Crete is a large island measuring some 260km from west to east and 50km from north to south, with three mountain ranges rising over 2,000m. The topography is extremely rugged, and there are very few major inland roads. With the many rocky ravines and caves it’s easy to see how in WW2 the Cretan partisans were able to resist the Germans so effectively. On every spare piece of land there are olive trees – over 21 million of them in fact. It’s hard to imagine how all of these trees are harvested due to their sheer number, and in many cases poor accessibility. We were told that large nets are placed under the trees, and then the branches are mechanically shaken to bring the olives down. This provides employment during the harvesting time of October to February, when the tourist numbers are down. Crete is very windy, and windmills are still used extensively to pump water from bores. There are many remains of ancient stone windmills. A modern variation of this is windfarms to generate electricity – there are many hundreds of these tall, silent wind towers around the island. The Cretan villages are exactly as you picture them – narrow winding streets, where a car has to pull over to let an oncoming car through, ancient, rustic buildings, mostly in a poor state of repair and some derelict, peeling paint in white and blue, old men with waistcoats and moustaches sitting outside small tavernas, elderly hunched-over women dressed totally in black.
There are very few tourists here – a matter of great concern to the many taverna and café owners who still hope that August will bring the numbers to fill the arrays of empty café seats. It appears to us there are far too many tavernas, car & bike renters, and tour operators for the numbers of people.
There is not much traffic on the roads outside the main towns, but the driving is atrocious – much like Turkey. It seems that nobody is content to sit behind you, and drivers overtake on blind corners, double white lines or anywhere, forcing oncoming traffic to move over to the verge. Speed limit signs are a waste of space and there seems to be no traffic law enforcement.
They have small supermarkets and we’ve been able to buy everything we need. We found a good quaffing dry white wine called Kpaei Aeyko which is sold in bulk for Euro
1.80/litre. Better quality white and red wines cost about Euro 5-9 per 750ml bottle.
Here they have VAT, like our GST bt the level varies according to the product. Due to the tough economic times the top rate has just been increased to 23%.
We’ve now been in Agios Nikolaos since 22 June and plan to leave next Tuesday 13 July and head west along the northern coast. Sorry to hear of the bleak weather back home – must say the weather here is great; sunny, not humid, temps in high 20s to low 30s, sea is 26d. Yesterday there were a few clouds about, which we thought was a bit poor! It is windy here though – every day about 15-25kn from the NW kicking up a 1.5-2m sea in open waters – but the wind and sea should reduce as we head west.
Log
Days aboard this trip: 97
Engine hours and distance this trip: 70 hrs / 345 nm
Technical
Last Tuesday Panagiotis, the engineer from Piraeus, came back with the reconditioned pressure plate. Quite amazing that within 4 days, including a weekend, it had been sent to Piraeus (an overnight ferry trip), reconditioned and returned here. Panagiotis is a really knowledgeable guy – he was an engineer in the Royal Greek Navy for 29 years, and he’s also a real toiler. The gearbox weighs about 60kg, and when the local engineer Steve and I removed it we struggled together to carry it off Envoy to the shore. Panagiotis picked it up and carried it back on board by himself! After installation he spent some time aligning the prop shaft with the gearbox (which is attached to the engine) and found that the rear of the engine needed to drop down on it mounts quite a bit. He says this was the cause of the gearbox problem. Also three out of the four engine mounting bolts were loose. On Wednesday Di & I went for a cruise of a few hours duration and all seems OK – there is no vibration, no oil leaks and no other challenges (until the next one, but that’s boating!)
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Saturday, July 03, 2010
Agios Nikolaos
We’ve now been in this really nice marina for 12 days. The cost structure is such that after 12 days you go on to the monthly rate, so our next 18 days would be free if we stayed that long. We can’t leave yet anyway, as our gearbox is not back in (see below). We’re going to use this time to do some further inland exploration of Crete by rental car. We’ve also been enjoying the beaches and watching World Cup Soccer at the tavernas. We’re likely to resume our cruise westwards along the north coast of Crete in about a week.
Log
Days aboard Envoy this trip: 89
Engine hours and distance covered this trip: 66hrs / 329NM
Technical
The gearbox has been fixed; the oil leak was due to the prop shaft coupling and gearbox not being correctly aligned after we had a new prop shaft made and installed in Marmaris. This has caused some vibration (which I must say we didn’t notice at all) and subsequent internal problems. Today an engineer came from Piraeus to re-install the gearbox, and found that the pressure plate – goes between the gearbox and the back of the engine – is a bit rattly (the inner plate is loose against the outer plate). He said the pressure plate might only last for a few months and suggested getting this fixed or replaced while it’s readily accessible. That’s going to take another few days. Then he’s going to put everything back and ensure it’s all correctly aligned.
Log
Days aboard Envoy this trip: 89
Engine hours and distance covered this trip: 66hrs / 329NM
Technical
The gearbox has been fixed; the oil leak was due to the prop shaft coupling and gearbox not being correctly aligned after we had a new prop shaft made and installed in Marmaris. This has caused some vibration (which I must say we didn’t notice at all) and subsequent internal problems. Today an engineer came from Piraeus to re-install the gearbox, and found that the pressure plate – goes between the gearbox and the back of the engine – is a bit rattly (the inner plate is loose against the outer plate). He said the pressure plate might only last for a few months and suggested getting this fixed or replaced while it’s readily accessible. That’s going to take another few days. Then he’s going to put everything back and ensure it’s all correctly aligned.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Link to Map
Don't forget that on the bottom right hand side of this page is a link to a map showing where we've been and where we are.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
First week in Crete
We had heard Cretans are friendly, and this has proven correct. We first went ashore at the tiny village of Kato Zakros on the east coast. While Brian & I downed a Mythos beer or two in a taverna, Carol & Diane went off to buy some vegetables.
They returned with a large bag full of tomatoes, aubergines, beetroot, parsley, onions, capsicum, eggplant and carrots. They had gone to a restaurant, and asked Carmen, the waitress, where they could buy vegetables. Carmen said there was no shop in the village, but they would be happy to give us whatever vegetables we needed. Later we had dinner at this restaurant and the owner, Costas, told us that his father grew all the vegetables, tending the garden from 5am. Before the night was out they gave us an additional beer crate of vegetables and two bottles of red wine –all for free.
Costas told us that in the 1950s his father was ploughing some of his land and came across some stone slabs and ruins. This turned out to be the Minoan palace of Zakros. The Government confiscated that piece of land, and now charge the public admission to see the ruins.
Like his father, Costas was born in this tiny village, and is now raising his three children there.
We cruised NW to Sitia, where we laid alongside a rough concrete jetty.
