, but it all went to hell in a hand basket.  I thought it was going a little too smoothly and fast for island life.  Read Part I of this series. 

After the disappointing failure of Mat Rigging, we quickly searched for a Plan B and a Plan C.

Our Catana 471 has running rigging and standing rigging.  The standing rigging supports the mast and allows the boat to “sail.”  Kinda important.  When there is a problem with the standing rigging it is beyond worrisome and prevents us from doing anything that might possibly make it worse.

In the last blog we showed the damage of the martingale (or seagull striker).  We thought we had it all worked out with a local vendor in Tahiti, but it all went to hell in a hand basket.  I thought it was going a little too smoothly and fast for island life.  Read Part I of this series. 

After the disappointing failure of Mat Rigging, we quickly searched for a Plan B and a Plan C.

Plan B

Kevin at Nuku Hiva Yacht Services (NHYS) has a rigging company in Massachusetts, Rigging Only, that he has worked with on a number of occasions and they are familiar with shipping to French Polynesia.  However, there are lots of fees involved.  The costs of the parts and manufacturing (of course), shipping to FP $400, customs $200, NHYS $135.  Yikes.

Plan C

We find a company in the States and ship it to a fellow cruiser who is on holiday in San Francisco and they bring it back as excess luggage.  This is the cheapest method, but it would involve putting a rush on the parts and manufacturing and asking someone we do not know well to carry a 4’x4’x1’ 50lb package as excess baggage half way across the world.

We ended up create a Plan D.  We worked with Kevin and his vendor, but we ordered and paid for the parts directly.  Great for two reasons.  (1) we got miles using our credit card and (2) we did not have to pay Kevin 10% to do this for us.  We will pay Kevin to be our shipping agent and to help us get the package through customs, but that fee is only $45.    Funny though, the fees (shipping, customs, and NHYS) will cost almost as much as the parts and manufacturing.

Rigging Only

Wow, I have forgotten how easy it is to work with American companies.  Please do not take the customer service you receive on a day to day basis for granted!  We emailed all of the specs, reconfirmed all of the part numbers, and called them to make the payment.  They received all parts the next day, manufactured our martingale and got it in Fedex by end of that same day!

Now, it is just a waiting game.  We have set up notifications to get alerts on the status of the package.  All said and good, but to be honest, once it arrives in Tahiti it could sit in customs for weeks.

Shipping

We scheduled automatic updates with FedEx which sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t.  Luckily, we were in a wifi zone and could constantly check the website for updates.  It left the shop in MA on Thursday and arrived in San Francisco on Friday.  On Saturday it was in Hawaii.  Then it traveled to Australia on Sunday (which is technically their Monday).  From Australia it went to New Zealand here it sat for 2 days.  Then it arrived in Tahiti on Wednesday.  It was cleared out of customs by Thursday night (yep, can you believe it?).  And finally, in our hot little hands by Friday afternoon!

Our package arrives

Our package arrives

Must admit that it looked too short once we opened the box.  I was hyperventilating.  

Martingale all wrapped up

Martingale all wrapped up

It looked way to short, but thankfully it wasn’t.  I think I am manufacturing issues in my head.

Measuring out the new martingale

Measuring out the new martingale

Matt had to secure the mast to ensure it would move or do anything stupid like fall over. He then carefully removed his safety line across the bow sprit that was used as a secondary martingale.  Then he created a tension line from bow to bow to see how the tension changed on the bow as we released the martingale.

Tension Line

Tension Line

Removing the Damaged Martingale

It is a process removing the old martingale.  After we secured the main, Matt began the process of removing the old martingale.  First, he removed the two screws from the center.

Removal of screws

Removal of screws

Next, he loosened the turnbuckle (port) using two large wrenches.  He did not remove it, just loosened it so that he could remove the pin on the opposite side.

Loosening the turnbuckle

Loosening the turnbuckle

Next, he removed the cotter pin, which held in the pin inside the toggle.  We had to be very, very careful not to drop the pin over board as it is the only one that fits our hole.  You see, when we replaced the martingale in St. Maartin, they realized that the new pin was too large for our existing hole.  So, they just re-used the old pin.  Not a big deal.  It looks a little small inside the hole on the toggle, but fits perfectly inside the hole on the boat. 

Removal of the cotter pin

Removal of the cotter pin

Once the toggle and pin were removed, he went back to the turnbuckle and removed it.  It is a left-hand thread on the left side and a right-hand thread to the martingale.  Which is why we could not use the one that Mat Rigging suggested which was a left-hand thread.  It would have been two left-hand threads into the turnbuckle which would not work.

Installing the New Martingale

Wow, Matt made this look so easy.  He squirted some tef gel into the hole where the pin goes.  It is made of aluminum and the pin is stainless.  The tef gel prevents corrosion.  The pin slid in nicely and in goes the cotter pin.  One side done.

Inserting the new cotter pin and main pin

Inserting the new cotter pin and main pin

Next Matt humored me by allowing me to rotate the turn buckle to tighten the martingale.  It was all easy peazy with the tef gel on but once we passed that mark it got really hard.  So, Matt took over with the two large wrenches.  Tighten until the tension line returns to its previous state, test the martingale, tighten, rinse and repeat until we get the tension just right.  Matt then screwed in the turnbuckle so it would not move or rotate while the rig is under pressure.

Tightening the Turnbuckle

Tightening the Turnbuckle

Put the screws back on the top to secure the center.

Screws go back in place

Screws go back in place

And final step, close off the cotter pin to ensure the pin does not go anywhere. The ends are curled up preventing it from escaping through the hole.  If the cotter pin comes out then the main pin holding the starboard toggle can come out.  So, a secure cotter pin is best.  The white gook is the tef gel.

