eastcoastbernie
Well-Known Member
With it being all so calm and sunny and lovely on Saturday, I decided I would have a go at single handing (cheating, with able crew standing by just in case it all went horribly wrong.)
Now, my prop kicks hard to port, so the usual plan is to reverse along the channel between the two rows of pontoons. By the time she has some way on I can coax her to reverse to starboard to at the end of the line of pontoons, setting her up for doing the rest of the exit in forward gear.
So, I set up to chug out in reverse as usual and everything is going just fine, but I notice a big boat on the inside pontoon has also started to move. Which will put him just in the spot I want to be when I do my reverse turn to starboard. Bother, or words to the same effect.
I will have to stop and wait for him to go. But she doesn't really do stopping and waiting unless there is a nice tide to stem to. She goes forward, but there isn't really much space for her to go forward, so I have to give her a little burst of reverse, so she goes hard to port, so I have to give her a little burst of forward and hey presto I have done a pretty little pirouette and can now chug out the the marina in forwards. I feel very smug as it all went very calmly almost as if I planned it.
Once out of the fairway, I set the tiller pilot to keep her on course while I de-fenderised, then I set her up head to wind and hoisted the mainsail. Then I set her on a close-hauled course while I went forward to deal with the hanked on headsail. Back into the cockpit for the hoist. All going swimmingly. Killed the engine. Took the autopilot off. Sailed a little on port tack, then tacked onto starboard. 'Who needs crew?' I say outload, but then let John join in as he is obviously getting bored.
Now I haven't been out of the Orwell yet this year because I have had a nagging suspicion that all is not quite well with Beyond Reason. I didn't have her hauled out over the winter so haven't really done many of the jobs I usually do. The last time I was out in her a few weeks back, there was water coming out of the exhaust, but it seemed to me not as much as there should be.
On the last outing, I had tightened the fan belt (as it drives the water pump as well as the alternator) and attached the foot pump to the raw water intake to pump like crazy in case something was blocking the pipe. I had hoped to see an improvement in the volume of water spurting out the back, but I wasn't convinced.
So, on Saturday, after a pleasant sail up and down the Orwell, we decided to drop the sails and motor onto a mooring between Woolverstone and Pin Mill for a cup of tea. I wasn't best pleased to notice that not only was there less water than I would like spurting out of the back, but the suggestion of steam exiting the exhaust.
On the mooring the raw water intake pipe was again removed and the foot pump attached to blowing out any blockage. Since BR stayed in over the winter I reasoned she would have a load of weed on her hull some of which might have been detached and ended up in the raw water intake.
In the interests of engine preservation, I decided to sail off the mooring and beat back to SYH. All well and good, but the sea breeze is on its way out now and it is a foul tide. No matter, we can handle it, it will just take quite a long time.
We decide to carry the sails as long as we can. I consider taking the sails down in the marina, but reason that if it all went horribly wrong and I ended up colliding with a boat inside the marina I wouldn't have a leg to stand on, so we get the fenders ready while we are sailing along - sorry I know this offends, but needs must - and we sail a little beyond the entrance to the marina so we can reach down the fairway. Once in the fairway, we take down the headsail first, then put on the engine on while the mainsail comes down. I wouldn't normally want to take the mainsail down unless head to wind, but there is so little wind, it's fine.
The trusty engine hangs on till we are safely tucked up in our berth, but it is obviously not happy. I decide the raw water intake must be blocked with barnacles and I will have to have BR craned out, or go on the scrubbing post, to deal with it. Bother, or words to that effect.
During the evening, while supping at the Lightship, I have what might turn out to be a brainwave. Might the heat stack tube be blocked?
So Saturday morning, we empty out the cockpit locker so John can get into it and reach the back of the engine via the inspection hatch, while I deal with the front of the engine behind the companionway steps.
When we get the thing apart, it is something of a miracle that any water was coming out of the exhaust at all. The holes in the tube are about 95% blocked up! So I set about cleaning it all up and reassembling. Gallons of water coming out of the exhaust now so I am pretty sure the problem is now solved.
