by Judy Handley | Nov 8, 2009 | Malaysia, Sailing Logs Year 5 |
Day 9, Year 5: One Less Hole in the Boat
Date: Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Weather: Hot and Sunny, Late Afternoon Rains That Keep on Going
Location: Rebak Marina, Pulau Rebak, Langkawi, Malaysia
There’s always more than one way to solve a problem, and in the case of our faulty and then leaky through-hull, we simply decided to fill the hole with epoxy and eliminate that hole in our boat. So far, so good. We are back in the water and we have no leaks, so all is well. The hole we filled was one of three through-hulls that bring salt water into the boat. In this case, it was bringing salt water into the forward head in order to flush. We will simply put a “t” in the flexible pipe bringing salt water into the aft head and run a hose to the forward head. So $500 later, that problem is solved. The $500 is the cost of being lifted out of the water and then having to stay overnight on land. If we had been successful with the Dash and Splash, the cost would have been considerably less. But that didn’t happen and we’ll just have to live with it. What an expensive overnighter! But we did get a chance to apply more bottom paint to refresh what was put on last year in Thailand. We use an ablative paint which means that when we do get growth and we dive down to clean the hull, a little bit of paint is removed along with the growth. Now we have more layers on and that should serve us well until we get back to the Caribbean in early 2011. Or at least that is the hope.
We got back to our slip around 3:00 this afternoon, just in time for the afternoon rains. When we first arrived there were just black clouds and wind, but by 4:00 the rains came and they are still coming. Unlike yesterday’s deluge, today’s rains are just a steady dibble dop. We read in the cockpit for awhile just to decompress and then came inside to fix dinner. However, our pleasant evening was disrupted by the realization that our bilge pump was coming on every couple of minutes. We checked all possible sources of incoming water and there was none, so we figured the problem had to be back-siphoning from one of our bilge pumps. When we got back to the dock this afternoon, we raised our dinghy and dinghy motor on the new arch at the back of the boat. The extra weight lowered the through-hull that takes water out of the boat below sea level so that the new bilge pump Mark had installed just before we left for the US last April was now pumping water out and then siphoning it right back into the bilge. Mark dug into the plumbing spare parts kit and found just the valve that needed to be installed to stop the back-siphoning. So once again, a problem was solved. Now it’s time to have no more problems.
But then, there are always problems. I guess that is what makes life interesting. At 7:00 AM I was walking back from a trip to the bathroom at the Hard Dock (can’t use your head when on the hard) when I stopped to say good morning to Peter of Southern Cross. Southern Cross is fairly new catamaran and just yesterday, Peter had discovered water in the core of one of the hulls when installing something on the outside of one of the hulls. He drilled a hole and water starting pouring out-not good. So this morning he was contemplating his situation and said to me that Richard of Sea Bunny had suggested that he find someone with a moisture meter to further explore the problem. It just so happens that we have a moisture meter, so we were able to loan that out. After all the help we received from folks yesterday, it was nice to be able to help someone else. After talking with Peter, I then continued my trek back to Windbird and got to watch the almost full moon go down behind the hill. It was so beautiful. I wish I had known about the Full Moon Festival here on Monday night, but I think we were too absorbed in our through-hull problem to know that it was happening. Evidently all evil spirits were whisked away from there, so that tells me that we should have no more unexpected issues.
by Judy Handley | Nov 8, 2009 | Malaysia, Sailing Logs Year 5 |
Year 5, Captain’s Ramblings 1: Thru-Hulls
Date: Wednesday, November 4, 2009
The saying goes “a boat is a hole in the water into which you pour money.” But the systems on a boat require that there are a number of holes in the boat through which water can pass. The critical issue with a boat is how to keep the water on the outside, or at least keep it directed to the appropriate function on the inside before it is pumped overboard again.
