My last post was about having the right crew for this trip. so this post focuses on the boat itself. This content is technical and centered on boat maintenance, so if that’s not your interest and you think it’s someone else’s responsibility, feel free to skip it.
This won’t be the first time this boat has travelled to faraway places. Its maiden voyage, prior to my ownership, was from New Zealand to Anacortes Washington via Niue, American Samoa, Palmyra and Oahu. That trip, however, was on a new boat after a shakedown in New Zealand. This trip will be made on a boat that is now 15 years old. So how to prepare?
We have to begin with the most important system, the John Deere 6068. I have to say, I love the JD and between this boat and my last boat I have accumulated nearly 7,000 hours without a John Deere letting me down. Sarah-Sarah’s main is perfectly maintained and
About 6 months ago I decided I would rebuild my alternators. I have two Electrodyn 150-amp alternators that were 15 years old. Might as well invest in an ounce of prevention so I packed up the alternators and the rectifiers and sent them back to Electrodyn. They were easy to work with, and I soon got them back in hand. I had been running the boat with the spare alternator and rectifier I had in inventory. Access mounting the rectifier is a bit challenging which of course makes everything more fun. I carefully shut down the power and proceeded with the install. Well…I thought I carefully shut down the power…turns out the inverters back-fed current and I nearly welded my socket to the rectifier…Boat 1 Scott 0.
Once I got the feeling back in my hand, I pulled the main fuse to ensure the power was out and installed the second rectifier. I was done with the job short of getting the rectifier repaired again. Fired up the system and… no joy. I bit of electric smelling smoke and no power. I could go on and on, but I’ll leave it and say simply, I finally got it all fixed and everything worked well…Turns out the rectifier was wired backwards from the way the system was designed for Sarah Sarah. The only other item on the engine, or at least driven by the engine was the raw water pump. I carry several spares on board as well as several impellers just in case.
The second step was a through look through the inventory. I maintain my inventory using VesselVanguard.com. The system keeps track of every system on Sarah Sarah as well as the maintenance intervals, the required spares necessary to do routine maintenance, the manuals and the all-important inventory of what is on hand and just as important, where on the boat is it stored so I can find it. I placed an order for all of the items I would need to bring the inventory levels up to speed.
Next, generator service. This involved getting a professional in to inspect the main bearing (it was fine) and then flush the cooling system, clean the heat exchanger, replace all hoses, and replace the belt. I also replaced the fuel pump and some hard fuel line connections as there has been a slow leak. I then replaced the raw water pump as it was beginning to leak a bit of oil.
Done with the primary mechanicals, it was time to move on. I had scheduled a maintenance call from Naiad to inspect the stabilizers. I wasn’t having any issue with them, but they don’t have much of a team to help in Nuuk so I thought I would get ahead of it. Marco came on board and went through the entire system. All was good. The following day I got a call from the home office to “give me the report.” Marco reported that it was the cleanest boat and cleanest system he had eve seen…A+ bill of health…so we can check that off the list.
From stabilizers, we can move on to steering. Sarah Sarah has redundant hydraulic systems and once about every 18 months, I bleed the primary system as a thimble full of fluid will leak from the piston over that time. There is a manual pump at the helm that can be activated with a small 14” wheel. I rig a reservoir on the pump so more fluid can be pulled in and air expelled. You essentially keep turning the massive rudder with the little wheel from stop to stop until all the air bubbles leave the system. I started the process and then turned the wheel turning over to Mario…let’s just say he had a good upper body work out and we got to check another system off the list.
So with all of that done…and all of the other routine maintenance done…I was done. Ready to relax and enjoy a bit, I climbed under the deck plate to get dog food for Ivy. Sarah Sarah’s basement freezer wasn’t running.
It’s a Frigoboat system and I know next to nothing about refrigeration. I decided to let the yard have a crack at it. I am not a patient man, and they didn’t get back to me so after a brief discussion with the Captain of another FPB, I decide to test the condenser control module. I have three systems, so I could remove a known working module and swap if over to the non-working system. Sadly…that didn’t work. So I thought perhaps the condenser was bad.
With mild trepidation, I called Coastal Climate Control and was connected to Maureen who was incredibly knowledgeable. Her technical support on this matter was better than any tech support I have ever had on any system ever. She was great. She suggested I bridge the Thermostat and force the condenser to run…and it did. After a bit more swapping of displays and control heads, I placed an order for over-night delivery, received my parts, and now all is up and running. I ordered a couple more spares just in case. Remember always and take to heart “2 is 1 and 1 is none.”
The final change was to the outdoor grill. Having spent 3 seasons in Alaska with cold air blowing down from glaciers, I knew it would be challenging to get my propane grill hot enough. Plus, with more people on the boat, I needed the whole grill to work, not just certain sections. So, after thinking I would never do it, I have gone electric. I had a Ninja Pro Outdoor grill installed on the boat. I hearty thank you to Corey from Triton Marine Services in Beaufort NC whose team helped knock out a small punch list of items.
So now, with less than a month to go before leaving Portland on this trip, I think the boat is ready…Knock on wood!
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