by Judy Handley | Dec 7, 2008 | Malaysia, Sailing Logs Year 4 |
Day 46, Year 4: One Step Forward, One Step Back
Date: Sunday, December 7, 2008
Weather: Rainy Day
Location: Rebak Marina on Pulau Rebak Besar, Langkawi, Malaysia
Where should I start? We didn’t get a dry day, so the holes in our teak deck are soaking up the wetness. We have covered every hole with masking tape, but we are not sure that really helps. But needless to say, there was no work done on the teak deck today. So this was one step back.
And then there is the transmission. After the 12:45 pm ferry arrived and there was still no mechanic and no transmission, Mark made a call and found out that actually the seals had to be ordered, which we had not been told before, and they were not going to arrive until 2:00 this afternoon. So much for having the transmission back in today. And unfortunately, that means no transmission tomorrow and the next day as they are Muslim religious holidays. So the new plan is that we will have the transmission
back on Wednesday. This is a huge set-back, but if we actually get the transmission back on Wednesday and the installation goes smoothly, we will still be on track for meeting Kevin and Claire north of here the following Tuesday. There are always lots of “ifs” but we have a plan worked out for each alternative, so we feel that whatever happens we will be fine, but it is very frustrating. So this was definitely one step back.
The step forward was Mark’s work on our second bilge pump that hasn’t worked this entire season. He has installed three different pumps and none of them have worked, so today he worked on the electrical system. He tidied up all the wires and connections coming from the bilge and finally found the problem with the pump. So we now have two working bilge pumps once again. This was one step forward.
Now comes the work on the shower stall. We found places where the first coat of paint was peeling, so realized that we needed to sand off the coat of “wrong” paint to prepare the surface for what we hope is the “right” paint that we bought in town yesterday. Sanding paint off a surface in a boat causes all kinds “dust” problems, but we covered as much as we could and started the sanding. Mark feels like we have ended up with a much smoother surface which is good, but the whole time I was sanding
the only thing I could think is that if we had had the correct paint to begin with the sanding process wouldn’t have been necessary. So we have a smoother surface (one step forward) but we spent time sanding and cleaning that wouldn’t have been necessary if we had the right paint to begin with (one step back).
We are hoping for a dry day tomorrow so we can finish plugging the teak deck. Rain or not, we will paint the shower stall and the seats and lids for our two toilets. That’s the goal for tomorrow. Hopefully those goals are achievable and we can have a day with only steps forward.
by Judy Handley | Dec 6, 2008 | Malaysia, Sailing Logs Year 4 |
Day 45, Year 4: For the Love of Martians
Date: Saturday, December 6, 2008
Weather: Overcast with Sprinkles
Location: Rebak Marina on Pulau Rebak Besar, Langkawi, Malaysia
Men really are from Mars and women, at least this woman, must be from some other planet. Today was one of those days when it was the little things that get you, and Mark and I had different ideas on each of the “little things.” So Mars and the other planet clashed. But clashes or not, you’ve got to love those men from Mars.
First we got up and found sprinkles in the air. That was a problem since we have more than 200 deck plugs drilled and ready to fill. So before we even ate breakfast we started finding ways of covering the deck. But while that was happening, I reminded Mark that the mechanic might be here around 10 am with the transmission. I asked if there was anything else that needed to happen before the transmission is replaced. Oh, my! There were lots of things including a complete clean-out of the bilge.
Since the engine room is a “blue job” I hadn’t been paying close attention to what needed to be done. But the leakage of transmission fluid had made a complete mess of the bilge and we spent the next two hours using our little wet/dry shop vac to clean up some of the mess, and as I write this log tonight, Mark is still working on cleaning out the bilge. But back to this morning, somewhere in the middle of the bilge cleaning job, Zainol, the mechanic, came by to say that the transmission would
not be back until tomorrow, so that was a bit of a relief. We continued to clean the bilge and when that was done we went out on the deck to start filling the holes with new screws and pegs. Next problem. The Makita battery-powered drill just couldn’t keep up with the work load. We have known for a long time that we need a plug-in drill, but we there is no way to buy anything compatible with US power out here. The good thing at this point was that the rain didn’t come, so we got on the ferry
and headed to the main island to buy a plug-in drill that we could use plugging it straight into shore power. We were also after the paint we need for the shower stall, head seats and lids, and the dinghy motor mount. We called the rental car guy when we got on the ferry just to find out that there were no cars available. But a young man on the ferry said, “No problem.” He used his cell phone to call a taxi for us and offered to give us a ride with him if the taxi didn’t show up. Local people
here are just so friendly and helpful. It gives me hope that somehow we can learn to live together on Planet Earth.
