Crews Letter #2006 09 There Are Few Accidents in this World
There are
many mistakes.
A few of our
mistakes catch up with us and we call them accidents.
Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen:
As we left
While motoring out of
Skiathos in July, 2006, it happened again. This time we anchored at Koukounaries. Fred opened the screws, slid the
shaft back into the coupling and tightened them. It worked for the next
two weeks. It slipped a couple of times more. The shaft did not separate
from the coupling. Each time tightening the screws stopped the
problem. After the second time we got longer screws and added locking
nuts. He also drilled a hole <2mm
deep> in the shaft to receive the set screw.
This worked for a week. Then it came out as we started a
long passage from Kyros Panagia
to
Some pictures and technical data.
Note:
All the red is rusted iron fillings that have come out of the coupling.
Note:
The side opening is clamped shut and the screws are bent. The shaft is
loose except for the set screw.
Engine:
Yanmar
4JH3E 56 HP
Transmission: Kansaki
KM3A1 Gear Ratio: 2.64
Shaft OD
30mm
The
shaft came loose while we were taking up the anchor. Fred thought we
would sail and fix it when we got to Ayvalik. <MISTAKE
#1 > Knowing that the shaft could be
separated he should have put a stop on it to prevent it being pulled out of the
boat.
The
winds, Bf7 and 8, were too strong for a ninety mile
passage, so we sailed back into Kyros Panagia and anchored under sail. When we got under
the shelter of the island and the boat was on an even keel, the bilge pump
started pumping the ocean out of the boat. A look in the engine room
showed that this time not only had the shaft been separated
from the coupling, it had been pulled out of the shaft seal and left an open
hole for the sea to come in. Fortunately, the sacrificial anode on the
shaft and the strut had stopped the shaft’s attempt to escape. We
put a plug in the seal.
After
we got anchored, it was easy enough to swim under the
boat and push the shaft back into the boat.
<<This
winter, while she is out of the water, we will move the anode a bit aft to keep
the shaft in the seal.>>
Perception,
like most boats her size has a bilge pump and float switch in the bottom of the
bilge to automatically pump out any water that gets in
the bilge. <MISTAKE # 2>. The bottom of the bilge is not the lowest inside of the boat
when she is heeled.
It
was during this sail, with lots of water in the boat and the boat heeled to the
rail in the water that we got water in the battery charger and the refrigerator
compressor. Both of these devices have
electronic circuit boards which do not tolerate
submersion. They probably don’t even do well with a gentle sprinkling of salty sea
water.
By
the time we anchored in Kyros Panagia
the second time, the frige was fried. We started the generator to charge the
batteries and fried the charger. It wasn’t until we got to Ayvalik and
an electrician took the charger apart that we understood what we had done.
<<This
winter we will add floats and a warning whistle for water in either side of the
bilge.>>
With
strong winds and some water in the bilge we had
baptized the frige on the port tack leaving going out
and the charger on the starboard tack coming back. This was not one or three accidents. It was two mistakes.
The
replacement circuit board was available in Izmer. Anker Marine from
Marmaris arranged for a new battery charger and fabricated a new coupling. Their man Ali installed them here in Ayvalik ten days after we sent the bad ones to
Marmaris. Coming back to
While
we are on the subject, an additional 6,000 words:
We
sailed past this boat on our way in and out of Sigri,
Be Prepared to Live with Mistakes,
Phyl & Fred
<<Previous ^Crews
Page^ Next>>