The skipper of a neighboring British yacht told us to be careful, as the previous night someone had stolen some expensive mooring lines from his deck, including some in-use mooring lines. Local fisherman were extremely upset over this and were convinced the thieves were not from Sitia, making it very clear what they would do to any thieves they caught. We still understand that instances of theft like this are very rare and we had no problems.
There was no electrical power on the wharf, and the closest water tap was about 150m away, well beyond the reach of our hoses (although we could have lugged it using our 30L jerry cans). Brian and I found a closer tap, half submerged in muddy water, and with a broken handle. We managed to make a temporary tap handle and get our water OK.
From Sitia we went further west to the Spinalonga Lagoon, a large inlet only about 3m deep, with the entrance protected by a Venetian fortress built in 1579. When it was eventually taken by the Turks the Venetian and Genoese defenders were allowed to leave, while the local Cretan defenders were all enslaved. This island fortress later became the infamous Greek leper colony, where lepers lived and died in appalling conditions, the last one dying in 1953. Today the locals still call it “the island of the living dead”.
At anchor during dusk we noticed a snake swimming towards the boat. At first I thought I’d had one rum too many, but we all saw it approach within about 10m. There are several varieties of snake on land in this area, but we were not aware of any sea snakes. The internet advises there are no sea snakes in the Med, as it’s too salty, and that the “snake-eel” is commonly mistaken for a snake. We’re going to believe that, but it certainly damn-well looked like a snake, with its head well up out of the water.We also saw a large turtle swimming around.
The weather has been hot – in the mid to high 20s, but the wind has been exceptionally strong – most days reaching over 20 knots. As the wind is always from the NW, it puts up quite a choppy sea outside of sheltered areas.
We had decided to spend our last few days with Brian & Carol touring some of inland Crete by rental car so went to Agios Nikolaos marina where we are now. This is a good marina, with power and water, in a very picturesque location with swimming beaches nearby, along with lots of tavernas.
We spent two days driving through some of the mountain villages to the southern coast, and spent the night at a great fishing-village-turned-tourist-spot called Aghia Galini. We also visited the famous ruins of King Minos’s palace at Knossos, dating from 1700 BC. This is where the (mythical?) half man, half bull Minotaur lurked in the labyrinth, until a warrior killed it, finding his way out of the labyrinth with a ball of string. The palace, and indeed Minoan civilization, ended with the huge volcanic eruption at Santorini and the ensuing tsunami.
Times are more than a bit tough in Greece. The official unemployment rate is 12%, but probably closer to 20%. Tourist numbers are down, so tavernas, restaurants and shops are quiet. Taxes are going up and all pensions have been reduced by Euro 200 per month (about 30%). Nonetheless, the Greek people are stoic, largely cheerful and seem to think everything will be OK.
We had a wonderful time with Brian & Carol, who left on Friday. We’re now in Agios Nikolaos for the next week (see below), and will then head further west along the northern coast of Crete.
Technical
On the last day of Brian & Carol’s cruise I noticed some oil in the bilge and then found an oil leak from the Borg Warner gearbox. Fortunately it was only a short distance to our destination at Agios Nikolaos marina, and on arrival here an engineer from A1 came aboard and saw the leak. Thanks to my friend Brooke Archbold for arranging a Borg Warner gearbox expert in NZ for me to speak with – James Mobberly of Moon Engines. James was able to give us some useful advice about repairing the leak, which is being done currently while we're in such a nice place to stay. Should be under way again late next week.
They returned with a large bag full of tomatoes, aubergines, beetroot, parsley, onions, capsicum, eggplant and carrots. They had gone to a restaurant, and asked Carmen, the waitress, where they could buy vegetables. Carmen said there was no shop in the village, but they would be happy to give us whatever vegetables we needed. Later we had dinner at this restaurant and the owner, Costas, told us that his father grew all the vegetables, tending the garden from 5am. Before the night was out they gave us an additional beer crate of vegetables and two bottles of red wine –all for free.
Costas told us that in the 1950s his father was ploughing some of his land and came across some stone slabs and ruins. This turned out to be the Minoan palace of Zakros. The Government confiscated that piece of land, and now charge the public admission to see the ruins.
Like his father, Costas was born in this tiny village, and is now raising his three children there.
We cruised NW to Sitia, where we laid alongside a rough concrete jetty.
The skipper of a neighboring British yacht told us to be careful, as the previous night someone had stolen some expensive mooring lines from his deck, including some in-use mooring lines. Local fisherman were extremely upset over this and were convinced the thieves were not from Sitia, making it very clear what they would do to any thieves they caught. We still understand that instances of theft like this are very rare and we had no problems.
There was no electrical power on the wharf, and the closest water tap was about 150m away, well beyond the reach of our hoses (although we could have lugged it using our 30L jerry cans). Brian and I found a closer tap, half submerged in muddy water, and with a broken handle. We managed to make a temporary tap handle and get our water OK.
From Sitia we went further west to the Spinalonga Lagoon, a large inlet only about 3m deep, with the entrance protected by a Venetian fortress built in 1579. When it was eventually taken by the Turks the Venetian and Genoese defenders were allowed to leave, while the local Cretan defenders were all enslaved. This island fortress later became the infamous Greek leper colony, where lepers lived and died in appalling conditions, the last one dying in 1953. Today the locals still call it “the island of the living dead”.
At anchor during dusk we noticed a snake swimming towards the boat. At first I thought I’d had one rum too many, but we all saw it approach within about 10m. There are several varieties of snake on land in this area, but we were not aware of any sea snakes. The internet advises there are no sea snakes in the Med, as it’s too salty, and that the “snake-eel” is commonly mistaken for a snake. We’re going to believe that, but it certainly damn-well looked like a snake, with its head well up out of the water.We also saw a large turtle swimming around.
The weather has been hot – in the mid to high 20s, but the wind has been exceptionally strong – most days reaching over 20 knots. As the wind is always from the NW, it puts up quite a choppy sea outside of sheltered areas.
We had decided to spend our last few days with Brian & Carol touring some of inland Crete by rental car so went to Agios Nikolaos marina where we are now. This is a good marina, with power and water, in a very picturesque location with swimming beaches nearby, along with lots of tavernas.
We spent two days driving through some of the mountain villages to the southern coast, and spent the night at a great fishing-village-turned-tourist-spot called Aghia Galini. We also visited the famous ruins of King Minos’s palace at Knossos, dating from 1700 BC. This is where the (mythical?) half man, half bull Minotaur lurked in the labyrinth, until a warrior killed it, finding his way out of the labyrinth with a ball of string. The palace, and indeed Minoan civilization, ended with the huge volcanic eruption at Santorini and the ensuing tsunami.
Times are more than a bit tough in Greece. The official unemployment rate is 12%, but probably closer to 20%. Tourist numbers are down, so tavernas, restaurants and shops are quiet. Taxes are going up and all pensions have been reduced by Euro 200 per month (about 30%). Nonetheless, the Greek people are stoic, largely cheerful and seem to think everything will be OK.
