TripSailor.com® Sailing Blogs

Am in the fishing harbour at Carnarvon sorting out the problems. Thanks to Colin, excellent man at SCHIPPSHAPE I have two replacement sections for the Aries self steering system.

“I think it needs some reinforcing here,” he said and whipped out the aluminium welder.

He had a sign at the entrance to his workshop. There was a picture of a dog and the text said, “He can run to the gate in 2.8 seconds. Can you?” (Dammit! I should have taken a photo!)

Then Bruce at Carnarvon Tractors miraculously had a master link so that I could re-connect the chain for the auto-pilot.

“I don’t normally do this small stuff,” he said while rummaging around in a plastic box.

He produced a section of chain AND a master link. We were BOTH surprised.

“Well, you’re in luck. It wasn’t on the computer system.”

Then as I was sewing on a piston hank on the staysail yesterday the woman from the Department of Transport walked down to the shore waving a parcel. It contained three replacement blades for the wind generator. The broken blade was replaced and just on dark I had it all back in place and going. I was back in business for “Cold Beer Making.”

Mind you, getting the 17kg turbine unit down and getting it back up again was good exercise. I had a “fail-safe”pulley system so that it couldn’t fall into the water.

So the pics I have added show:

the new shaft section for the Aries – with the broken one. (I know they are boring pics but I have various people who will want to see that.)

the remnants of the wind generator blade. The manufacturers said that it was a rare occurrence that a blade is lost. It is usually due to a rope hitting it in high winds.

That could have happened the 30knot stuff I had at the time. The topping lift may have been loose. I am also wondering if the "Person Overboard Marker – which is a long fibreglass pole like a fishing rod – may have flicked or flexed and WHAMMO

the exhaust riser that I had made in Geradlton is presented for your inspection and delectation. It is working…so far so good! 

On THELIST is to paint the metal bits before I leave for the next part of the journey.