We got to Kuah, bought a drill and paint, and found a place that will sell our two dinghy motors if we decide to buy a new Yamaha. When we bought the drill I asked Mark if we had a way to plug it into our existing system. Our current electric cord that connects us to shore power is from New Zealand, but Mark assured me that the drill would work with that system. That is when Mars and another planet started to collide. The other problem was buying the paint. I thought Mark knew what we needed,
but it turned out that he really wasn’t sure. It is very difficult to figure out which paints are epoxy friendly when nothing on the labels tells you in English what the compatibility of the paint might be. We ended up buying a one-part paint instead of the two-part we were after. There was one frustration after another, but we finally got the items on our list and hailed a taxi to take us back to the ferry dock.
When we got home the drill wouldn’t plug into our current system. After walking the docks, Mark did find someone with an adapter that would allow the drill to work with our current system. But by this time, it was too late on a Saturday evening to start drilling. So the work will have to continue tomorrow. Hopefully things will go a little smoother and the prediction for rain will be wrong. We could use one very dry day to do painting and teak deck work. Here’s to a better tomorrow.
by Judy Handley | Dec 5, 2008 | Malaysia, Sailing Logs Year 4 |
Day 44, Year 4: Making Progress . . . Sort Of
Date: Friday, December 5, 2008
Weather: Another Sunny, Hot Day
Location: Rebak Marina on Pulau Rebak Besar, Langkawi, Malaysia
Today was one of those days that was actually productive but didn’t feel that way. Things just moved a little slower. My early morning was spent going to the market at the ferry dock on the main island. I went on the ferry with lots of other woman, almost no men, and when we got to the other side, a young Chinese man arrived in his van filled with Styrofoam coolers. In each cooler there were different kinds of frozen meat, all varieties of vegetables, bananas, papayas, oranges, and on and on.
He has frozen duck, chicken, sausages of many varieties, steaks, cod, salmon, and even smoked salmon. I couldn’t believe the variety and the quality. It was good, but probably more expensive than shopping in Kuah. But I got bib lettuce and romaine, my main goal for going, and filled my basket with New Zealand avocadoes, green and red peppers, brussel spouts, tomatoes, and just all sorts of goodies.
When I returned to Windbird Mark was finishing the job of digging out old plugs in the teak deck and drilling the holes deeper to hold new screws and plugs. He then decided to have Noel Bradley, the man who runs the little chandlery here, replace our top life line. When Kevin and Claire arrive, they will be bringing netting that we will install between the top life line and the toe rail. This is a new installation to keep visiting grandbabies onboard and we didn’t want to attach it to the old
line that was showing signs of rust and decay beneath its white plastic coating. So new life lines were made and installed in the early afternoon. It was about this time that things started to fall apart. We thought we had saved money by buying half-used cans of two-part paint from the chandlery here on Rebak, but when we opened it we discovered that it was not white as the can indicated, but a very nice tan. Not what we wanted for the next job which was painting the shower stall, the dinghy
motor mount to which Mark has sanded and applied new epoxy, and the toilet seats lids that we had removed for painting. So here we are with no paint, which means no toilet seats on the toilets, and a shower stall which I ended up painting with a white outdoor paint we had aboard. I have no confidence, however, that this paint will really adhere to the newly expoxed shower stall. So somehow we are going to have to work in another trip to Kuah to buy paint. Ugh! We had planned to leave here no
later than next Wednesday or Thursday to do a little cruising around the island of Langkawi, but we might have to skip that in order to get work completed. This is another one of those times that we just have to wait and see how things play out.
