Why Does the Boat Smell Like Diesel Fuel??? 

This is usually where you find me when things go wrong... but meet Hanzel, it's his turn.

     This year, as I may have mentioned, was decreed to be the year of maintenance for Faith.  The water tank project, the battery systems’ rebuild, the life lines’ replacement, the Cetoling of all things wood outside, the replacing of various lines (both needed and forgotten) and in general the attention to be given to various things long since forgotten has zapped this season of cruising as surely as if we had not come to Mexico.  Well, not entirely.

     We ARE in the warmth and sunshine of the Sea of Cortez and even though the wind has been way up over the norm we are happy and healthy.  Sandy has been doing exceptionally well in studying Spanish and I have learned much on the periphery of that experience.  I watch the weather but, at this point, am not entirely sure why.  Usually we are far from here and south… it’s warmer there and there is a day to day need to watch what the weather is doing.  Here we are at the dock and unless we are released to wander about there isn’t much that the weather means to us that we can’t find out by looking outside.

     So, why are we still here?  ¿Why ask why?  We must be here because we are supposed to be here.  A couple of days ago I changed the fuel filters in anticipation of setting out on a tiny bit of cruising (oh please, let this happen sometime) and was going to then change the oil (it’s easier to do when the motor is a little warm)… after the filter change the engine started but only ran reluctantly.  No problem, or so I thought, I will run it for a few minutes then shut down and do this all tomorrow.  The theory was that I could start it the next day then change the oil (it was, after all, nearly wine o’clock and time for a shower and out to dinner).  The following day the motor would not start.  I tried the usual stuff to bleed the system of any air… still no start.  I went to the office that had the number for a mechanic and thought he would be by in a bit.  Well, we waited all day… nothing.  Okay, the next day we had put out feelers for a mechanic with a sense of time and found one.  In the meantime several people tried to assist me in further bleeding the system of air to no avail.  The mechanic came to the boat a few minutes after I called him and proceeded to take apart a bunch of stuff after doing some diagnostic starting attempts.  You see, there is not enough pressure coming from the fuel pump to start, much less maintain the motor’s speed.  Hmmm, well, as I write this, two fellows are laboring away at trying to fix the problem.

The offending fuel injector pump

   It normally falls to me to fix this sort of thing BUT sometimes you just have to give in to what the universe is telling you.  In this case the universe is telling me it is the maintenance year of maximum proportions and I just need to go with the flow.  I do not tire of working on the boat, at least not so far, but I do know when I really, really don’t want to screw up a job and need the expertise of someone who has done a job before.  I can watch and so far it is clear this was a wise choice… a very wise choice.

     While all this is going on the boat pretty much smells as if we are living IN the fuel tank.  We had planned for dinner guest this evening but that needs to be changed to maintain an appetite and excitement that a good dinner, well prepared, deserves.  Did I mention, I guess I did, that the wind has been screaming through the marina’s venturi entrance to make for a noisy, slightly rolly experience even at the dock??  Ah yes, it is a very enjoyable day but the fringes are a bit frayed!!

The Tank & the Welder

Occasionally things just do NOT go as planned.  When David (the welder) got the tank to his shop and started cleaning it his close inspection had him make a call to me.  

"I think you need to come and see your tank," he said.

"What's wrong?  What's going on?" I replied.

"I just think you need to make some decisions..." was David's tentative return.

"Oh dear me... I'll be there in about 20 minutes."  I said as I reach for the truck keys and started getting off the boat in the marina.  David's shop is deep in the heart of Guaymas and given the time of day it took me a little over 25 minutes to reach the shop from San Carlos.

The Tank after cleaning attempt

When I got there the tank was on the ground in front of the covered part to get the full effect of the sunlight.  There were pin holes in most of the welded sections and the plate surfaces had fair sized holes in them.  It seems that as David cleaned the tank he found the metal in many of the plate surfaces to be so thin that his cleaning tool started going through the metal.  His investigation showed that if he brushed over some of the areas with his screw driver it would go through without much or any effort.  Looking at the tank I knew what his question was going to be so I asked, "How much to make a new tank?"

Note the screw driver

He told me he had already upped the order for aluminum to do the rebuild and that instead of the NP$4000 it would be NP$8000 to finish the job.  Okay, that's is not the end of the world.  That was telling me that it would not be the anticipated US$312.50 but US$625.00 instead.  In the big picture that is wonderful news.  I mean, to get a tank that will probably out live me for a reasonable price is a good thing, right?  