We had a wonderful time with Brian & Carol, who left on Friday. We’re now in Agios Nikolaos for the next week (see below), and will then head further west along the northern coast of Crete.
Technical
On the last day of Brian & Carol’s cruise I noticed some oil in the bilge and then found an oil leak from the Borg Warner gearbox. Fortunately it was only a short distance to our destination at Agios Nikolaos marina, and on arrival here an engineer from A1 came aboard and saw the leak. Thanks to my friend Brooke Archbold for arranging a Borg Warner gearbox expert in NZ for me to speak with – James Mobberly of Moon Engines. James was able to give us some useful advice about repairing the leak, which is being done currently while we're in such a nice place to stay. Should be under way again late next week.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
RHODES TO CRETE
Thanks for various comments about the blog. We don’t intend the blog to be a travelogue, but more about our experiences and impressions. The content has been very technical, because our main focus has been getting Envoy ready to cruise, but now that we are cruising the balance will change ("phew!" says Trish).
We arrived in Rhodes on Mon 7 June and went into ancient Mandraki Harbour, once lined with war galleys, and where the 35m high, bronze Colossus of Rhodes had one leg astride each side of the harbour entrance. Built in 290 BC, the Colossus was destroyed by an earthquake about 60 years later. We booked a space using an agent,
A1, who operate throughout Greece and we’ve used previously, as we wanted to ensure we would be in the harbour to meet our first guests, Brian & Carol. A1 do charge a fee, but it’s worth it for the advice and help they give. Other cruisers without bookings were turned away to roll outside at anchor in the wakes of numerous ferries. The water and power supply were not working (due to waves washing over the breakwater in a storm!), and A1 were able to organize an alternative for us. As with most harbours of this type the procedure is to drop your anchor in the middle of the harbour and reverse to the quay, where you secure with stern lines. The watching skippers of the adjacent vessels were pleased to see that we managed this without any problems.
Greece has passed a law introducing a new cruising tax for visiting boats. Under this law boats are only allowed to visit for a period of 60 days in any one calendar year; then they have to pay a tax – supposedly several thousand Euros. Obviously very few cruisers would pay this much, so if the new law does take effect cruisers would be leaving Greek waters in droves. A1 are close to developments and tell us the law is unlikely to proceed for the above reason. In any case, under the Schengen Treaty we can only stay 90 days in Greece, and then have to leave and re-enter.
Rhodes is a wonderful, interesting town, blending the historical aspects of the well-preserved fortress and Old Town, good eateries, excellent shopping and availability of most things you need, eg our two favourite brands of rum – Mt Gay and Lambs Navy! The supermarkets are well stocked up and the four of us spent a couple of hours doing a big shop for the supplies needed during Brian & Carol’s visit. The standard of shops was excellent and Carol and Di spent a very happy day checking them all out. All the major European brands are represented, and even during siesta time, when the shops were closed, they managed to come back with the odd parcel or two. We found an excellent wine shop, and as well as buying some good Greek & Italian wines bought a 10L cask of Tsambi quaffing dry white for Euro 17 – this has turned out to be quite reasonable drinking. As we’d moved from Turkey to Greece we also had to get a new Greek SIM card for the phone and Vodafone USB for internet access (costs 2 Euro/day for unlimited access).
All around Rhodes are piles of large round stones, and these were hurled by catapult into Rhodes during a siege by Demetrius around 300 BC. Much later in 1522 the vast fortress was held by about 1,850 Crusaders against 100,000 Turks for five months, until the Crusaders surrendered and were allowed to leave.
We spent five days in Mandraki and one of the days hired a car to tour the whole island, easily done in a day. Plenty to see including ruins from various periods in history, great beaches, villages and wineries.
Leaving Rhodes on Saturday 12th, we cruised about 20NM down the coast to spend two nights in Lindos. Inhabited since 2000BC, Lindos has a blend of architecture from then until now, including the usual hill-top fortress. Lindos has a maze of narrow alleyways lined with shops and restaurants, and cars are not allowed to enter; instead they have donkey taxis which patiently transport you around the town.
Like Rhodes, Lindos was surprisingly un-crowded – there seems to be not that many tourists yet and very few cruisers.
We then did quite a long cruise of 10 hours to the island of Karpathos. This was a good test of Envoy’s systems and all is working well. Most of the 10 hours was in a 25kn wind on the starboard bow with 2m seas and the paravane stabilizers were excellent. As we approached the lee of Karpathos we expected some shelter from the wind. Instead, due to the very high hills, the wind increased to 35knots kicking up a short, sharp, offshore chop. The wind overturned our smaller RIB, which had been under tow, fortunately without the outboard; another lesson learned. Carol noticed this, otherwise er might have lost it altogether. We had hoped to spend a night in the main harbour, Pigadhia, but in the strong wind I preferred to anchor in better shelter. We did go ashore in Pigadhia, and while Brian & I found a water hose and filled eight 30 litre containers Di and Carol went shopping for supplies. Surprisingly they found in the local supermarket frozen NZ green-lipped mussels and NZ legs of lamb. A small dog fell in love with Di, and when we set off in the dinghy back to Envoy, the dog jumped off the quay into the water and tried to follow us. I had to fish the dog out of the water and we had a very quick debate about whether we wanted a dog on board. Di tied it up ashore (with much heart-wrenching) so it wouldn’t follow us again, after arranging for it to be released after we’d left the harbour.
Karpathos has some great beaches and we spent a couple of days chilling out, anchored off one of them. We have to call in at Karpathos on the way back to Turkey, as I promised to visit a particular Taverna there.
As I write this we are cruising from Karpathos to the eastern end of Crete, a journey of about 9 hours and all OK. Conditions 6 knots on the nose and half metre sea.
Technical
We took on 1,000L of diesel at Euro 1.348L, bringing our total fuel up to about
2,000L or 50% of capacity. There’s no reason to carry more than about this level with the comparatively short distances we’re cruising this year. The diesel is carried in four different tanks, so we’ll be careful to use our three-year old fuel (which is stabilized) first, before going on to the new supply. The Groco 12V pump that drives our fuel transfer and filtering system failed, so we mounted the spare and all OK.
Since leaving Rhodes I’ve been monitoring our water usage and it’s about 75L/day, including use of the washing machine, and without making any real sacrifices; so that means we’re carrying over 2 weeks supply. We were contemplating a quick trip back to Marmaris in July to fix our water maker and Naiad stabilizers, but more than likely we’ll leave that until we return to Marmaris in November.
