Great Day in the Morning!

It was a hot, bright blue, clear day when we did our sea trial with the Yanmar engineer, Charlie, Bob Lamire of Applied Marine (FJ Propeller) who did the install, and our good cruising friend Gabriel Rivera of Good Timing. It went, pardon the pun, swimmingly. Everything worked to every ones satisfaction and Charlie signed off on the installation. Kuhela did 8.5 knots at 3,100 RPM and cruised along at 7.5 knots at 2,500 RPM, her cruising RPM's. After 8 weeks of twists and turns, wet and dry, ups and downs we have a beautiful renovated home with a new propulsion system that should keep us moving from one $1 million view to another in comfort and style. But, we spent our children's inheritance and a little more to "get 'er done".

Putting everything back that was taken off for the painting has been a hard, hot job here at dock side. We are having an insurance survey in the middle of all this which has driven Linda up a tree trying to clean and put everything away. We have two cabins full of seat foam which will be shortly turned into cushions and mattresses. This hasn't made the "putting away" easy at all. The third is full of projects: new dingy windlass set up; new TV dish; flooring; shelving; new cockpit enclosure; etc. But, she did a yeoman's job and "got 'er done".

Linda and I are well and looking forward to getting back to our haunt, Culebra, and our cruising neighbors. We'll be there making minor repairs and minor improvements thru October when we plan to start our trip with five other boats to Australia via the Panama Canal and the South Pacific some time in late February next year: the next Great Adventure. We will be back to central Florida before we leave to say good by and do our annual doctor and dentist visits.

More later with pictures...

Posted with Blogsy

Splash!!!

Looks like we'll go back in the water this Thursday. A final glitch turned out to be the propeller mounting assembly which one would thing came with the sail drive. Not! It had to be ordered from Florida on Friday and FedEx'd to be here Monday. One did come with the wrongly geared drives that we were able to sell to a cat in the BVI. Unfortunately Yanmar said they don't do this and as a result it was wrong for our replacement (2.49 : 1.00 geared) drives. Florida is splitting the cost with us 'cause of the Yanmar HQ intervention several weeks ago. Now we'll wait and see if this kit actually fits/works. More after we are "in".

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On the Hard

The hulls have been AwlGripped to the level of the deck: water level up outside and under. Unfortunately another weather wave is forecast for tomorrow and Monday; then the 4th and another $65 without work/progress: boo-hoo! Anyway we are progressing and it still looks like 6 weeks total.

Let me relate the story of the engines and sail drives. We ordered two Yanmar 4JH5E Angie's with sail drives from a distributor in Florida recommended by our good friend Rob Dehaan on Southern Comfort. This was May 10. The purchase was shipped in error to St. Thomas, USVI by the retailer in Miami designated by the distributor. He says the it was because the warehouse people were morons, and then ducked for cover and out of sight. The distributor was no help, either, and Linda had to find a shipper in St. Thomas and have the "package" re-shipped to San Juan, of course at out expense. Linda and I drove our contractors panel truck to old San Juan, loaded the engines and sail drives up, and brought them back to Puerto Del Rey Marina where Kuhela sits high and dry getting her new paint job. There the contractor, Bob Lamire, discovered the gear ratio in the proves was wrong as to the size and weighted the boat. Seems the distributor forgot to look at the information I sent on his form and that this year there were to gear ratios for the sail drives. He'd sent what he had in stock. When so informed, he said there was nothing he could do: neither take them back and exchange them for the proper ones, or find new gears to put in, or anything else. He basically ran for cover. I then begged him for safety reasons to help us out, and because we are paying $65/day to be out of the water, and he relented. At the same time we went to the local PR dealer to buy spare parts and I asked if there were and gear parts to be had there. As the SD60 sail drives are so new, there is nothing in the computers as yet. So, in comes the Yanmar engineer to see what he can do. When he hears our story of woe, he lets Yanmar Atlanta know what is happening. And, low and behold, our distributor is falling all over himself trying to straighten this out. Suddenly two correct sail drives are located in NJ, and a buyer for our wrong ones is located in the BVI. This all happened Friday last during a sales trip to the Keys while fielding on the road hundreds of calls and emails. So, as is stands today, I must wire transfer $8,000+ to the FL distributor to get him to authorize the shipment to PR and sell the wrong drives. If all goes perfectly, the drives will leave NJ Thursday, arrive San Juan Monday or Tuesday next (weather permitting), and be installed by a week from this Friday. While all of this is going on, I'll be negotiating with a guy in Texas to buy my "wrong" ones. I'll let you know.

 

Posted with Blogsy