Technical – Page 2 – SY Hullu Poro

Bimini, Fridge, Inventory, etc.

On November 1, 2022

The Bimini made it onto the To-Do-List this morning. Actually its customised tensioning, which settled in after two seasons and I felt it was a bit loose in recent gusting wind conditions. As the dyneema ropes are made to length the only option was to cut a bit off the four adjustable tensioners. The little vice we have onboard is always handy for this kind of jobs. Got it completed before the sun took over and indoor activities kicked in.

Martin from Hallberg-Rassy Parts did put in the extra effort and got a new compressor unit on its way this morning. It shall arrive coming Monday, latest. Cross fingers! Nevertheless we will try to get the current unit running again in which case the new one will be a good spare.

I already feel some pain operating with one fridge only and it is better to carry a spare unit than being with only one fridge for a longer period of time. This issue remains open.

Besides that I finlized the turnbuckles and same time lost one half cap of the screw cover to the sea. Damned, totally unnecessary but happened.
After a food inventory check, I jumped on the bike for Lidl in PDC and stocked up the pantry. I got a list from Susan and it’s long.
Over a glass of wine on SY Christina with Elke and Ulli we will call it a day.

Fair winds…

👍…Watermaker & Fridge…🤔

By Bernd

On October 31, 2022

In Spain, Technical

My day started before sunrise with the software update of our new Iridium satellite phone. One coffee was not enough and a second had to be brewed before successful update got confirmed. Puh, that’s done. Glad it worked. Now planning a test call to MRCC Bremen for final verification.

Second on the list was – after breakfast – to attack the membrane replacement on the water maker. After disassembling the membranes unit from the overall system, I got some help from Ulli, skipper of SY Christina. Two brains with four capable hands & four sharp eyes got the old membranes removed and the new ones installed. Fittings resealed and the unit was ready to get back installed below deck. The procedure to be followed for initial operation of new membranes took a while but the final reading of 173ppm of water quality meets the expectation. Another big one ticked off the list.

Henry and Jean Michelle turned up to check out the fridge. The result was not promising: topping up refrigerator coolant did not bring the expected result. Compressor should be the culprit. Hm , that is not pleasant.

We got two identical units installed, so one still working but we are used to operate both, one as a fridge and one at slightly higher temperatures for fruits, vegetables and wine. HR Parts might be able to help out on this last minute issue before Boating & Biking Adventures 2.0 are supposed to kick off.

The lady keeps me on my toes but there was still enough time for a quick bike ride to PDC to buy some dinner delights. It’s now getting dark early after the clock change!

Fair winds…

Spinnaker Pole Ready

By Bernd

On October 30, 2022

In Spain, Technical

Together with Alice and Ulli we checked each others Spinnaker Pole arrangements this morning. It’s also good practise again not having used it for a while and sametime doing some needed maintenance on the system.

Up to now I did run the sheet straight through the pole ends’ eye itself but we concluded it is better to add a block to eliminate chafing. I have got the right block (from our previous HR34) and will connect it with a soft-shackle to the boom end.

The soft-shackle is a present from sailing mate Rainer, skipper SY Geronimo. This should now be bullet proof to eliminate chafing on the sheet. Together with cleaning the turnbuckles on the standing rigging and other small tasks the To-Do-List got a bit shorter although one item had to be added:
Since I arrived back from Germany, one of the two fridges is not performing very well and I guess some refrigerator coolant needs to be topped up. Trying to organise that but it is a 4-days long weekend holiday in Spain at the moment. Hope to get this fixed next week.

I will now get on the bike heading to the beach for a cool down swim. As there is no wind at the moment the sun is burning and there are two options after lunch: Long Siesta or Beach !

Fair winds…

⚙️…wear & tear – everywhere…🛠

By Bernd

On October 29, 2022

In Spain, Technical, Trans-Ocean e.V.

At 8:30am, just after sunrise, I was on the foredeck taking the old foresail down. My intention was to check the tension of the luff against the halyard position. Clive and myself marked the max up position during the recent mast inspection to prevent any potential chafing at the halyard sheaves’ inlet at the top of the mast. If the eye of the halyard is getting too much dragged against the sheave, chafing will happen. Conclusion: Old sail should be okay but limit the tension to the marked position. I think it should work.

Now I was curious about the luff length of the new foresail. Got the damned heavy sack out on deck and then – what a relief – Ulli from SY Beagle was standing next to me giving me a hand, tow actually. We pulled the new sail up to learn, that its luff length is about 15cm shorter than the old sail. Perfect in terms of chafing. New sail down, folded, rolled, back into the sack and dragged back under deck. Four hands instead of two keep things below grumbling and shouting level. Thanks Ulli!

Two sheaves on the foresail traveller had to be replaced. As you can see on the photo, the sheets have grooved its traces into it and the circularity while turning was not given anymore. Some bolts showed galvanic corrosion. Parts got bedded into a new layer of Tikal Tek-Gel to prevent future blooming.

Besides that I pulled the 20 year old spinnaker halyard out of the mast, gave it a 4 Euro wash in the washing machine to get rid of calima and salt leftovers and routed it back into the mast via a pilot line. The shackle got de-rusted in some phosphor-water-mixture. All becoming sweet, soft and handy again.