We arrived in Rhodes on Mon 7 June and went into ancient Mandraki Harbour, once lined with war galleys, and where the 35m high, bronze Colossus of Rhodes had one leg astride each side of the harbour entrance. Built in 290 BC, the Colossus was destroyed by an earthquake about 60 years later. We booked a space using an agent,
A1, who operate throughout Greece and we’ve used previously, as we wanted to ensure we would be in the harbour to meet our first guests, Brian & Carol. A1 do charge a fee, but it’s worth it for the advice and help they give. Other cruisers without bookings were turned away to roll outside at anchor in the wakes of numerous ferries. The water and power supply were not working (due to waves washing over the breakwater in a storm!), and A1 were able to organize an alternative for us. As with most harbours of this type the procedure is to drop your anchor in the middle of the harbour and reverse to the quay, where you secure with stern lines. The watching skippers of the adjacent vessels were pleased to see that we managed this without any problems.
Greece has passed a law introducing a new cruising tax for visiting boats. Under this law boats are only allowed to visit for a period of 60 days in any one calendar year; then they have to pay a tax – supposedly several thousand Euros. Obviously very few cruisers would pay this much, so if the new law does take effect cruisers would be leaving Greek waters in droves. A1 are close to developments and tell us the law is unlikely to proceed for the above reason. In any case, under the Schengen Treaty we can only stay 90 days in Greece, and then have to leave and re-enter.
Rhodes is a wonderful, interesting town, blending the historical aspects of the well-preserved fortress and Old Town, good eateries, excellent shopping and availability of most things you need, eg our two favourite brands of rum – Mt Gay and Lambs Navy! The supermarkets are well stocked up and the four of us spent a couple of hours doing a big shop for the supplies needed during Brian & Carol’s visit. The standard of shops was excellent and Carol and Di spent a very happy day checking them all out. All the major European brands are represented, and even during siesta time, when the shops were closed, they managed to come back with the odd parcel or two. We found an excellent wine shop, and as well as buying some good Greek & Italian wines bought a 10L cask of Tsambi quaffing dry white for Euro 17 – this has turned out to be quite reasonable drinking. As we’d moved from Turkey to Greece we also had to get a new Greek SIM card for the phone and Vodafone USB for internet access (costs 2 Euro/day for unlimited access).
All around Rhodes are piles of large round stones, and these were hurled by catapult into Rhodes during a siege by Demetrius around 300 BC. Much later in 1522 the vast fortress was held by about 1,850 Crusaders against 100,000 Turks for five months, until the Crusaders surrendered and were allowed to leave.
We spent five days in Mandraki and one of the days hired a car to tour the whole island, easily done in a day. Plenty to see including ruins from various periods in history, great beaches, villages and wineries.
Leaving Rhodes on Saturday 12th, we cruised about 20NM down the coast to spend two nights in Lindos. Inhabited since 2000BC, Lindos has a blend of architecture from then until now, including the usual hill-top fortress. Lindos has a maze of narrow alleyways lined with shops and restaurants, and cars are not allowed to enter; instead they have donkey taxis which patiently transport you around the town.
Like Rhodes, Lindos was surprisingly un-crowded – there seems to be not that many tourists yet and very few cruisers.
We then did quite a long cruise of 10 hours to the island of Karpathos. This was a good test of Envoy’s systems and all is working well. Most of the 10 hours was in a 25kn wind on the starboard bow with 2m seas and the paravane stabilizers were excellent. As we approached the lee of Karpathos we expected some shelter from the wind. Instead, due to the very high hills, the wind increased to 35knots kicking up a short, sharp, offshore chop. The wind overturned our smaller RIB, which had been under tow, fortunately without the outboard; another lesson learned. Carol noticed this, otherwise er might have lost it altogether. We had hoped to spend a night in the main harbour, Pigadhia, but in the strong wind I preferred to anchor in better shelter. We did go ashore in Pigadhia, and while Brian & I found a water hose and filled eight 30 litre containers Di and Carol went shopping for supplies. Surprisingly they found in the local supermarket frozen NZ green-lipped mussels and NZ legs of lamb. A small dog fell in love with Di, and when we set off in the dinghy back to Envoy, the dog jumped off the quay into the water and tried to follow us. I had to fish the dog out of the water and we had a very quick debate about whether we wanted a dog on board. Di tied it up ashore (with much heart-wrenching) so it wouldn’t follow us again, after arranging for it to be released after we’d left the harbour.
Karpathos has some great beaches and we spent a couple of days chilling out, anchored off one of them. We have to call in at Karpathos on the way back to Turkey, as I promised to visit a particular Taverna there.
As I write this we are cruising from Karpathos to the eastern end of Crete, a journey of about 9 hours and all OK. Conditions 6 knots on the nose and half metre sea.
Technical
We took on 1,000L of diesel at Euro 1.348L, bringing our total fuel up to about
2,000L or 50% of capacity. There’s no reason to carry more than about this level with the comparatively short distances we’re cruising this year. The diesel is carried in four different tanks, so we’ll be careful to use our three-year old fuel (which is stabilized) first, before going on to the new supply. The Groco 12V pump that drives our fuel transfer and filtering system failed, so we mounted the spare and all OK.
Since leaving Rhodes I’ve been monitoring our water usage and it’s about 75L/day, including use of the washing machine, and without making any real sacrifices; so that means we’re carrying over 2 weeks supply. We were contemplating a quick trip back to Marmaris in July to fix our water maker and Naiad stabilizers, but more than likely we’ll leave that until we return to Marmaris in November.
Monday, June 14, 2010
READER'S COMMENTS
Several friends have told us they have made comments on the blog, but they didn't appear. I changed th settings concerning comments a few days OK and see that a comment from Deidre has been published. I guess this means comments will be OK from now on. Today we're leaving Lindos, Rhodes, for the Karpathos Islands - about half way from Marmaris to Crete. This is about a 7 hour run. All OK.
Monday, June 07, 2010
FIRST DAYS OF CRUISING
Our first six days of cruising were spent in Turkey, between Marmaris & Bozburun. Today in Bozburun we completed the exit formalities to leave Turkey tomorrow and cruise over to Rhodes in Greece – only about 20NM. Since we left Marmaris everything has gone perfectly well and according to plan….almost. We anchored in a beautiful bay near Bozburun and switched off the engine for a swim and relaxing afternoon. When I went to start the engine later it wouldn’t start. The engine was slowly turning over so I figured it wasn’t the starter motor. I went to the start battery bank and put the multi-meter probes on the battery connections; the readings were very inconsistent, eg 7.5 to 13.5v. Then I put the probes on the battery terminals themselves and got a consistent 13.5v. The connections didn’t look bad, but one was slightly loose. I cleaned and sprayed them all with contact cleaner, tightened them up and hey presto – all OK and the engine started with sighs of relief all round. The only thing I don’t understand is having done that, the volt readings were still inconsistent on the connections, however problem solved, and when our friend Doug Gooch (electrician) joins us in August, he’ll be able to explain that.
