Well I did it and bought an old H-30 upgrading (?) from my old and trusted H-27. The boat I bought is in need of loving care and was on the hard for several years but I think pretty sound. And I have a 5 year plan. But I bought a boat to sail so I stage the work and do something each year......
Well I spent a few weeks checking out the engine, thru hull fittings and general cleaning. I checked the shaft gland and closed up the boat to take my wife on vacation on the West Coast. A wonderful cruise to Alaska and a nightmare flight to NY landed us at home about 9 AM. OOPS, I forgot that I scheduled the boat to be hauled to the marina on the same day we got back. A knock on the door and the boat was sortly on the trailer and by 2 PM in the sling at the marina. I was napping with dreams of the airline seat from hell and the screeming child in front of me when the phone rang. The marina was on the phone.
"The packing gland is leaking a drip a second , we've tried to tighten it but it feels like it's bottomed out". I pulled on some clothes and exhauted grabbed a blanket some pipe wrenches a light and some other odds and ends. I knew that the gland had looked OK but....
I rushed to the maria and onto the boat. Opened the engine compartment and threw the blanked on the engine and lay on top of it. With the wrenches I bent like a Barvarian pretzel and worked the nuts on the packing gland up and back and alowed the gland to leak a bit. I was hoping that the packing was dry and needed to swell a little. After about 45 minutes off working it around I tightened it up and the leak seemed to have stopped.
The bilge pump was working on manual but the automatic switch stopped working. I was exhausted and couldn't think straight. I closed the boat up and left. Well I couldn't get back to the boat for two days and I had two sleepless nights. If the boat sank my sailing days might be over and if it only leaked bad and the boat needed to be pulled again that was it for the year. My budget only allows for 1 dunk a year.
I cut out of work two days later and prayed that all was well. The train home was late and I got to the marina at 4 PM. The launch closes at 6 this time of year. I got a ride out to the boat and prayed some more even the launch jockey prayed with me. I opend the boat and VIOLA dry as a bone....Sometimes you live right.
I spent the next hour checking out the auto bilge switch. The problem was a bad connection. I re-did all the connections and then spent an hour cleaning and greasing a winch, running the haylards through the rope clutches and cleaning up the deck and generally enjoying the nice evening.
I caught the last launch back. I'll have the boom and sails up on Saturday and start the sailing season on Memorial Day. Better late than never.
Ther are two morals here
First, check everything twice and don't launch a new/old boat when you are exhausted.
Second, A sailboat is for sailing and sometimes you got to take calculated chances.
PS. The marina greased the outside of the shaft so that any leaking around the shaft would draw the greese into the dry fitting. This probably helped.
Well , next I try to get the stinky head working. Is was working before but is now stopped up. In the worst case I'll pump it dry and live with a porty potty for the season......Did I say five years?
Have a good season and fun out there...............
Well I spent a few weeks checking out the engine, thru hull fittings and general cleaning. I checked the shaft gland and closed up the boat to take my wife on vacation on the West Coast. A wonderful cruise to Alaska and a nightmare flight to NY landed us at home about 9 AM. OOPS, I forgot that I scheduled the boat to be hauled to the marina on the same day we got back. A knock on the door and the boat was sortly on the trailer and by 2 PM in the sling at the marina. I was napping with dreams of the airline seat from hell and the screeming child in front of me when the phone rang. The marina was on the phone.
"The packing gland is leaking a drip a second , we've tried to tighten it but it feels like it's bottomed out". I pulled on some clothes and exhauted grabbed a blanket some pipe wrenches a light and some other odds and ends. I knew that the gland had looked OK but....
I rushed to the maria and onto the boat. Opened the engine compartment and threw the blanked on the engine and lay on top of it. With the wrenches I bent like a Barvarian pretzel and worked the nuts on the packing gland up and back and alowed the gland to leak a bit. I was hoping that the packing was dry and needed to swell a little. After about 45 minutes off working it around I tightened it up and the leak seemed to have stopped.
The bilge pump was working on manual but the automatic switch stopped working. I was exhausted and couldn't think straight. I closed the boat up and left. Well I couldn't get back to the boat for two days and I had two sleepless nights. If the boat sank my sailing days might be over and if it only leaked bad and the boat needed to be pulled again that was it for the year. My budget only allows for 1 dunk a year.
I cut out of work two days later and prayed that all was well. The train home was late and I got to the marina at 4 PM. The launch closes at 6 this time of year. I got a ride out to the boat and prayed some more even the launch jockey prayed with me. I opend the boat and VIOLA dry as a bone....Sometimes you live right.
I spent the next hour checking out the auto bilge switch. The problem was a bad connection. I re-did all the connections and then spent an hour cleaning and greasing a winch, running the haylards through the rope clutches and cleaning up the deck and generally enjoying the nice evening.
I caught the last launch back. I'll have the boom and sails up on Saturday and start the sailing season on Memorial Day. Better late than never.
Ther are two morals here
First, check everything twice and don't launch a new/old boat when you are exhausted.
Second, A sailboat is for sailing and sometimes you got to take calculated chances.
PS. The marina greased the outside of the shaft so that any leaking around the shaft would draw the greese into the dry fitting. This probably helped.
Well , next I try to get the stinky head working. Is was working before but is now stopped up. In the worst case I'll pump it dry and live with a porty potty for the season......Did I say five years?
Have a good season and fun out there...............