Hooray!
Now, my prop kicks hard to port, so the usual plan is to reverse along the channel between the two rows of pontoons. By the time she has some way on I can coax her to reverse to starboard to at the end of the line of pontoons, setting her up for doing the rest of the exit in forward gear.
So, I set up to chug out in reverse as usual and everything is going just fine, but I notice a big boat on the inside pontoon has also started to move. Which will put him just in the spot I want to be when I do my reverse turn to starboard. Bother, or words to the same effect.
I will have to stop and wait for him to go. But she doesn't really do stopping and waiting unless there is a nice tide to stem to. She goes forward, but there isn't really much space for her to go forward, so I have to give her a little burst of reverse, so she goes hard to port, so I have to give her a little burst of forward and hey presto I have done a pretty little pirouette and can now chug out the the marina in forwards. I feel very smug as it all went very calmly almost as if I planned it.
Once out of the fairway, I set the tiller pilot to keep her on course while I de-fenderised, then I set her up head to wind and hoisted the mainsail. Then I set her on a close-hauled course while I went forward to deal with the hanked on headsail. Back into the cockpit for the hoist. All going swimmingly. Killed the engine. Took the autopilot off. Sailed a little on port tack, then tacked onto starboard. 'Who needs crew?' I say outload, but then let John join in as he is obviously getting bored.
Now I haven't been out of the Orwell yet this year because I have had a nagging suspicion that all is not quite well with Beyond Reason. I didn't have her hauled out over the winter so haven't really done many of the jobs I usually do. The last time I was out in her a few weeks back, there was water coming out of the exhaust, but it seemed to me not as much as there should be.
On the last outing, I had tightened the fan belt (as it drives the water pump as well as the alternator) and attached the foot pump to the raw water intake to pump like crazy in case something was blocking the pipe. I had hoped to see an improvement in the volume of water spurting out the back, but I wasn't convinced.
So, on Saturday, after a pleasant sail up and down the Orwell, we decided to drop the sails and motor onto a mooring between Woolverstone and Pin Mill for a cup of tea. I wasn't best pleased to notice that not only was there less water than I would like spurting out of the back, but the suggestion of steam exiting the exhaust.
On the mooring the raw water intake pipe was again removed and the foot pump attached to blowing out any blockage. Since BR stayed in over the winter I reasoned she would have a load of weed on her hull some of which might have been detached and ended up in the raw water intake.
In the interests of engine preservation, I decided to sail off the mooring and beat back to SYH. All well and good, but the sea breeze is on its way out now and it is a foul tide. No matter, we can handle it, it will just take quite a long time.
We decide to carry the sails as long as we can. I consider taking the sails down in the marina, but reason that if it all went horribly wrong and I ended up colliding with a boat inside the marina I wouldn't have a leg to stand on, so we get the fenders ready while we are sailing along - sorry I know this offends, but needs must - and we sail a little beyond the entrance to the marina so we can reach down the fairway. Once in the fairway, we take down the headsail first, then put on the engine on while the mainsail comes down. I wouldn't normally want to take the mainsail down unless head to wind, but there is so little wind, it's fine.
The trusty engine hangs on till we are safely tucked up in our berth, but it is obviously not happy. I decide the raw water intake must be blocked with barnacles and I will have to have BR craned out, or go on the scrubbing post, to deal with it. Bother, or words to that effect.
During the evening, while supping at the Lightship, I have what might turn out to be a brainwave. Might the heat stack tube be blocked?
So Saturday morning, we empty out the cockpit locker so John can get into it and reach the back of the engine via the inspection hatch, while I deal with the front of the engine behind the companionway steps.
When we get the thing apart, it is something of a miracle that any water was coming out of the exhaust at all. The holes in the tube are about 95% blocked up! So I set about cleaning it all up and reassembling. Gallons of water coming out of the exhaust now so I am pretty sure the problem is now solved.
Hooray!