In 2007 we towed the dinghy around most of the time and paid the price – growth on the hull and general deterioration. We’ve now had the dinghy’s hull sanded back and repainted so we want to keep it in good shape. This means lifting it aboard, at least after a few days towing – not a real major, but takes about 20 minutes and can only be done in calm conditions. For the sake of safety we replaced the lifting lines with 12mm spectra (Kevin’s suggestion). Apparently 12mm spectra can lift over a tonne, so more than adequate for our 300kg RIB, and we feel happier about that. We’ve also noticed an increase in our cruising speed by about half a knot when not towing the RIB – not important in a planing boat, but when you’re averaging about 6 knots, it makes a difference.
So for we’ve been covering old ground – as I post this we're 8NM from Rhodes and new territory.
In 2007 we towed the dinghy around most of the time and paid the price – growth on the hull and general deterioration. We’ve now had the dinghy’s hull sanded back and repainted so we want to keep it in good shape. This means lifting it aboard, at least after a few days towing – not a real major, but takes about 20 minutes and can only be done in calm conditions. For the sake of safety we replaced the lifting lines with 12mm spectra (Kevin’s suggestion). Apparently 12mm spectra can lift over a tonne, so more than adequate for our 300kg RIB, and we feel happier about that. We’ve also noticed an increase in our cruising speed by about half a knot when not towing the RIB – not important in a planing boat, but when you’re averaging about 6 knots, it makes a difference.
So for we’ve been covering old ground – as I post this we're 8NM from Rhodes and new territory.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Leaving Marmaris Tues 1 June
Yesterday the carpenters finished putting the Guest Cabin back together. Diane & I just have to varnish the cabin sole. The watermaker is not going to be fixed any time soon as parts need to come ex USA (ouch!) Very few boats have watermakers and they all manage just fine, as you can get water for little cost at most ports and villages. We've bought 8x30L jerry cans giving us an extra 240L of water capacity plus the ability to move large volumes of water by dinghy, so we'll cruise without making water for a few weeks. We're going to leave the marina on Tues and put a few hours on the engine cruising in the immediate vicinity for a few days. We plan to arrive Rhodos next weekend (in fact its only about 25miles from here)to meet our first guests - Brian & Carol on Mon 7 June.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
NEARLY READY TO LEAVE MARMARIS
Amy’s visit at short notice was really great, and it was not so sad seeing her off at Dalaman airport knowing we’re in the same hemisphere and will see her again soon. We hired a car to collect Amy and then take her back to the airport. Quite a good rate at about $55/day, but petrol here is outrageous at nearly $3 per litre – so we can understand why taxis are expensive.
Apart from enjoying Amy’s visit we haven’t done much except focus on getting Envoy ready to depart, although a few days ago we had a bit of excitement as there was quite a large bushfire on the hillside across the bay from the marina. The response appeared to be pretty good including a large helo with a monsoon bucket, but it took a couple of hours to bring under control.
We bought a SIM card for our Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G/GPRS plug-in. Quite involved as you have to show your passport and fill out copious forms. Cost is about $42 for 1 Gb. I wanted to buy 2 Gb, but was told you are only allowed to purchase 1 Gb in a month. Anyway – no luck with connecting to the internet, so back we go to the Vodafone shop. They then tell us the Mobile Connect card is obsolete and replaced by a Mobile Broadband USB stick – why the heck didn’t they tell us that in the first place instead of plugging our new SIM card into the obsolete bit? Anyway, the folks at Vodafone were helpful and now all working well.
The new s/s water tanks were completed and installed last Thursday. Now the new (removable) decks are in place and the Guest Cabin is nearly rebuilt, and then the aircon can be reinstalled. Having the water tanks in has enabled us to reconnect the cold and hot water supply, and last week we had our first on-board showers – no more need to go to the communal marina showers. The toilets are working fine except that the for’ard Vacuflush toilet’s vacuum pump comes on quite a lot – indicating there is some vacuum loss in the system somewhere. Tightened all the hose clips but no improvement, but its working and we’re going to leave it that way for time being and maybe it will settle down. In case it doesn’t settle down we’re going to put a separate on/off switch in the head so that this toilet can be switched on only when needing to be used.
The watermaker filters were all changed and the unit tested yesterday. Running OK but there is a water leak from one of the tubes – too large to ignore. So the unit has been pulled out of the boat and taken to the local agent’s workshop to change the 0-rings. They don’t seem to think this should be a problem so here’s hoping.
A new “challenge” has emerged. The Naiad hydraulic stabilizers had their seals replaced while we were on the hard – quite an involved and difficult job, but all went OK. The servicemen couldn’t test the system until we were in the water, so Monday last week they arrived to do this, and we found two problems. The first was easily resolved – a crack in a weld on the steel plate holding the Vickers hydraulic pump to the engine. The plate was taken away, repaired and re-fitted. The second problem is not so easy – the electronic controls are “dead”. The local Naiad agent’s electricians have spent some hours on this and have managed to restore the 24v power supply, but they struggled to find why the actual control system does not power up and got help from Naiad USA. It seems we need a new power board for the electronics. The hydraulic stabilizers are a nice-to-have, rather than essential equipment; in 2007 we spent two months cruising without them using our alternate paravane stabilizers when necessary. Many Nordhavns only have the paravane stabilizers, and have cruised extensively with just them, so it’s not an issue and we’re likely to depart without the stabilizers and get them fixed later when the parts are here.
The reconditioning of our large inflatable is completed and looks great. Our small inflatable is fine, except the Honda 2.5 o/b wouldn’t start. This has now also been fixed. So fingers crossed, things are coming together for us to depart Marmaris early to mid next week – the watermaker is “mission critical” so hopefully all will shortly be OK with that – watch this space!
Apart from enjoying Amy’s visit we haven’t done much except focus on getting Envoy ready to depart, although a few days ago we had a bit of excitement as there was quite a large bushfire on the hillside across the bay from the marina. The response appeared to be pretty good including a large helo with a monsoon bucket, but it took a couple of hours to bring under control.
We bought a SIM card for our Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G/GPRS plug-in. Quite involved as you have to show your passport and fill out copious forms. Cost is about $42 for 1 Gb. I wanted to buy 2 Gb, but was told you are only allowed to purchase 1 Gb in a month. Anyway – no luck with connecting to the internet, so back we go to the Vodafone shop. They then tell us the Mobile Connect card is obsolete and replaced by a Mobile Broadband USB stick – why the heck didn’t they tell us that in the first place instead of plugging our new SIM card into the obsolete bit? Anyway, the folks at Vodafone were helpful and now all working well.