There are several reasons to bring salt water into a boat: to flush the toilet, to provide water for the desalination system to make fresh water, to cool the engine, to provide cooling water for a heat pump air conditioner, and to wash dishes before rinsing in fresh water to conserve the fresh water you may have. Some boats may have more than these, but, except for washing dishes, these are the functions that Windbird uses salt water for (though we haven’t used the air conditioner since leaving Boston).
There are other reasons to have holes in your boat below the waterline: to drain the toilet when you flush and to drain the sinks in the galley and the head(s). Windbird has three sinks to drain and two toilets.
If you add all this up you will find that Windbird could have as many as ten holes below the water line! We actually had eight before the valve bringing water to the forward head broke on Monday. Reducing the number from ten to eight was accomplished by feeding the aft head, the water maker, and the air conditioner from one inlet. These “inlets” (and outlets) are actually called “thru-hulls” because they go through the hull of the boat. And each thru-hull has a valve on the inside of the boat so that if something goes wrong in the plumbing, you can stop the flow of water by closing the valve. However, there’s the rub. All those valves are a potential source of trouble. Windbird has had trouble with three of these. The first, we repaired over a year ago. The second I replaced while in the water just a few days ago. The third defied all attempts to repair or to remove it without destroying the whole thing – which we did finally by hauling the boat out of the water and cutting the valve off the top so the thru-hull could be removed. We then attempted to install a new thru-hull with valve. Twice we thought we had it and twice we were lowered into the water to discover it leaked!
Since we had so much trouble getting a new thru-hull not to leak, we decided to simply plug the hole with epoxy and run a water line from the existing thru-hull that already feeds the aft head, the water maker, and the air conditioner. So we now have two thru hulls that bring water into the boat: one provides cooling water to the engine, the other provides all other salt water needs on Windbird.
Now if only I could figure out how to have all the discharge hoses exit through one thru-hull we could cut the number of holes in the boat to three. Fewer are always better – less maintenance and less chance of a failure at an inopportune moment. But given the separation between the three sinks and two heads, it is not likely. So we will likely be replacing more old thru-hulls in the future.
by Judy Handley | Nov 8, 2009 | Malaysia, Sailing Logs Year 5 |
Day 8, Year 5: Things Never Go As Planned
Date: Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Weather: Hot and Sunny, Late Afternoon Deluge
Location: Rebak Marina, Pulau Rebak, Langkawi, Malaysia
Before I get to the real story of today, I must explain why I have titled this log Year 5, Day 7. All of the logs from last year’s season were titled Year 3, but just about the time we reached Singapore, we really started Year 4 of the Voyage of Windbird. As I have explained before, cruising seasons and calendar years really don’t match up, but I have decided to go back and rename all of the logs from the time we left Singapore as Year 4 and that now brings us to the beginning of our fifth year of cruising. So that’s the quick explanation if I’ve confused you with the Year 5 title.
Now to today’s story. We did the Dash from our slip on Dock E to the slipway to be hauled out. Gerry of Scot Free II was back to help us and he took our dinghy to be able to push us if we had trouble backing into the slipway. Sailboats just don’t back easily, so it is always nice to have a little help. But when we tried to drive forward out of our slip, we even had trouble doing that. Obviously the prop was so covered with barnacles that it was having trouble driving us forward. But slowly we made our way to slipway and with Gerry’s help backed right in. By 11:30 am we were on the hard and ready to replace the through-hull. Mazrizal, the marina manager, said we could have until 4 pm before we had to Splash, so we figured we would have time to clean the prop as well as replace the through-hull. When Mazrizal asked if we would be done by 4:00 pm, Mark immediately replied by saying that of course we would be done by that time, no problem. Mazrizal immediately stopped him and said it was never a good idea to be so sure, and Mazrizal was right on this one. Mark and Gerry worked on getting the old through-hull out. We had to use Gerry’s grinder to actually cut the old valve off and then knock out the through-hull so we could replace the whole unit. Our old through-hull was beveled, but the new one is straight, so I was concerned about filling the gap. We used 5200 caulk which should have filled the gap and dried quickly never to be removed, but that didn’t happen. The 5200 was very soft, probably because of the heat, and really didn’t dry at all. It is supposed to be able to cure underwater, but when we did the Splash, there was a leak, so we were out of the water immediately. Mark tried a quick fix with epoxy, but on the second Splash, there was still a trickle leak and the decision was made that we would spend the night on the hard, fix the problem in the morning, and go back in the water late tomorrow afternoon. And of course, just as we were being brought back into the hard stand area by the travel lift, the heavens opened up and we had a tropical deluge for about half an hour. And that revealed another problem. We have water coming into the main cabin from the mast. It is probably coming from the top of the mast, which we thought we had caulked completed, but obviously not. Once we are back in the water, we’ll have to check that out. So goes the cruising life. There is a definite cost to living on your boat in paradise, but it is manageable and doable as long as you are a patient.
