Sun setting over the La Paz magote. |
I’m
starting to experience mild self-sufficiency anxiety related to our pending
voyage across part of the vast Pacific Ocean. Along with a giddy eagerness I
feel about the passage I’m experiencing a nagging, hopefully irrational sense
that we’re on the cusp of major systems failures.
Over the past nearly four years that we’ve been cruising, we’ve dealt regularly with relatively minor breakdowns and maintenance, but it feels like we’ve gone a very long time with flawless service from our rigging and motor and autopilot and many other fundamental systems. Aren’t we due?
Shouldn’t
the old Adler-Barbour compressor and corresponding tubes and circuits have
failed to keep our beer cold by this time? The thing looked pretty old when we
bought the boat, then it sat idle for a year, and it’s since run for 24 hours
per day for forty-five months.
The
condition of the raw water pump on our 1987 Yanmar was a mystery so I pulled it
in Victoria and brought it to a rebuilding shop where they opened it up and
suggested I do nothing. In San Diego, the story was the same for our stock
80-amp alternator. What would those same mechanics say today, roughly two years
and maybe a 1,000 engine hours later?
I’ve
proactively swapped out solenoids that still worked, just because they were
corroded on the outside and because I wanted spares. I’ve done the same with toilet
pumps and bilge pumps and fresh-water pumps and 12-volt wiring. I replaced the
lower bearings on our 1980s headsail furling gear and the gypsy on our
37-year-old windlass—but what about the other key components of those important
systems?
I
know we’re not sailing to Mars and that mechanical failures are bound to happen
and that we’ve no choice but to take what comes. But I also know that it’s
prudent to pretend we are sailing to Mars and that mechanical failures should
be simultaneously prevented and prepared for. And that’s where I’m at.
Following
are the few passage-specific things we have to do:
·
provision
and stow a boat load of food and supplies
·
install
additional pad eyes in the cockpit for use as additional tether attachment
points
·
configure
installation of the water generator we plan to tow (wiring and perhaps
fashioning a stern bracket)
·
come
up with a good approach for securing our dinghy/life boat to the foredeck
·
make
a comprehensive rigging inspection aloft and at deck level
But
the fact that we’re planning to sail for 20+ days and then be away from ready
availability of stores and parts for much longer, kind of results in a
confluence of other, this-is-the-obvious-time-to-complete-them tasks. This
particular list is very long, and nothing on it is essential or critical, but
it seems imperative to knock off as many as we can before going. After all,
we’ve gotten on fine with that broken spreader light, but with so many nights
at sea coming up, now is really the time to fix it. And that delaminated
section of the foredeck isn’t going to repair itself so why inflict 3,000 more
ocean miles on that spot? Also, if there was ever a time to remove and
re-stitch our aging dodger, this is it. I could go on and on. Boats are like
that.
I’ll
do what I can and then we’ll be off.
--MR
Just remember happy sails and chafe guard, chafe guard, chafe guard - you're in for a kick-ass adventure!! It's a whole different world out there! Hugs to you and the family xo
ReplyDeleteHey, Robertsons! What's your timing for departure? Safe sailing, and we're looking forward to following this next leg of your family adventure!!
ReplyDelete