Cotter pin secured

Cotter pin secured

New martingale installed

Martingale installed

Martingale installed

Old vs new near the swage mark at the turnbuckle

Old vs new cable

Old vs new cable

 

Martingale issue

Aging Gracefully? Me and the Rig

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Our beautiful home / boat is fast approaching her 20th birthday.  In human years that is at the start of your prime, but in boat years that is getting “up there.”  As you might recall, we replaced our rig (well our standing rigging) in St Maarten back in 2016.  Our rig was close to 15 years old but showed no signs of wear and tear.  We went to FKG Rigging which is known to for their top-quality products and craftsmanship.  We were very happy with work.

Fast forward 11,000 sailing miles and 3.5 years later….we have a problem.  Our martingale which is at the bow of the boat is made of 14mm stainless steel.  There are 19 strands woven together and then swagged in to a toggle on one side and a pin on the other.  This rod reaches from the port bow to the starboard bow and is the main support for the fore-stay which holds up the front of the mast.  So, basically, kinda important to have the martingale strong and healthy.

Saving Grace

On the port side we attached a shiv to direct the jib furling line.  It is a common thing to do as it helps furl the line without chafing into the furler.  Good thing we did too as the shiv was held on with dynema (really strong rope for my land lubbing readers).  The shiv is about 1-2” above the toggle on the martingale.

Matt noticed a problem during Shawn and Sharon’s visit. He just happened to look up as he was sitting near the bow.  Three of the 19 strands were broken off between the toggle and the shiv.  YIKES!  That is really bad.  Our mast could have fallen down, had we been under sail and put too much pressure on the martingale.

AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION

First things first, we put some preventative measures in place.  We tied our spin halyard which almost reaches to the top of the mast to the starboard bow cleat.

Spin Halyward bow to top of mast

Spin Halyward bow to top of mast

Then we tied a 3/8 or 1/2” dynema line from bow to bow to help support the martingale.  We later learned that the breaking strength of the dynema line is as strong as the 14mm stainless strand.  Wowza.  These two safety measures are just preventative.  We would not go under a big passage with these measures.

Shiv on top and damaged wires below

Shiv on top and damaged wires below

When we got back to the internet we contacted two companies in Tahiti.  There are no companies to work on our rig in the Marquesas. 

We use the information from our FKG invoice and measure, measure, measure prior to ordering.

Measuring the martingale

Measuring the martingale

Resources

We have a network of resources here which is fabulous considering the internet is not reliable or available.  There is a document called the compendium which is created by one boat, but information is gathered and shared by all cruisers who visit.  It is a crowd source document. 

There is also the SSB cruiser net which happens twice daily.  This is an information sharing channel used for vessels underway and at anchor to share information across French Polynesia.

Utilizing both of the above resources we discovered that there are two companies in Papeete that could possibly do the work for our rig.  Mat Rigging and Sailtech.  Mat Rigging was recently sold to a new person whom we know nothing about.  The original owner had a great reputation and was highly recommended but is no longer available.  All we can do is contact them both.

Sailtech

The initial email went unanswered.  After a few days, we called them, left a message and asked them to respond to the email.  The next day they responded that they were not sure if they had the toggle in stock.  After no response when I followed up, I emailed them again few days later.  The third email went unanswered.  They are technically a sail repair company and maybe not so great as a rig repair company. 

Mat Rigging

John, the new owner of Mat Rigging, responded the next morning that he could do the work in a week and provided an estimate.  We provided additional measurements and photos and had a few more emails back and forth.  Then he stated he needed full payment prior to starting work.  Not surprising, but frustrating.

Making Payments in Foreign Countries

It would be so easy if we could use paypal, vinmo, or even a credit card over the phone.  But alas that is not possible.  We went to the local bank in Nuku Hiva Banco Socredo with a French speaker.  He translated for me and asked if we could pay them cash to make a wire transfer to Banco Tahiti in Papeete.  The bank refused and suggested we try the post office.  We trudged over to the post office and they too refused.  Nuku Hiva Yacht services would do a transfer for us but they charged 10% which would be $112 and take two days.  Seriously, no way!

In my pondering state (some call it “bitching”) I mentioned my dilemma to some friends.  They knew a guy on another boat who was traveling to Papeete the next day and offered to introduce us.  Long story, short, we met, had dinner, shared some wine and gave him cash and John’s (Mat Rigging) contact information.  With any luck, he will arrive in Papeete the next day, meet with John and pay him for his services.  All went well and we received a receipt 36 hours later!

Shipping the Part

Typically, you can transport things by ship, plane or service.  The services (Fedex, DHL) can be unreliable here and there is no guarantee when or if your part will arrive.  The ship is not due to come in to Nuku Hiva for another 2 weeks (they shut down for the holidays).  So, it looks like air travel is the only way. Lucky for us, shipping was only $100 which seems cheap considering that this is a 4-meter (12’) piece of stainless steel pipping that can only be rolled so much – it will be a big, flat package.  Strange that you can ship part of your rig from one remote island to another. 

And It All Came Crashing Down

I was thinking “wow this has been relatively easy” John is easy to work with, speaks English, and this is happening.  But, alas, that is not the case.

On the day that the parts were supposed to be put on the plane, I got a call that he doesn’t have a right hand toggle.  WTF!  We sent the 3 part numbers in email (multiple times), text, and photographs.  He did not realize he did not have the part until after he received our money and went to assemble everything.  You’ve got to be kidding!

Check back with us for the conclusion of this saga.