I’ll end with a bit of a joke on us. Yesterday we spent some time looking through photos on Justin and Jo’s Picasa website. We saw a picture of J & J and a man named Al. I emailed Justin and asked, “Who is Al?” He wrote back saying that he and Jo assumed my question was a joke. Al was Al Gore, and Justin and Jo were sure we would know that. I wrote back telling them that I believe we have been floating around out here too long. I can’t believe neither Mark nor I recognized Al Gore. Admittedly,
he has gained a bit of weight, but he should have been recognizable. I think we have been disconnected from video images just a little too long!
by Judy Handley | Dec 4, 2008 | Malaysia, Sailing Logs Year 4 |
Day 43, Year 4: Transmission Woes
Date: Thursday, December 4, 2008
Weather: Sunny, Hot Day
Location: Rebak Marina on Pulau Rebak Besar, Langkawi, Malaysia
The transmission issue continues. Two of the mechanics returned today, Man and Nadri, and they worked all day trying to get the transmission out so the seals can be replaced. They first continued the problem from yesterday getting the coupling that connects the transmission to the prop shaft loose and once they had that, they learned they had a new problem. The spline from the transmission was rusted into the buffer plate which connects the transmission to the engine. They finally broke that
loose about 5:30 pm and then Nadri, a bit stronger than both Mark and I together, walked the 50 pound transmission out of the aft cabin, up the steps, and out onto the dock with no problem. There were many times today when we were ready to tell them to just put things back together, but we are glad we didn’t and that we have the hope of having the seals replaced with no other issues arising. I say that because you never know. But our hope is that the transmission will be back in the boat by Saturday
(optimistic) and that all will be well.
My day was spent waxing parts of the boat. It was no easy task in this relentless sun and heat. Mark continued to remove plugs and screws from the deck where they need to be replaced, watched over the transmission removal process, and took a midday trip to the main island to pick up our stanchions that we had taken in to be straightened and reinforced. I think we are both wearing down with the work in this hot weather, but I also think we are getting close to the end for now.
Our big decision currently is whether or not we will really take the ferry to the mainland to visit Penang. Monday and Tuesday are Muslim religious holidays (Hari Raya Qurban) and everything will be closed, so if we go it will be next Wednesday and Thursday. When we return from that trip, it will be time to get ready to sail north to meet Kevin and Claire. It looks like the political situation has been resolved and hopefully they will be able to fly into Bangkok with no problems.
Tomorrow is Friday here and if I take the early morning ferry to the main island, I will be able to buy fresh veggies that are delivered to the dock each Friday morning. So I will start my day doing that and Mark will get the straightened stanchions firmly in place and put our life lines back up. There will be a bit more waxing and more work on plugging the teak deck, but I do think things are slacking off a bit. Maybe we’ll actually get to the beautiful pool here that is oceanside and enjoy the
late afternoon that way.
by Judy Handley | Dec 3, 2008 | Malaysia, Sailing Logs Year 4 |
Day 42, Year 4: More Boat Work
Date: Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Weather: Another Really Sunny Day
Location: Rebak Marina on Pulau Rebak Besar, Langkawi, Malaysia
The sun is still shining and making our outside boat work really hot. Today I got up early and actually went up to the laundry room to do laundry. I always hang my wash on the life lines and they are down right now while we are getting the stanchions repairs. So I spent my early morning hours doing laundry. The only compensation was that the beautiful hornbills were out in the trees right next to the laundry room and I got to watch them up close and personal. After the laundry was washed and
dried, I completed cleaning the teak deck and the handrails on the cabin top and then I switched to cleaning the topsides-the white hull of the boat. I only got one side and the back done, in addition to cleaning the stainless on the windvane steering that hangs off the back of the boat. So one more assault on the starboard side and the outside of the boat will be clean. Then we have to decide whether or not we are going to wax it. Normally we would, but if we are going to have Windbird painted
in February, it wouldn’t be prudent to wax her now. Decisions, decisions.