The new s/s water tanks were completed and installed last Thursday. Now the new (removable) decks are in place and the Guest Cabin is nearly rebuilt, and then the aircon can be reinstalled. Having the water tanks in has enabled us to reconnect the cold and hot water supply, and last week we had our first on-board showers – no more need to go to the communal marina showers. The toilets are working fine except that the for’ard Vacuflush toilet’s vacuum pump comes on quite a lot – indicating there is some vacuum loss in the system somewhere. Tightened all the hose clips but no improvement, but its working and we’re going to leave it that way for time being and maybe it will settle down. In case it doesn’t settle down we’re going to put a separate on/off switch in the head so that this toilet can be switched on only when needing to be used.
The watermaker filters were all changed and the unit tested yesterday. Running OK but there is a water leak from one of the tubes – too large to ignore. So the unit has been pulled out of the boat and taken to the local agent’s workshop to change the 0-rings. They don’t seem to think this should be a problem so here’s hoping.
A new “challenge” has emerged. The Naiad hydraulic stabilizers had their seals replaced while we were on the hard – quite an involved and difficult job, but all went OK. The servicemen couldn’t test the system until we were in the water, so Monday last week they arrived to do this, and we found two problems. The first was easily resolved – a crack in a weld on the steel plate holding the Vickers hydraulic pump to the engine. The plate was taken away, repaired and re-fitted. The second problem is not so easy – the electronic controls are “dead”. The local Naiad agent’s electricians have spent some hours on this and have managed to restore the 24v power supply, but they struggled to find why the actual control system does not power up and got help from Naiad USA. It seems we need a new power board for the electronics. The hydraulic stabilizers are a nice-to-have, rather than essential equipment; in 2007 we spent two months cruising without them using our alternate paravane stabilizers when necessary. Many Nordhavns only have the paravane stabilizers, and have cruised extensively with just them, so it’s not an issue and we’re likely to depart without the stabilizers and get them fixed later when the parts are here.
The reconditioning of our large inflatable is completed and looks great. Our small inflatable is fine, except the Honda 2.5 o/b wouldn’t start. This has now also been fixed. So fingers crossed, things are coming together for us to depart Marmaris early to mid next week – the watermaker is “mission critical” so hopefully all will shortly be OK with that – watch this space!
Friday, May 14, 2010
FINALLY IN THE WATER
Our daughter Amy is here with us for a few days enjoying the very nice spell of weather - we’re having; very sunny and temperature in the low 30s. We all had our first swim at the beach by the marina, and the water is already 22dC. Amy returns to London on Friday evening and starts her new job next week. Yesterday was finally launching day, after 28 months out of the water. Apart from being more comfortable living aboard Envoy in the water, this is important because all sea cocks have been removed, serviced and re-sealed in place, and we needed to ensure there were no leaks. Better that we find any now, with time on our hands. In fact there were only a couple of minor leaks from hoses which were solved by tightening the hose clamps. The Yanmar “Wing engine” is also leaking a very small amount of water through the dripless prop shaft seal. Demir say this is easy enough to resolve and will do so in the next day or two. After launching Demir bled the fuel lines and we started all three engines; Lugger main. Yanmar wing and Northern Lights genset. All started and ran fine and are charging, both AC & DC. It was great to helm Envoy from the haul out area to our berth, even though just a few hundred metres. During the next few days I’ll be checking out the watermaker, aircon, and other equipment which needs sea water cooling, and go for a sea trial to check the stabilizers.
In other areas we’ve also made excellent progress. Cutting and polishing is all complete, with Envoy looking very pristine – the best she’s looked since we bought her. Demir Marine used electric polishers on the hull, but the topsides were done by hand and I assisted with this. Pretty hard work and those guys earn their bucks.
Was good experience for me to learn about the correct application of cutting compound and polish. The engine room fire suppression system has been checked and certified, along with our seven portable extinguishers, that all needed the dry powder replaced. The new water tanks are being made and should be ready by about 19th. It will then take several days to install them and get the guest cabin furniture and deck replaced. We also bought two second hand folding bikes – these are “Genius” by Mobiky and great, weighing only 13kg each and folding up small enough to go into bags which we store below decks. They are aluminium, and have chains that don’t require greasing, so are very clean. We’re finally reaching the stage where most jobs on “the list” are completed and if not for the water tanks needing replacement, we would have been able to leave Marmaris within a few days.
Several months ago I was contacted by Herb Fava. He had come across our blog and wanted to bounce some ideas off me about buying a boat in the Med. Herb has contacted me again advising he has now bought a 74ft Fairline Squadron in Spain and will shortly start his cruise. Check out www.barefootinthemed.blogspot.com.
In other areas we’ve also made excellent progress. Cutting and polishing is all complete, with Envoy looking very pristine – the best she’s looked since we bought her. Demir Marine used electric polishers on the hull, but the topsides were done by hand and I assisted with this. Pretty hard work and those guys earn their bucks.
Was good experience for me to learn about the correct application of cutting compound and polish. The engine room fire suppression system has been checked and certified, along with our seven portable extinguishers, that all needed the dry powder replaced. The new water tanks are being made and should be ready by about 19th. It will then take several days to install them and get the guest cabin furniture and deck replaced. We also bought two second hand folding bikes – these are “Genius” by Mobiky and great, weighing only 13kg each and folding up small enough to go into bags which we store below decks. They are aluminium, and have chains that don’t require greasing, so are very clean. We’re finally reaching the stage where most jobs on “the list” are completed and if not for the water tanks needing replacement, we would have been able to leave Marmaris within a few days.
Several months ago I was contacted by Herb Fava. He had come across our blog and wanted to bounce some ideas off me about buying a boat in the Med. Herb has contacted me again advising he has now bought a 74ft Fairline Squadron in Spain and will shortly start his cruise. Check out www.barefootinthemed.blogspot.com.
