Heading North
Vega
Hugh and Annie
Thu 30 May 2019 07:56
Before we left Bundaberg we completed final planned maintenance to Vega. We had a new UK three pin double plug socket fitted, served by the inverter that creates a 230V supply from the batteries. A circuit breaker trip switch for the windlass was fitted as an alternative to the fuse that has to be replaced when it blows and for which exact replacements are hard to find (in fact impossible, we had to modify a larger fuse when it last blew). We found that the seawater intake for the heads was stuck closed and the seawater intake for the engine was stuck open and so both were replaced. The cable from the Duogen wind/water alternator was replaced as it had worn through and the slimy copper verdigris had been taped over. It’s performance has improved significantly as a result! Prior to refloating we had patched the Coppercoat antifouling and had a minor panic over what appears to be blistering of the gel coat along the blue strip just above the waterline but is more likely a reaction following the laying up of the gel coat and can be rectified when back in the UK. We also found that much of the rope cutter on the prop shaft had been ripped off - presumably by the entanglement we found when lifted out of the water. We now have replacement parts but will need to await the next haul out before fitting them. On a more positive front we found a local engineer to mill a new nylon bow roller for the anchor chain. The old one had jammed and partially worn through as a result of not being able to rotate.
We have been told on a couple of occasions that the charging regulator for the solar panel is a very basic one and could be upgraded (it was fitted by an electrician in the Canaries who was supposed to be connecting the feed from the solar panel into the Duogen regulator). At the same time we were having issues with the battery charger on the shore power mains circuit that seemed to be working erratically and also with the generator on the engine (ie additional alternator feeding an inverter to supply 230V when the engine is running). Now, my expertise with electricity is on a par with that for quantum physics and so the offer of help from electrical engineer Matt on board Florence was gratefully accepted. We found that we could reset the Mastervolt battery monitor to more accurately monitor the type and amp hours of our batteries. We also found that after covering over the solar panel (to prevent it working) the shore power battery charger seemed to work perfectly(!). There was a loose connection on one of the battery terminals that, once tightened, has resulted in much better battery performance! Finally we determined that the feed from the engine inverter is sending out 230V that gets as far as the mains master switch but not onwards into the 230V circuit.
So, thinking that in Indonesia we might get a lot of sunshine but little wind, I bought a second solar panel to give us a combined 10Amp charge and with a view to upgrading the regulator when we get the opportunity. We will also get the mains master switch checked out and replaced if required.
Everything was looking good but on the afternoon we planned to leave Bundaberg we released the mooring lines, engaged the prop to motor out of the berth, only to hear and feel an ominous thumping from the prop that felt and sounded like another rope wrapped around it. It was getting late in the afternoon and as one of the yard engineers had been ‘bumped’ by a Bull Shark when investigating the prop on another yacht a few days before there was no way either of us was going over the side to investigate. The following morning we filmed the prop with the GoPro only to find nothing wrapped around it and the prop opening and closing perfectly as forward and reverse were engaged. We motored round to the fuel berth and all seemed ok. Before dawn the following morning we headed north towards Lady Musgrave Island - a small island on a large coral reef with a big lagoon to anchor and snorkel within and very popular with a large day trip boat from Bundaberg.
After a couple of days at Lady Musgrave we headed overnight to Hummocky Island for a very peaceful and secluded day and night before going up to Great Kepple Island to coincide with a bank holiday weekend, lovely sunny weather and lots of Australian boats out for the weekend. The only worry was that we had been getting a lot of transmission noise inside the boat. Normally we get just the mechanical noise of the engine but this was a deep resonant throbbing throughout. I couldn’t see anything untoward with the prop shaft within the boat but as there was Kepple Bay Marina only 8 miles away resolved to go in and get an engineer to check things over. After some enjoyable walking on the island and then watching other yachts also heading north leave the anchorage we started up with a view to going into the marina - only to find that the transmission noise was much reduced and to the extent that I was comfortable to continue and get things checked out, if necessary, in Mackay. Bad weather was forecast for the Friday night and if we were to spend time in a marina, much better to be in Mackay than Kepple Bay. As it happens things have returned to normal with the transmission noise and so I suspect something was preventing the folding prop from unfolding completely. Possibly just a small restriction can have a large effect on the noise transmission. We’ll see how things go before Cairns.
After overnight stops in Pearl Bay and Middle Percy Island and passing 52 bulk coal carriers anchored outside the coal terminal just south of Mackay, we entered Mackay harbour on the Friday morning and stayed for over a week. When sitting in a marina we soon get a bout of marina fever but on this occasion we had been able to occupy ourselves with trips into a huge shopping centre in Mackay for provisioning, filling out and posting our visa applications for Indonesia (that requires sending our passports to Sydney in the hope they are sent up to Cairns yacht club in the pre-stamped and addressed envelope.........), determining which of the myriad visa options is appropriate to stay longer in Australia and pulling all the required and extensive information together for the visas only to find that we had automated approvals within minutes of sending the applications off(!); and of course thinking about any further maintenance we can do whilst here. As it happens Mackay has very good electrical and engineering facilities and as a result a new selector switch within the mains master switch has been fitted. They couldn’t get an appropriate regulator before we left but at least could tell us what to source in advance through Cairns. Given the dodgy fuel supplies in Indonesia we now have several more fuel filters for regular changes and, having discovered you can buy generic engine parts for our Yanmar motor at a third of the cost of the brand items, we also have a spare alternator and starter motor.
We often wonder quite how much in the way of spare parts, lines and equipment we should prudently be carrying and I sometimes think we have little by comparison with other boats. There has to be a compromise between risk of gear failure, ease of sourcing replacement parts (most can be flown to somewhere from anywhere around the world) and the likely urgency if something needs to be replaced. I have seen boats with countless lines for every conceivable eventuality but we have just two spare halyards sheeved in the mast, plenty of mooring lines, sheets for the cruising chute and staysail plus spares for the genoa that can serve other purposes if needs must. I hope our spare alternator and starter motor will prove to be no more than additional ballast.
The highlight of our stay in Mackay was a car hire trip out to Eungela National Park where we saw Duck Billed Platypus at a site up in the rainforest. Conditions need to be misty and damp to fully appreciate rainforest and we were not disappointed. Such a contrast with the hot, drier conditions down on the coastal plain!