The problem for the day was the transmission. It has been leaking a bit of transmission fluid, so we figured we needed new seals. But getting our transmission out in order to replace the seals is evidently a major job. A mechanic named Zianol and his two assistants, Nawri and Man (pronounced Mahn) came mid-afternoon and worked until after 5 pm trying to get the transmission out with no luck. Nawri and Man will return tomorrow morning with different tools. If they don’t get it out tomorrow, it
could be a week from now when they return. There is a major Muslim holiday approaching on Decemver 7-9, and the 5th and 10th are state holidays, so let’s just hope things work out in the morning. Mark’s other jobs today were sanding the shower stall and getting it ready to paint and fiberglassing the wooden dinghy engine mount on the stern pulpit. So the work goes on.
There is a boat two slips away from us called Island Nomad. It is a Pacific Seacraft from Texas. This boat was in the Sail Indonesia Rally, but we had never seen it until we arrived here. She is a beauty and we have been admiring her hard dodger and bimini. The owner has gone home, but Mark saw a woman get on the boat today and start the engine. He went over right away and found that it was just someone who starts the engine regularly while the owner is away, but this woman has a husband who
happened to build the dodger and bimini on Island Nomad. Later in the afternoon, Mark the hard dodger builder came over to give us an estimate for doing the same on Windbird. Unfortunately, he is charging Australian prices. As he said, if you want top quality you are going to pay top price no matter where you are in the world. All of the stories of getting cheap, but good work done in Malaysia and Thailand seem to be a thing of the past. We will probably skip having the hard dodger and bimini
made and stick with the canvas enclosure. We will probably have Ben, the canvas maker we met in Langkawi, do this work for us in February.
We heard from Kevin and Claire that there has been a compromise and that the Bangkok airport is slated to reopen in seven to ten days. If that happens, they will still come as planned unless the political unrest continues and it looks too dangerous. Their airline was going to reroute them if the airport is still closed, but if it is open, they probably cannot be rerouted without buying new tickets and that is way too expensive. So we are just going to hope the new agreement sets well with all
factions and that Bangkok is once again safe to enter.
by Judy Handley | Dec 2, 2008 | Malaysia, Sailing Logs Year 4 |
Day 41, Year 4: Boat Work, Boat Work
Date: Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Weather: Really Sunny Day
Location: Rebak Marina on Pulau Rebak Besar, Langkawi, Malaysia
The big success of the day was that early in the day, our young neighbor Magnus dove and found our mangled piece of toe rail that went overboard yesterday. So Magnus is our hero of the day. Mark spent part of his day working on the shower stall and it is now ready for paint. He spent the other part of his day getting the Suzuki dinghy motor back in decent running condition. We really need to take the carburetor apart and completely clean it, but I think Mark is still hoping to sell and buy the
new Yamaha. We did learn today that there is a guy in Kuah that sells new and used dinghy motors, so one last hope is that he will take the two old motors in partial trade for a new one. We will go to Kuah on Thursday and check that out.
I spent my entire day cleaning everything in, on, and around the deck. I finished all of the stainless, cleaned the non-skid and all of the cabin top and cockpit, cleaned the canvas covering the cockpit, and got part of the teak deck cleaned. It doesn’t sound like much, but it took me all day in the blaring sun. Where did that overcast, sprinkling weather go? The day was absolutely gorgeous, but it was HOT.
Our newest problem is the political situation in Thailand. Late in the day Mark went up to get on the internet and he found out that the Bangkok airport is closed and will probably not reopen for weeks. At least that is what the Bangkok news is saying. Kevin and Claire are slated to arrive in Bangkok in about two weeks, so I think we might have a problem. From what we can tell, the Phuket airport is open and fine, but who knows if the airlines will allow this change. We haven’t heard from Kevin
and Claire in last couple of days, so we need to get in contact and see what can be done to circumvent Bangkok and still get them here. Almost everyone we know has family and friends flying into Thailand, so everyone is going to be doing a bit of scrambling.