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Good Progress
Today the two freshwater tanks were removed after four days solid work. First an electrician removed the forward aircon that sits on top of the port tank, then a carpenter dismantled the guest double berth, and the settee and pulled up the floor (a major job which involved totally smashing up the previous floor). Two engineers and two laborers came and pulled the tanks out after much wrenching with crowbars. The tanks just fitted down the passageways with a few mm to spare, but I must say the guys were very good – they taped bubble wrap over all of the bulkheads so that no timber would be damaged as the tanks were carried out. The carpenter is a real pro, and has a great sense of humor. I asked him if he will be able to remember how everything goes back together, and he replied “I hope so”. Tomorrow we have a meeting with Demir Marine to discuss the making of new tanks (the old ones are rusty and beyond repair). They estimate one week to make and install the two tanks (from 316 stainless), and then one week to re-build the guest cabin. The floor in the guest cabin was a teak strip veneer over thick plywood. No way we’re going to be able to replicate the teak veneer, so we’ll go for varnished plywood with carpet. Meanwhile everything is finished in the engine room. All filters changed, three engines checked and several suspect water hoses replaced, water pump impellers replaced etc. Actually about 30 different jobs completed down there and nothing more to be done until we hit the water, and see if the engines start! Also the work on the hull and topsides has been progressing well. The cutting and polishing is almost complete and looks great – the gelcoat was dull and chalky, but now high gloss and you need your sunglasses on to look at it. We’ve pulled off the stainless steel rubbing strips as there was rust behind them, leaching down onto the gelcoat. The strips are being polished, the old sealant has been removed, the gelcoat underneath the stainless strips cleaned, and the strips will be re-fitted with new screws and sealant. Sounds easy but so far two very good professionals working for 7 days and two to go to finish. We’re now going to try and get Envoy in the water earlier than May 17, so that we can test the three engines, the watermaker etc. The new freshwater tanks can be fitted just as easily in the water. So, in summary good progress and the end is now in sight, barring any unforeseen problems when we go in the water. Di and I celebrated my 60th birthday on the weekend with drinks and dinner in Marmaris.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
UNEXPECTED PROBLEM
Couple of days ago we filled up our two forward water tanks and ended up with a lot of fresh water in the bilge. Our starboard tank has always leaked a bit, but it hasn’t been a major problem, as the leak was at about the 75% full point, meaning we could use most of that tank’s capacity. Now the port tank is leaking, and it must be right near the bottom of the tank, as water goes into the bilge virtually as soon as you start filling it. In fact we left the tank full of highly chlorinated water 27 months ago and on our return it was empty. This would not normally be a major problem – remove the tanks, pressure test them to find the leaks, fix leaks and re-install right? Wrong! Aboard Envoy these tanks are under the floor in the guest cabin. One is under the guest double bed, and has the forward aircon unit mounted over the top of it too. The other is partly under the starboard floor, and partly under a built-in settee in the guest cabin. We met with John today, the Australian who is the General Manager of Demir Marine, and there is no option but to dismantle the guest cabin bit by bit until we can get the two tanks out. These are probably the original stainless steel tanks making them 20 years old, and John has suggested that unless they are in exceptionally good condition we get some new tanks made to reduce the risk of going through this again. Fortunately Demir are able to start tomorrow, after an electrician takes out the aircon. This won’t hold things up too much as this job involves carpenter/cabinet- makers and the other jobs we’re getting done involve painters and mechanics. We guess it’s going to take about 7-10 days to finish and can even be completed when we’re in the water if necessary. Meanwhile it will be abit chaotic on board as we’ve had to shift all gear out of the guest cabin into other areas. Apart from that, jobs are steadily being ticked off (as we were when this tank episode happened).
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Life on the hardstand and good progress
Our days roll by, measured by progress towards getting Envoy into the water.
We’ve just celebrated our 300th night on board, including 19 since we got back here.
Di & I have a lot of experience on boats, but never spent so much time living on a boat on the hardstand.
Brooke – you may find this interesting.
This marina is about the size of Half Moon Bay, but with many more boats on the hardstand – several hundred – ranging from 30ft to 120ft. Very few power boats – we estimate about 5%. The marina has 330t and 70t travel lifts operating flat out from 0900 to about 2000hrs.
There are no restrictions about people living on boats, either in the water or on the hard. If you’re in the water, you’re understandably not allowed to discharge sewerage (black water) overboard, but there seems to be no problem about shower and dish water (grey water), provided you don’t have too many soap suds. On the hardstand you cannot discharge anything overboard. During the day we walk the 100m to the toilet/shower block and during the night use a bucket. Our morning starts with me emptying the bucket at the toilet block. Di passes the bucket down the ladder to me and says, “whoops nearly dropped it on your head”. Some sense of humour! The toilets and showers here are superb – spotlessly clean and there’s always someone in there cleaning and scrubbing. Our dish water is emptied into the nearby garden. The marina water is safe to drink, but many folks choose to buy bottled water for drinking and use marina water for showers and dishes. No problems with power – 220v, and the marina electricians come and connect it for you. Lots of people have dogs and that’s not an issue here either. We were delighted on our return to find no evidence of any insects or rodents. We haven’t even seen a single ant on board, just a gecko in the cockpit. The marina has a nice bar, open most of the day until the wee hours (so they tell me), and a good restaurant open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There’s a dolmus (bus) to Marmaris township departing every 30 to 60 minutes, depending on time of day, for $5 return – about a 30 minute ride each way.
Ladders on boats on the hard are extremely dangerous and the marina workmen are very casual about them. You wouldn’t believe how many people suffer injuries falling off ladders in marinas. Last time we were here, a ladder against Envoy slipped and fell down. I grabbed the guy’s wrist and held him until help arrived (my wrist’s never been the same since!) When we arrived this time I lashed the top rung of the ladder up to Envoy and the bottom rung, back to Envoy’s keel, to stop the ladder slipping.
The marina requires all marine contractors entering the site to register with them, provide evidence of 3rd party insurance and sign an indemnity guaranteeing to pay for any damage caused by their actions. This is a fairly new requirement, resulting from two fires on boats caused by contractors. Contractors also have to pay the marina operators (meaning we, the customer has to pay) 15% commission for all work done in the marina.
There’s quite a social scene at the marina of organized morning teas, lunches, walks, tours to other parts of Turkey, happy hours etc. Di and I don’t really like taking part in these kind of “organized events” so have mostly kept clear of them.
Technical
Good progress! The re-sealing of the after bilge is completed, and then the new prop shaft was installed and the propeller re-fitted. This shaft is 50mm stainless steel and required a hole to be drilled through it to insert the cotter pin, which secures the prop. A Turkish worker spent 3 hours with a hand electric drill doing this hole. Of course, no safety glasses! The steering was then able to be re-connected (the rudder needed to be pushed hard over to get the prop shaft in).
We’ve got the diesel filtration system working and are busy filtering our on-board fuel. This is a system most pleasure boats don’t have. Most have a primary filter, like a Racor, and then a secondary on-engine filter. On Envoy we filter all fuel before it even gets to the primary filter, using a high-speed (450 litres/hr) pump with a two micron Racor filter (lengthy articles have been written about the correct micron rating of filters, but we’ve decided to use two). Then the diesel goes to the primary and secondary filters. It is often said that most diesel engine problems are fuel-related, and this system gives added protection. All equipment has now been checked and OK, except for a couple of “cigarette lighter” 12v outlets not working; these are always a problem, eh Frank. The main head has been re-installed (it was taken out to provide access to some hard-to-access thru hulls) and now we have our fresh water supply system operating. The bow thruster was not working. It turned out to be caused by the thruster’s dedicated battery bank being flat. A circuit breaker in the Guest cabin tripped, cutting power to the charger for the whole time we were away. These batteries are big mothers! So heavy that I found it difficult even to carry one end of a battery. Fortunately the young Demir Marine guys hauled them out of the anchor locker, charged them for a couple of days, checked the CCAs (cold cranking amps), found them to be OK and hauled them back up again. The prop is on and the bow thruster is all go. Everything now completed below the water line.