The highlight of today was talking on the phone to Heather, Sam and Jonah. It was almost bedtime for Sam and Jed was at a meeting so we didn’t get to talk to him, but we got hellos and goodbyes from Sam and we got to hear Jonah in the background. We’ll try to call Justin and Jo tomorrow and see if can hear Ziggy. He always squeals and giggles and that is such a delight to our ears. But now we will call it a night and start again fresh tomorrow. Hopefully things will work better than today and by this time tomorrow night we will be tucked into our slip with no leaks. That is the hope.
by Judy Handley | Nov 3, 2009 | Malaysia, Sailing Logs Year 5 |
Day 7, Year 5: A River Runs Through It
Date: Monday, November 2, 2009
Weather: Still Hot and Sunny
Location: Rebak Marina, Pulau Rebak, Langkawi, Malaysia
Things went a little pear-shaped today. Everything had gone so smoothly since our return that I suppose it was time for a little challenge, and so it was. The story began yesterday when we tried to open the valve to let water into the forward toilet. We’ve never had a problem with it before, but this time when Mark turned the valve we got no water. It appeared that the handle delaminated where it is connected to the valve. The only solution was to do as we did with the forward head valve and replace it. Since Mark was so successful with the first replacement while in the water, he thought he’d try it again. But this time it didn’t work. In order to remove the old valve he turned it once, twice, and then the third time he could feel the whole through-hull turning and we had a nice little river of water flowing into the bilge from the front of the boat to the back. In the engine room, it sounded like river was flowing but thankfully we have two bilge pumps and both were working nicely. One pumps 2,000 gallons of water an hour, so no worries about sinking. But then the hard work began. Mark got out the dive gear and went down to try and see what he could do to hold the through-hull in place while someone else would turn the valve to remove it. He came up with a plan and just about that time our friends Donna and Gerry of Scot Free II arrived in the Rebak Marina. Mark went over to help them dock and then they came to help us with our little dilemma. Gerry worked in the boat and Mark tried every tool imaginable to keep the through-hull from turning with no luck. He finally gave up and wrapped a piece of twine around the base of the valve where the river of water was flowing in. This stemmed the flow to that of a small stream so all should be fine overnight. At the end of the day, we made the decision to have the boat lifted out of the water tomorrow to do the job. We are doing what they call a Splash and Dash where they lift us out of the water and leave us in the slings during the lunch break. This costs less than being taken out of the water and put in a cradle for a few days. When lunch break is over, we go back into the water. So hopefully we can get the old valve removed and the new one in place in that amount of time. We’ll also try to get the bottom power washed to remove the lovely green growth covering the bottom paint and we’ll clean off the prop. Getting hauled out is expensive, but we have no choice this time. Let’s just hope things go smoothly and we get the job done. We’ll let you know tomorrow how things go.
