{"id":6915,"date":"2020-01-09T02:27:39","date_gmt":"2020-01-09T02:27:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/?p=6915"},"modified":"2020-01-09T03:27:10","modified_gmt":"2020-01-09T03:27:10","slug":"no-frills-no-frou-frous","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/?p=6915","title":{"rendered":"No Frills, No Frou-Frous"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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There\u2019s been a few postponements to our haul out due to other boats needing emergency lifts more urgently than us. But now, finally, it\u2019s our turn. We need to haul to fit the new prop (impossible to do in-water), and whilst we no longer have any oil leaks from our sail drives (hurray!) we think it prudent to replace the bottom oil seals as these haven\u2019t been done for several years. And Murphy\u2019s law being what it is, you know what will happen if we don\u2019t\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

There were two reasons for not driving up on a beach somewhere to do this job – we\u2019re missing a spacer for the new prop and need to get one machined by Wick\u2019s workshop once we get the other prop off to measure it against.\u00a0 We also haven\u2019t changed the bottom oil seals before and have no idea if we\u2019ll hit any snags in the process. The last thing we want is to be on a beach with the job unfinished when the tide comes in! So we\u2019ll have the security of being on a trailer instead, but because there\u2019s no Yanmar mechanics here, we\u2019ll still have to do all the work ourselves (ahem\u2026in the spirit of full disclosure this will actually be Bruce’s job, ably assisted by yours truly).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first challenge is to get to Wick\u2019s boatyard, Helena Marina (OK, \u201cmarina\u201d is stretching the truth a teeny-weeny bit, it\u2019s more of a wall to tie up to and a boat ramp). It\u2019s situated about 5NM up Warmun River to the south of Sorong, and the river mouth is VERY shallow so boats can only traverse it on a high tide. Wick sends his boatyard manager, Captain Dahlin (yes, that\u2019s really his name. Where\u2019s Peter Pan?) to pilot us through the shallows and from there it\u2019s just a wiggly run to the boat ramp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pak Dahlin, our river pilot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Prime waterfront property anyone?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The locals collecting roofing materials from the mangrove trees<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Up the creek (with two paddles if necessary!)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Tying up at the boat ramp<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s only a small window of opportunity to haul out on the high tide, but when we arrive there\u2019s no-one around so we tie up and wait. We eye the trailer dubiously, half expecting Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble to make an appearance.\u00a0 Finally there\u2019s some movement and Wick arrives.\u00a0 Although the boat was measured last time we were in Tampa Garam, it seems the message didn\u2019t translate to the yard so the trailer hasn\u2019t been set up properly for our bridge deck height. The guys pile on more wooden blocks in an attempt to rectify the problem until it looks like a giant Jenga puzzle.\u00a0 No-one\u2019s happy, least of all us, and Wick calls a halt to proceedings. We\u2019ve now missed the tide opportunity so they\u2019ll reconfigure the trailer properly and try again tomorrow. As we say from past experiences in New Zealand – “do it twice and get it right”!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The first attempt needed some modifying<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tomorrow comes and the trailer\u2019s re-set and by lunchtime we\u2019re ready to be hauled out. The trailer\u2019s attached to the tractor via a wire and rope pulley system. There\u2019s an automatic brake system but also a human brake as backup should anything go wrong. Are we worried? You bet! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our human back-up…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A nervous wave..<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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and up we come…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Jenga anyone?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But we trust Wick and his engineering background and it all goes smoothly (well, a bit bumpily) and we get far enough up the ramp to be able to work on the legs, albeit on a slope.  By this time we have some other helping hands – Murray and Carol have just returned from their Christmas break in Bali, and another cruiser, Chris, is on site and willing to assist.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We hit the first snag – we can\u2019t get the other (good) prop off – it\u2019s well and truly bonded, which is positive in one way but means we can\u2019t give Wick\u2019s workshop the spacer to copy, and we won\u2019t be able to change the oil seal on that side.  We\u2019re running out of time so we concentrate on the starboard side.  Wick\u2019s machinist arrives to measure the prop shaft and we show him a photo of the spacer.  We\u2019re dubious, but after a couple of hours he returns with a perfect replica and a spare – impressive stuff! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bruce and Chris working on the oil seals as the tide goes out<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Our shiny new Gori folding prop<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By late afternoon we have new oil seals and the new prop is on (securely!), so technically we\u2019re ready to go back in the water. But now it’s low tide so it will mean spending the night on the ramp until tomorrow\u2019s high tide.\u00a0 I can tell you, it\u2019s decidedly weird being onboard a tilted boat, especially one that’s tilted aft\u00a0 – we lurch around like midnight drunks without any of the added benefits and sleeping is a bit of a challenge, but we survive, the boat\u2019s fine and we\u2019re lowered back into the water the next day mightily relieved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our berth-on-a-tilt for the night<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a far cry from our last haul out at The Boatworks on the Gold Coast. There\u2019s no fancy stuff here, no nice frou-frou extras like laundries, showers or courtesy cars, but Wick and his team got the job done competently and safely, and for that we\u2019re very VERY grateful.\u00a0 Phew! Hopefully that\u2019s the last of our major work for a while. We\u2019ll stay in Sorong harbour for a few days to provision and attend to other jobs and then we\u2019ll be heading to southern Raja Ampat (Misool) for more diving adventures. Bring it on!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s been a few postponements to our haul out due to other boats needing emergency lifts more urgently than us. But now, finally, it\u2019s our turn. We need to haul to fit the new prop (impossible to do in-water), and whilst we no longer have any oil leaks from our sail drives (hurray!) we think … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “No Frills, No Frou-Frous”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-svtoucan"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6B46t-1Nx","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6915"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6915\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6942,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6915\/revisions\/6942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svtoucan.com\/svtblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}