Now we will see how this plays out because sometimes things don't go as they are planned.    

El Tanque - The Removal

When we got the boat to the slip, after a tow due to low batteries, we got serious about the removal of the errant water tank.  Mike (Stenbak) had helped to uncover the tank when we were in the work yard before going back to the States for a few days.  It took the better part of a day and lots and lots of unscrewing bulkheads from the covering shelf and tank veneer.  When the builders put together the typical boat they do some strange things.  I mean, not only is the tank attached to the hull via six (6) aluminum tabs with four (4) lag bolts each but it's also encased in a shelf/front arrangement that is FIRMLY attached to the two bulkheads at either end!!

First, they (the builders) assume that nothing on the boat will ever break.  That's a bad assumption but you see the evidence everywhere.  On Faith the water tank seems to be the cornerstone, so to speak, of the whole construct.  They install the tank before they put the deck on... in fact, it is clear now that they put the bulk heads and installed the tank before they built the aft cabinetry.  

Secondly, since it is an aluminum tank you would think that people would go to great lengths to be sure that dissimilar metals never come in contact with it.  When we got the tank uncovered we found that coins, in particular pennies, had slipped down behind the tank and started a corrosive process that led to some of the leaks we found.

So, third, an extension of the first problem really, the tank does not fit through any of the possible openings to exit the boat.  The companionway is 23" wide but one end of the tank was 26" plus the tabs that hold it in place (another 2").  

Tank gets to bottom of the companionway

After talking to various people and contacting my welder friend in Guaymas we came to the conclusion that we would just have to cut a chunk off of the side of the tank.  At one point while were turning and examining the tank we turned it so that the input spout tilted too far and a white milkshake like substance oozed all over the galley sole (don't tell Sandy).  Later when I was cleaning that up it was obvious I will also have to completely clean all of my tools in one of the tool boxes because it was also in the way of the yuck that poured out!!

 

David Cuts away the excess

Normally I wear a mask and earplugs when cutting metal.  Likewise, I normally have everything sketched out so I can follow a precise pattern to take off exactly what needs to come off.  Well, David the Welder just scored the metal with the end of a file I had sitting there and used a very long screw driver I had as well as a straight edge!!  The tabs were soon history too and we then tugged and pushed the tank through the companionway and onto the dock and later up into his van... as it spewed radiator substances all over the place.  It turned out the David had an accident on his way to the marina that morning.

The cut away piece!!

Anyway, the long and short of where we are today is that the tank has gone off to the shop in Guaymas to be cleaned and repaired and we hope to put it back in place on Wednesday or Thursday.

Tank on the Dock... Finally!!

In the meantime Faith lists like she is in a full gale without the weight of the tank and its 125 gallons of water.

In San Carlos and ready... Almost

Faith, with new life lines before cleaning

This year we are really, really late getting to the boat.  Actually, it turned out that Faith is cleaner and drier than in years past!

It is significant, too, that we have our friend Mike with us.  He caravan-ed down with us to get a sense of this cruising thing.  He is also helping to repair some issues that we need to correct before we do the El Salvador Rally (hopefully next season).  He strung my new life lines on at a faster pace than I was able to and yesterday we attacked the leaking main water tank!!  This was while the boat yard guys washed and waxed Faith until she shined like new so we just chugged away at the task inside the boat while they polished her up.  By about 2:00 p.m. we were ready for a break at JJ's while the cleaner/waxer chaps had about another hour, to an hour and a half to go.  We got back to the yard after lunch to find them still working away but the boat looked magnificent!

The tank problem is going to take a good while to fix.  We succeeded in getting down to the tank but now need to figure out where the leak is and then get it repaired... likely welded.  At this point I don't think we will be able to bring the tank out of the boat because it appears that they built the boat around the tank before they fastened the deck on.

In any case, there is about 5 days until we are scheduled to splash the boat and that date can be changed.  It might need to be changed anyway because the marina is very full and we have to take the tide into account to get a valid splash day.

Another Season... Finally!!!

Okay, we are headed south again and that's as much as I have time for today.  At the moment we are in Chandler, AZ waiting a couple of days before going on to Tucson (Tux) and then to Mexico.  The boat awaits with projects galore.

In Vancouver I rebuilt the life lines, and readied myself for the re-install of the aft head.  There is probably a leak in the main water tank so I am steeling myself for the assault on that issue.