Hi guys,
How are you doing? And where are you?
When we left Richards Bay last Monday, we realized that the autopilot wasn't working. Soon after the stbd-engine quit as well. So hand-steering in following seas for Gloria, while I almost threw up in the engine room replacing the linear drive for the Raymarine autopilot. It took bloody hours & hours & hours...
Unfortunately it still didn't work. The wind stayed quite strong from behind, but we decided to slow down so as to arrive in Durban at daybreak. Around 2:00 am the wind started to come straight on the nose, fortunately not very strong. We switched on the port engine. After passing about 100 ships at anchor we made it into the harbour, where our friends Michael & Edmund on TANOA were in the marina already. I called them on the VHF to tell them that we only had one engine and they told us that the marina was full and we had to anchor. Suited me just fine. Michael got the dinghy ready and he and Edmund came out to meet us.
When I entered Silburn channel, I took down the revs - and the second engine quit as well! I dropped the anchor immediately and we stayed there over night. The next morning we got chased away and now we have two anchors out, while our stern is secured with two lines to a mooring-block. Which comes right out of the water at low tide. People could actually climb right onto our boat at low tide. If the anchors don't hold, we will certainly be in trouble. At least it is not more than R 50 / day.
I got hold of the Raymarine dealer (Steve at Fonzmarine), removed the old course computer (which didn't show any power going to the linear drive) and handed it over to Fonz Marine. The next day they told me that the computer had to be replaced and the new one was not compatible with the old control unit. I almost fell on my back when they told me that the computer alone is R 27,000!!!
Next step was a good diesel mechanic. I had realized that I had lost all freshwater and the engine had overheated. When the engine had cooled down, I poured in a couple of litres of fresh water and immediately heard it dripping in the back. Waterpump? That was also the verdict of Michael & Edmund on TANOA. And of the friendly diesel mechanic called Jonathan, who had been recommended by Rob Bowman who seems to do most of the mechanical work at the marina and the club. A new water pump from Cape Town would be another R 7,000. I felt faint at this point...
The next day Jonathan came back with a gleaming water-pump. He saw my face and to top it up, he said that I would HAVE TO buy a spare one for the other engine. He then proceeded into the engine room.
Suddenly our luck turned. Jonathan said that we might be lucky, because he had found out that the previous mechanic (the dreaded Virat of Thailand) had thinned the water-hose with a knife from the inside to make it fit. Under pressure it didn't hold up. Jonathan put a new fitting, added two outboard-style rubber pumps to the fuel lines to make bleeding the engines easier and fired up. Hooray! No more water-leaks, no more air in the fuel system, everything bingo! I will have to carefully monitor the engines, though.
TANOA left on a good weather forecast and now I am waiting for the costly course computer. It will take a while. First the wire transfer has to come through and then the damn thing has to be ordered from Cape Town. Merde alors! We have to have left the country by 14th March and before that we have to have gotten the Brazilian visa in Cape Town (interview in person). Time flies like an arrow!
This morning my computer gave me serious kinds of trouble, but after several hours I decided on a radical cure and simply uninstalled the offending program. Next on the agenda is the exchange of the linear drive to the original one and then one of these years we might actually be able to leave Durban. We are quite looking forward to that. <Grin>
Cheers!
Holger, Liping & Aurora Ulani
Catamaran DHARMA BUM III
Durban, South Africa
29°51.88'S 031°01.60'E
Catamaran DHARMA BUM III
Durban, South Africa
29°51.88'S 031°01.60'E
Phone 1: +27719749347 Holger
Phone 2: +27719284443 Liping
