11 Oct 2009 Captain’s Log
Discouraging day yesterday. Spent the early hours getting ready to put the port prop shaft back into the coupling. Checked and prepped the bilge pumps and made sure they had no issues. Had several dry runs with Scubaeon and Donaldo (another Guatemateca). Had all the pieces prepped and ready, tools laid out. Aeon and I set up our scuba gear and entered the water about 1000 hrs. First I installed our towel and Crisco coffer dam and had Scubaeon hold it in place. Then I exited the water and went to the engine room to direct Donaldo in the removal of the patch covering the inboard end of the shaft log. Small amount of leaking but nothing the main bilge pump couldn’t stay ahead of. Back into the water and the shaft wouldn’t budge. I could not turn it nor push it in a mm. Out of the water to check on the water intrusion and brief Donaldo on the problem. Grabbed a 5 # sledge hammer and reengaged with the prop shaft. (The getting in and out was a pain, because I needed 30# of lead -15 on the tank and 15 on me to be solidly on the bottom).
I struck the end of the shaft for 10 minutes and succeeded in moving the shaft forward maybe 2 mm and I could now rotate it 5 to 7 degrees. But the end result was failure as I could not move the shaft far enough forward to free it from the rudder.
Assesment: When the CG drug us over the reef the shaft was pulled back and inboard of the rudder blade. So instead of the shaft being centered on the rudder blade it is wedged on the inboard side of the blade aft to the hub of the propeller (both nuts are inboard of the rudder blade). I called a break for lunch and to discuss the issue with the crew.
During lunch a squall line moved in with winds to 50 Kts. This brought a “real” rain and waves which increased the turbidity of the water and a loss of visibility. That coupled with the motion of Second Star meant that I had to abort the afternoon attempt. We spent an hour discussing the problem and decided to try running a double looped hawser from the stem to just forward of the shaft strut. Put a bridle on the propeller at the hub and use the main engine chain hoist to see if we can draw the shaft forward. I am hoping that I can control the stretch of the hawser with multiple loops and generate the necessary pressure to move the shaft. I am loathe to try and connect the chain hoist directly to the aft prop shaft support struts for fear of stressing the hull to strut joint. Any suggestions would be welcome!
Failure in the pulling attempt will lead to the disassembly of the prop shaft connector and try to draw the forward section into the flange and at least allow for the installation of the shaft seal. Hopefully that will relieve some of the side thrust off the aft section which should allow it to slide forward clear of the propeller and back into line.
The rest of the afternoon was spent securing the starboard engine bay from the fuel system repair. Cleaning and putting away tools, cleaning the bilges, separating the diesel from the bilge water and pouring all the liquids in jugs for disposal. At this time I believe the fuel system to functional, although our fuel transfer pump is down due to a failure of the pump. It does not affect the use or transfer of fuel under way only at dock. Will start and run the mains in the morning to verify.
The little Honda 2500 watt 110V generator is pretty amazing. It is old, beat up, rusted, the muffler has rusted to a mere shell of the original and rattles, there is no air cleaner element, missing pieces, bailing wire and duct tape; yet it puts out a little more than 2500 watts hour after hour sitting on the foredeck. 3 to 4 hrs in the morning and 3 to 4 in the evening has kept the batteries charged and the refrigeration functioning. 5 gallons of gas = 16 hrs of runtime. I think I am going to buy one of these little wonders (3.5 to 4 kW, 110/220v), pickle it and store it for emergencies. Plug in couple of large pool/sump pumps and it would do double duty as a crash pump.
Hoping that tomorrow brings success with the running gear.
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This began many years ago for Johne. Somewhere along the way, he decided that someday he would have a boat and sail around the world. Through the years bits and pieces of the dream have changed, but the one thing that has remained the same was the desire to see the world from the deck of a boat. In July of 2000 the opportunity presented itself. Johne found a boat in Florida that was literally a "fire sale." The galley had caught fire and destroyed the housing, but the potential was there. Johne and Susie made the leap. They bought the boat and moved from Reno, NV to Ft. Myers, FL. Immediately they began the process of tearing down the old and rebuilding the new. By December of that year, all that was left, was a good, solid hull. For the past several years, Johne has build Second Star almost entirely by hand. Built with love and fueled by desire. Now that the construction has nearly reached completion we would like to share our dream with you. Please join us as we head out for the adventure of a lifetime.
What's in a name? It is supposed to be bad luck to rename a boat. In this case, however, the old boat died, and a new boat has reemerged from the ashes. "Second Star" comes from a quote, "second on the right and straight to morning." Recognize it? It is Peter Pan's directions to Neverland.
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The Dream....
This began many years ago for Johne. Somewhere along the way, he decided that someday he would have a boat and sail around the world. Through the years bits and pieces of the dream have changed, but the one thing that has remained the same was the desire to see the world from the deck of a boat. In July of 2000 the opportunity presented itself. Johne found a boat in Florida that was literally a "fire sale." The galley had caught fire and destroyed the housing, but the potential was there. Johne and Susie made the leap. They bought the boat and moved from Reno, NV to Ft. Myers, FL. Immediately they began the process of tearing down the old and rebuilding the new. By December of that year, all that was left, was a good, solid hull. For the past several years, Johne has build Second Star almost entirely by hand. Built with love and fueled by desire. Now that the construction has nearly reached completion we would like to share our dream with you. Please join us as we head out for the adventure of a lifetime.
What's in a name? It is supposed to be bad luck to rename a boat. In this case, however, the old boat died, and a new boat has reemerged from the ashes. "Second Star" comes from a quote, "second on the right and straight to morning." Recognize it? It is Peter Pan's directions to Neverland.
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