by Judy Handley | Nov 2, 2009 | Malaysia, Sailing Logs Year 5 |
Day 6, Year 5: Day Trip to Kuah
Date: Sunday, November 1, 2009
Weather: Still Hot and Sunny with Evening Lightening
Location: Rebak Marina, Pulau Rebak, Langkawi, Malaysia
The 9:30 am ferry took us to the main island of Langkawi where we got into a rental car with Tina and Robert of Shirena. We drove to Kuah and Mark and Robert dropped Tina and I off at the Billion Shopping Center. I’ve been to the Billion supermarket before, but I had never explored the other shops. This little shopping center is out of the main part of town near the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club and it has a nice array of upscale shops. For the most part it is the same stuff you can find downtown in small shops, just more neatly displayed and at a higher price, but it does have a couple of nice sportswear shops. Tina had to go to the optician in the shopping center. She had just gotten a new pair of glasses there less than a week ago, and last night Robert took a packed suitcase off their bed and plopped it on the table-right on top of Tina’s new glasses. Thankfully Tina was able to get them repaired and then we continued to shop and explore while Mark and Robert drove to the yacht club. A guy named Paul who runs a marine consignment store and chandlery has relocated to the yacht club and Mark wanted to check in with him to see if he has been able to sell any of the items we left with him. He has sold our old dinghy lift, but not our Suzuki outboard and our Monitor windvane. We’ll lower the price and keep trying, but if the Monitor hasn’t sold by the time we have left, we’ll take it with us.
We returned to the boat in mid-afternoon and I managed to get the main cabin up to 100 degrees while cooking dinner. We took a short break and went to the pool to cool off. There were so many cruisers there and we spent our pool time talking to each other about future plans-who’s going where, how, and why. Robert and Tina joined us for dinner, but we had to eat out in the cockpit due to the heat below. Tomorrow they leave for Australia and we inherit their air conditioner. That will be most welcome.
by Judy Handley | Oct 31, 2009 | Malaysia, Sailing Logs Year 5 |
Day 5, Year 5: The Rhythm of a Sailor
Date: Saturday, October 31, 2009
Weather: Hot and Sunny
Location: Rebak Marina, Pulau Rebak, Langkawi, Malaysia
There’s a rhythm of sorts in the life of a sailor and that rhythm is put on hold when you spend huge chunks of time on land. When a sailor returns to the sea, however, the rhythm doesn’t just begin again. It takes time to get it back. So that is what we are working on right now–regaining the rhythm. Part of the rhythm is remembering your organization system, remembering simple things like where you keep the salt, remembering which switch (which of course is not labeled) turns on the new deck light, remembering which set of lines belong where. When we left Windbird in April, everything, and I mean everything on deck was stored below. All of the lines that run through the mast and boom were removed and stored below with the sails and the jerry cans and anything else that normally sit on the deck. Linens were all taken out of their storage places and put in plastic bags. In fact, most everything was taken out of its storage place and put in plastic bags. So in other words, our world has been turned inside out and upside down and it is taking us a few days to get things back in place. The good news is that we can begin to hear the rhythm. It is the beautiful hornbills crying out at dusk and dawn. It is the realization that we are sitting in an idyllic tropical paradise. It is the realization that there is no food in the cupboard and there is no car and no store to drive to-so we need to do something about that. There’s no Family Foods down on the corner to run to when you need something. The sailor’s rhythm is planning ahead, it is the organization that keeps you sane when you live in a very small space, and it is knowing that your interactions with other sailors is much more important than whatever job you had hoped to accomplish. So plan ahead, stay organized, and put people first.
Today we didn’t make as much progress as we had hoped, but accepting that is part of the rhythm. Tomorrow we will get on the 9:30 ferry that takes us to the main island with Tina and Robert. They have rented a car for the day to go to Kuah and have invited us to go along. It will be Sunday here and that is the first day of the work week here. So shops will be open and we will do some major grocery shopping and reacquaint ourselves with Kuah. Tomorrow night we have invited Robert and Tina here for dinner, so I’d better end this log and get this main cabin presentable for company. It’s all part of the rhythm.