One unexpected problem is that the port fresh water tank leaks, quite low down, and when we tried to fill it, the water ended up in the bilges – a good test for the bilge pumps. We can’t access the tank except through a 300mm inspection port on the top. We’ve taken off the 10 nuts holding the inspection plate in place but we can’t prise it off at this point; hoping to get some help on this tomorrow. The starboard water tank has leaked for a while, but the leak was near the top. So while we’re doing one, we’ll repair them both.
Next week I’m getting Demir to help with inspecting our three engines (main Lugger, wing Yanmar and genset). We’ll change all filters and belts, re-install water pump impellers and do a general check. The marina doesn’t allow engines to be started on the hard, so we’ll have to hope the engine starts OK when we’re back in the water.
We have a date booked to go in the water – May 17, but it looks like we might be ready about 7-10 days before that, in which case we’ll try for an earlier launch. Once we are back in the water, there should only be about a week’s work, before we’re able to start cruising, as we’ve managed to complete many other small jobs in between the big ones.
We’ve just celebrated our 300th night on board, including 19 since we got back here.
Di & I have a lot of experience on boats, but never spent so much time living on a boat on the hardstand.
Brooke – you may find this interesting.
This marina is about the size of Half Moon Bay, but with many more boats on the hardstand – several hundred – ranging from 30ft to 120ft. Very few power boats – we estimate about 5%. The marina has 330t and 70t travel lifts operating flat out from 0900 to about 2000hrs.
There are no restrictions about people living on boats, either in the water or on the hard. If you’re in the water, you’re understandably not allowed to discharge sewerage (black water) overboard, but there seems to be no problem about shower and dish water (grey water), provided you don’t have too many soap suds. On the hardstand you cannot discharge anything overboard. During the day we walk the 100m to the toilet/shower block and during the night use a bucket. Our morning starts with me emptying the bucket at the toilet block. Di passes the bucket down the ladder to me and says, “whoops nearly dropped it on your head”. Some sense of humour! The toilets and showers here are superb – spotlessly clean and there’s always someone in there cleaning and scrubbing. Our dish water is emptied into the nearby garden. The marina water is safe to drink, but many folks choose to buy bottled water for drinking and use marina water for showers and dishes. No problems with power – 220v, and the marina electricians come and connect it for you. Lots of people have dogs and that’s not an issue here either. We were delighted on our return to find no evidence of any insects or rodents. We haven’t even seen a single ant on board, just a gecko in the cockpit. The marina has a nice bar, open most of the day until the wee hours (so they tell me), and a good restaurant open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There’s a dolmus (bus) to Marmaris township departing every 30 to 60 minutes, depending on time of day, for $5 return – about a 30 minute ride each way.
Ladders on boats on the hard are extremely dangerous and the marina workmen are very casual about them. You wouldn’t believe how many people suffer injuries falling off ladders in marinas. Last time we were here, a ladder against Envoy slipped and fell down. I grabbed the guy’s wrist and held him until help arrived (my wrist’s never been the same since!) When we arrived this time I lashed the top rung of the ladder up to Envoy and the bottom rung, back to Envoy’s keel, to stop the ladder slipping.
The marina requires all marine contractors entering the site to register with them, provide evidence of 3rd party insurance and sign an indemnity guaranteeing to pay for any damage caused by their actions. This is a fairly new requirement, resulting from two fires on boats caused by contractors. Contractors also have to pay the marina operators (meaning we, the customer has to pay) 15% commission for all work done in the marina.
There’s quite a social scene at the marina of organized morning teas, lunches, walks, tours to other parts of Turkey, happy hours etc. Di and I don’t really like taking part in these kind of “organized events” so have mostly kept clear of them.
Technical
Good progress! The re-sealing of the after bilge is completed, and then the new prop shaft was installed and the propeller re-fitted. This shaft is 50mm stainless steel and required a hole to be drilled through it to insert the cotter pin, which secures the prop. A Turkish worker spent 3 hours with a hand electric drill doing this hole. Of course, no safety glasses! The steering was then able to be re-connected (the rudder needed to be pushed hard over to get the prop shaft in).
We’ve got the diesel filtration system working and are busy filtering our on-board fuel. This is a system most pleasure boats don’t have. Most have a primary filter, like a Racor, and then a secondary on-engine filter. On Envoy we filter all fuel before it even gets to the primary filter, using a high-speed (450 litres/hr) pump with a two micron Racor filter (lengthy articles have been written about the correct micron rating of filters, but we’ve decided to use two). Then the diesel goes to the primary and secondary filters. It is often said that most diesel engine problems are fuel-related, and this system gives added protection. All equipment has now been checked and OK, except for a couple of “cigarette lighter” 12v outlets not working; these are always a problem, eh Frank. The main head has been re-installed (it was taken out to provide access to some hard-to-access thru hulls) and now we have our fresh water supply system operating. The bow thruster was not working. It turned out to be caused by the thruster’s dedicated battery bank being flat. A circuit breaker in the Guest cabin tripped, cutting power to the charger for the whole time we were away. These batteries are big mothers! So heavy that I found it difficult even to carry one end of a battery. Fortunately the young Demir Marine guys hauled them out of the anchor locker, charged them for a couple of days, checked the CCAs (cold cranking amps), found them to be OK and hauled them back up again. The prop is on and the bow thruster is all go. Everything now completed below the water line.
One unexpected problem is that the port fresh water tank leaks, quite low down, and when we tried to fill it, the water ended up in the bilges – a good test for the bilge pumps. We can’t access the tank except through a 300mm inspection port on the top. We’ve taken off the 10 nuts holding the inspection plate in place but we can’t prise it off at this point; hoping to get some help on this tomorrow. The starboard water tank has leaked for a while, but the leak was near the top. So while we’re doing one, we’ll repair them both.
Next week I’m getting Demir to help with inspecting our three engines (main Lugger, wing Yanmar and genset). We’ll change all filters and belts, re-install water pump impellers and do a general check. The marina doesn’t allow engines to be started on the hard, so we’ll have to hope the engine starts OK when we’re back in the water.
We have a date booked to go in the water – May 17, but it looks like we might be ready about 7-10 days before that, in which case we’ll try for an earlier launch. Once we are back in the water, there should only be about a week’s work, before we’re able to start cruising, as we’ve managed to complete many other small jobs in between the big ones.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
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