Before jumping on the bike for my minimum daily ride to PDC, I fixed a reading lamp, which had a broken internal cable. Some brazing was required, not my core skill but it is back alive.

Following a nice sundowner on SY Beagle with Alice and Ulli, I am now ready to call it a day. Tomorrow, we will focus on the spinnaker pole arrangement and prepare for water maker membrane replacement, which is scheduled for Monday.

Fair winds & good night!

☝️…Emergency Sat Phone…📞

By Bernd

On October 20, 2022

In Germany, Technical

We have decided to add a satellite phone to our safety equipment. It will be placed in the grab-bag and used solely for emergency purposes – medical calls or abandon ship situations.
Although we already have other measures in place, depending on the actual situation, the satellite phone will close a small niche while providing peace of mind. Hopefully we will never have to use it.
Fair winds…

Rigg inspection ✔️

By Bernd

On October 17, 2022

In Spain, Technical

Rigg & gooseneck inspection was on the To Do List for today with particular attention to the mainsail halyard. A bit of a hassle to take the long vertical battens out of the mainsail being able to drop the sail on deck. Surprisingly the halyard for the main is not of wire/rope configuration, which I was not aware of.

After looking at the halyard itself, Clive and myself decided to keep the same as it does not show any reason for concerns. No clue why 20 years ago Hallberg-Rassy did the genoa sail and cutter sail halyards in a different way than the mainsail halyard. Today, it’s all Dyneema anyway.

On the rigg hardware itself, we replaced one split-pin at the forestay, which was bent and showed some signs of corrosion. It was also a bit undersized for the drilled hole. After taking the tension completely out of the forestay with the help of the spinnaker halyard fixed and tightened to the bowsprit, we could turn and move the bold, get the old pin out, clean the area and get a perfectly fitting new split-pin attached.

Last but not least, there was a lot of rattling noise coming from the gooseneck area on our trip back from Azores. One reason is that we mainly sailed on a broad reach course, which is proned to more movements of the boom, but second reason is some play in the gooseneck connection.

We will now limit the play by adding some customised shims, done by Wes and his team mate Dave. This rattling can drive you mad at sea and I hope it will be gone afterwards or at least reduced to a bare minimum.

Overall these are small items to improve and keep the rigg in safe and mint conditions.

Fair winds…

…another productive day…

By Bernd

On October 15, 2022

In Spain, Technical

The day started with yoga – engine room yoga. Checking the impeller on our lovely Fisher Panda Generator was on my list and I have postponed this task many times. The main reason is access, not within the engine room itself but particular to the seawater pump housing it. There is hardly any space for the spanner and pulling the impeller out without removing the whole pump is a bit of a challenge. And then…once I got the cover lid unscrewed it slided out of my hands down somewhere below the generator, where the muffler of the exhaust pipe sits. Oh my lord, forever gone! Long story short, more yoga postures were required but finally the pain was gone and I felt all the benefits from the abnormal bending. My face turned into a happy smile while holding the damned piece of metal in my hands again.

Removing the solar panels from the Bimini and placing some minor orders for material, appliances, tea and spares was a good end of the working day.

I then jumped on the bike for some logistic’s ride (coffee & honey) from SuperDino in PDC was on the list. At that time SY Momentum of Fal was approaching and its skipper & coach René mentioned to me to take it lightly as there is still some Calima dust in the air. Therefore I invited myself for a beer at Musa Bar before heading back to receive their lines.

☝️…good progress…✔️

By Bernd

On October 14, 2022

In Spain, Technical

Work is progressing as per the plan.

Today I completed the Lewmar track bolt re-tightening project. Well designed by HR it was pretty easy to take relevant parts of the ceiling off across various compartments to get access to the bolt‘s nuts.

More spontaneously John helped me to check the propeller and replace one of the anodes, which was eroded down to bare minimum. He was at our pontoon cleaning another boat and quickly came over for this routine task. I owe him a couple of beers now.

Besides many other minor points, our new membranes for the water maker are now on the way to ensure best tea water going forward. Currently sitting at 400ppm I decided to replace these filter elements.

Fair winds…

☝️…buena batería…✔️

By Bernd

On October 13, 2022

In Spain, Technical

With the help of Alberto we tested all batteries today. Although I was quite convinced they are still good, they even turned out better than expected. Still doing my own research a bit on this subject. A battery breakdown at sea is like sailing an unconscious boat, theoretically still possible.

Besides this, I polished the transom this morning and organised the main halyard replacement and rig/gooseneck inspection for Monday morning. Rest of the day, my focus will be on re-tightening the bolds on the two Lewmar tracks for the foresail sheets – one port and one starboard side. For this, some of the ceiling has to be taken down.

Not boring at all but first I will have a nap now!

Fair winds…

☝️…2nd departure shift…😉

By Bernd

On September 13, 2022

In Portugal, Technical

I have shifted again. Above shows simulated passages over the next 48 hours. Looking now for the white line with a planned time of departure tomorrow, 14th September, in the evening hours.

Time for a tasty omelette.

Fair winds…

Category: Technical Page 2 of 5