Broken Props and Extended Stops
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Broken props and extended stops 17.00.44N 61.45.8W 3rd March 2023 5362 miles since leaving Sandwich (still) Back to our propeller problem. Although the vibration was pretty minimal, I couldn’t live with it and as Antigua slipway were pushing towards the off island solution (time / money) we made the decision to move over to Nelsons dockyard and get the divers there to remove the propeller in the water. On my travels around the harbour I had met Kwamie the diver of choice around here. He recommended MPS engineering who are only a mile up the road and he wasn’t the first person to suggest them as a repair option. After a long conversation with Tom at MPS plus several additional good feedbacks from people around the harbour I decided to get the propeller fixed on island. Actually getting off our berth in Antigua slipway was a bit of a mission as the internet was down and we couldn’t pay for it. In the end the marina ferried Norma across to the supermarket in Nelsons dockyard where she got cash, and we could leave. Having slipped our berth we proceeded all of 300 meters across the harbour, dropped anchor and reversed up to the dockside amongst the glitterati. All went very well, and the dockside help was perfect. We were soon happily berthed up, electricity flowing and water bubbling into the tanks. Within the hour Kwamie came down and we arranged to have the propeller pulled off first thing in the morning. So far so good this was going well. Bright and early next morning, well 10 O’clock, the divers arrived and got to work. Actually it was damn hard work for them and they struggled for the best part of an hour before banging and rattling away down there and popping up for new
tools and ever bigger spanners every 15 minutes. Eventually I heared a different twang from below and the prop was finally loose. It wasn’t long before I was inspecting the damage on the quayside and feeling quite pleased that I had decided to fix it now rather
than later as it had a significant notch in one blade plus a couple of minor ones in another.
K Hood marine diving services arrive with a boat load of gear.
Divers down and project manager at work.
The damage with my delicate little foot for perspective.
On the aft table looking a bit sad. That afternoon we grabbed a taxi and took the propeller over to MPS and gave it into the hands of Korine so that she could do her thing and make it all better. We also gave her the locking washer as that was looking worse for wear and asked
her to make a new one of those as well. We agreed on two days and all went our separate ways, Korine to do some metal bashing while Norma and myself went to Roti Sues for some much needed refreshments, one lamb and one goat Roti to be precise.
Back at the boat and with a couple of days to kill we decided to catch up on a couiple of projects. I cleaned, polished and varnished the stern of the boat while Norma got the sewing machine out and made a very professional sun shade for
the aft deck. In fact it is so good that the Swedish yacht three up asked if she would make them one. Unfortunately the confidence is not there yet and Norma declined which is a damn shame because me lying in the sun while she earns seems like a perfect plan
to me.
Spectra on her new berth sporting the snazzy new aft deck sunshade courtesy of Norma. Two days went by and MPS said that the propeller would be ready at 1300. This was perfect timing for a lunchtime Roti at Sues and then a walk over there to pick it up. The Roti plan was flawless but the propeller was not ready when we got
there. Not to worry we said we will go over to Mammas shack over the road and have a beer then come back in an hour. 1400 we called MPS from Mammas shack and were told 1600 and it would be definitely ready. After thinking about it for a bit I decided that
the day was lost and I would rather give them time to do the job rather than risking it being rushed. We called back and said it’s not a problem we will come back over tomorrow morning which was met with I think a bit of a sigh of relief from MPS. The walk
back was actually rather pleasant apart from the fact that Norma has been getting cartillage pain in her knee and walking on the uneven footpaths did it no good at all. By the time we got back to Spectra she had one delicate ladylike, and dare I say rather
delightful knee, while the other one resembled a small watermelon. She was not a happy camper. Several beers and a night on the aft seats putting the world to rights with our new neighbour Paul from the Potomac river was called and that is exactly what we
did. I diverse from the narrative a bit here to say that Paul has a Starlink RV sttelite dish thing on his boat and he has allowed us to piggy back on his wifi. Amazing download speeds and Netflix is available aboard again for the first time since Gibralter.
I am convinced and will be looking to buy a Starlink system in the next few weeks/months. Of course nothing is ever easy and you need to work out where you are going to be and where to get it posted to several weeks ahead in order to align with the delivery
times. To that end I have contacted a marina in ST Thomas USVI’s to see if they can accommodate us mid moth and act as a post drop for us, more on that later.
Bright and early the next morning, well 10 O’clock I set of for the walk to MPS. The propeller was ready and after parting with some serious cash I got a taxi back to Spectra, it is heavy, has sharp edges and it is damn hot after all. Typically Kwamie was fully booked all day working on changing two propellers on a super yacht but I did get him booked up for first thing the following morning. That left me the afternoon to polish my nice new propeller and smear it with Lanolin grease which is really sticky and smells like the wet sheep that it comes from.
My shiny new propeller the biggest repair is on the blade nearest the bottom. Bright and early on Thursday morning, well 10 O’clock Kwamie and Kell turned up raring to go. They got straight down to work and while the guys were banging about under the water I assumed my position of sitting on the side like an expectant father waiting for something to happen. Seeing me sitting there all lonely I was soon joined by the chief of police, who was very smartly dressed in his dress uniform complete with swagger stick, and we passed the time talking about cricket while the underwater goings on went on. within the hour my propeller was on and with the guys keeping well clear I fired up the engine and put it in gear. Success no vibration. I raved to half power which is as far as I dared as the mooring lines were making alarming squeaking noises as was the chief of Police who was looking at the quayside cleats and he was joined by Norma who was looking at our cleats. A ton of water was being pushed out the back and not a single untoward vibration could be felt. In short Paul was a happy boy. I tried it in reverse as well but couldn’t rev that up much as we are moored stern too, only held off by our anchor meaning that the boat could easily bang against the wall if I really went for it. Needless to say, no untoward vibrations that way either and after going forward and backwards a few times I shut it down so that Kwamie could do a final check to see if anything had come loose, it hadn’t, and everyone was all smiles including the Chief of Police and a whole bunch of tourists who were taking a great interest in the proceedings.
Kwamie on the left and Kell on the right getting ready to do their thing.
Kwamie with my propeller in his hands.
Kell joins him to do up the big nut. That is it really, I thanked the guys profusely (and paid them of course), they had done a great job as had MPS engineering.
The guys take a moment after fixing things for us. Call them if you need a diver in Antigua, they are very, very, good. EMAIL: schoolboykwamie {CHANGE TO AT} hotmail {DOT} com Tel: +1 (268)-779-9582 VHF 68: Callsign Schoolboy How to contact MPS who are also very good. This has been quite an expensive process in both time and money, but brown smelly stuff happens and when it does you just have to deal with it. After
the obligatory period of sulking and bemoaning your lot in the world whilst shaking your fist at the heavens of course.
A rough breakdown would be in the region of
Dvers fees; £251 Propeller repair and new locking tab; £440
Extra mooring fees above what we would have used, I week; £300. So all in all its cost about £1k. That is still considerably cheaper than the replacement option which would I think have been in the region of £5k
This would have included most of the costs that I did incur plus new propeller costs plus the addition of extra mooring fees and a 7-week lead time thereby killing our sailing plans.
That’s it for this one I only put the last paragraph in to justify the expense to myself. We will leave tomorrow or the next day for St Kitts and
have already arranged with the marina that when we do depart, they will keep our berth available for at least two hours after we leave just in case something goes awry. No pressure there then…………… |
