Wed 28 Apr, HHN day 15: Morning of domestics, afternoon installing Gori propeller and renewing Frigoboat anodes. Frozen to roasted in just 3 days.
After yesterday’s annoyances, I decide to do something I know cannot get the better of me… food shopping and domestics. Today I treat myself to a trip to Harris Teeter which is larger and more upmarket that my usual local supermarket. It also has a small foreign section with real food, like Branston Pickle, cheddar cheese and Yorkshire tea bags! How do normal Americans survive without these? On the way back it’s already 85 degF (~28 degC) at 10:30am. It is going to be a hot one. Domestics today also includes picking up deliveries. Always exciting. A bunch of things from Amazon, helicoil inserts from MacMasterCarr and Durlac from UK. All enabling more jobs to be done.
First job is to make some calls following some tips I got from the Hallberg Rassy technical group (www.groups.io …. Search for the group Hallberg-Rassy-Sailing). Thanks to this group, I have now found someone to service my Aquadrive unit, in New Jersey.
Interestingly, I also got feedback from Aquadrive manufacturing in Europe. Aquadrive used to be made in Sweden but now moved to Germany. They tell me that when servicing “old” Aquadrives, it is not uncommon to completely destroy the integrity of the shaft nut due to the shear force it takes to remove it. They say it is usually a combination of dried Loctite and old Molycote. Clearly this is not a job to be done under the boat in a yard. Unless you are lucky, you need to have a proper workshop with some seriously manly tools.
So, I prepare a sturdy box and clean up the Aquadrive ready for its journey north. I hope they beat it up really good – it deserves everything they can muster on it! Fingers cross they are successful. But I tell myself worst case is I buy a new one.
I was kind of tempted to just put it back into the boat, without the missing oil lip-seal. But I’ve poured so much penetrating oil into this thing that the bearing itself will no longer have enough good grease in it to operate correctly.
Next job is to put the Gori propeller back onto the shaft. We had sent it to AB Marine for a service and overall inspection. Normally, I service the prop myself, but this may be the last time for several years we have the opportunity to have all its dimensions and tolerances checked. It was returned with a clean bill of health along with a bill for $1,000. That’s why I normally service it myself!
By now I should be able to install this prop with my eyes closed. But I still take time to read the destructions (sorry … my word for instructions) before I start. There is always one part or another that I forget if I don’t do this step. I’m normally more of a “if all else fails, read the destructions” type of guy. But this propeller is just too important for my usual silliness.
The prop assembles go very easily. It is always a delight to see this piece of engineering newly installed after a service. I do love our Gori. I plan to paint it with PropSPeed paint, to keep the beasties off it, but I will leave that till just before we launch. Just in case the UV affects the silicon paint.
Lastly, another simple job is Replacing the anodes on the Frigoboat keel coolers (fridges and freezer coolers). Theses expensive little anodes seem to disappear all too quickly. The last set only lasted 6 months in the water. A simple job turns slightly more complicated when I discover this new batch of anodes have holes that are too small for the screws. It only takes a few minutes to drill them out, but very annoying considering the price of these little pieces of zinc. I think about $10 each. And 6 are needed each time.
Finally, a tidy up. I’m covered in sweat today. Soooo hot today. It was 32 degC at the maximum and far hotter than that inside the tent. Ray has lent me a big fan to try to push the hot air out the tent. I think it helps, but the inside of the boat remained above 25degC well into the evening. Amusing really. 3 days ago I was writing the blog with heater and wooly hat on. Tonight, I’m in the buff with the ceiling fan directed at me and I’m still too hot! Weird weather. Certainly, being here in the summer, trying to do maintenance in the yard, would not be a pleasant prospect. Oh no…. Tomorrow’s forecast is top 20s too. Maybe I need to fine somewhere to chill with a cold beer tomorrow!
