(continued from last entry)
I suppose to make me go away, Yanmar eventually agreed to provide the critical parts to correct the issue and even a second of parts for the other sail drive. Odd because I had already inspected the port sail drive with my trusty borescope and sent them photos, noting that it was correctly built. Obviously an attempt to calm my rising temper, but also a "kiss our butts, this is all you're gonnna get". No offer to pay for the haul out or even the $75 tube of factory recommended goo to lock the mounting bolts in place. Well, they've got a room full of lawyers, and mine is imaginary, so looks like we're done here.
Next - how to get the parts to us without all the cost, delays and palaver of international freight? I contact my favorite Yanmar authorized service center in San Diego and request they round up all the parts, meanwhile we put out a call on the local morning VHF cruisers net looking for anybody who might have an inbound guest from the US. Darned if Sher on SV Rambler has a pal coming to visit from New Jersey on January 14th! Sher checks and her pal Michelle who is happy to bring along a small package, so I contact Laurie, a cruising friend in San Diego who offers to collect the parts from my Yanmar guy and overnight them to New Jersey. It all goes to plan, and Bob's your uncle!
Parts finally in hand, I contact Maintenance Marquises, the small boat yard and chandlery at Hiva Oa, about 80 miles from Nuku Hiva. The yard is owned and operated by Vincent and Marie Roche, a lovely couple with a couple of cute little girls. It's a busy time of year, but they offer a haul out date of January 28th. We sail down a couple days before to inspect the operation, sign all the paperwork and pay 50% down. There's a 1 day delay so we finally get hauled at high tide, 0700 on January 29th. They use a big hydraulic trailer towed by a tractor, rolling it down the steep launch ramp into the water, then lifting JollyDogs from underneath the bridge deck. It's a first for us but compared to using a travel lift with slings it's an absolutely superior method and given the choice I'd never use a travel lift again. By 0800 we're blocked up and secure on a concrete pad and a young guy is pressure washing the bottom.
Before day's end the props are off and soaking in a vinegar solution, the gear oil has been drained from both sail drives, I've cut a larger opening in the hull where the starboard sail drive protrudes, and I've got that sucker off. Behold the evil defective torque limiter! I posted details with photos on the Facebook Seawind Club page if anybody's interested.
I take the opportunity to fabricate and install new fairings around the sail drives, refurbish their anti-fouling Trilux 33 paint, and replace the propeller shaft seals. By Friday evening everything is reassembled and paint is drying, but we've elected to remain on the hard over the weekend and wax the hulls while applying additional coats of paint. Monday morning we splash! It's been a long 5 days and we've both busted our butts, but we're done!
I'm getting to be way too good of a mechanic on this boat, but it does feel good to have worked on all the gizzards and not be afraid to tackle a big project such as this. The satisfaction of successfully completing this major repair comes as we motor, dual engine, away from the lift trailer and out into the anchorage to claim a nice spot.
All told we're about $1000 US out of pocket for this Yanmar screwup. That said, unscheduled maintenance is a reality and if the money isn't in the budget for this type of nasty surprise, well, good luck. We use the rest of our time near the yard to work on some canvas projects and do some major provisioning as we wait for our pals Celine and Pat to arrive.
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