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Larry's LogAfter the weekend, I started to feel a little sick so Monday I didn't do too much except hose down the boat in the morning - it was amazing the amount of dust and dirt that accumulated. Diane had gone shopping and while I was cleaning up the boat, John and Shirley from She Laa, walked past and I asked about his refrigeration. We talked for a while and I explained the problem I was having. John described what he thought might be the problem, a refrigerant leak, and said that another cruiser had a sensor that could 'sniff' the leaks - he had borrowed it before and that was how he knew his compressor was bad. When I got back inside the boat I called Sundowner but they were evidently off the boat. Later on, when Diane got back, I described what John had said and Diane said that could be the problem. Frankly, I wasn't convinced there was a problem yet but it couldn't hurt to try the test. If there was a leak, it seemed the only way to fix it was to replace the entire system; not something I was looking forward to particularly since I still needed to change the chainplates, install the new windlass, put the new vang hydraulic fitting in and probably numerous other small projects. When Diane went up to the potluck barbeque just to grill the meat, she saw John from Sundowner, who had the refrigerant tester. He said I could borrow it - no problem. We didn't do much the next few days except I did what I could on the refrigeration and some small miscellaneous things. The chainplate still wasn't ready and rainy season has started so things will go even more slowly. The refrigerator is working but the compressor is running constantly so I sent an email to the manufacturer. Unfortunately, I found out that the unit doesn't have any connectors for gauges so I can't even test it. John, from Sundowner, came over Thursday morning with his refrigeration gauges but when he looked at the system, we found out there was no way to even use them. The compressor had a tube leading out but it had been squeezed shut and was therefore unusable and there weren't any valves on the high and low-pressure sides to attach the gauges to. We talked about the problem for a while and then he left to do some work on his own boat. Later on, I attached the temperature sensing bulb to the clamp plate on the evaporator, where it should have been attached, by removing the spillover board, finding the right location, defrosting the freezer a bit and then attaching the capillary tube and end bulb as shown in the manual (it had never been attached there before but I figured it couldn't hurt. That didn't really change the situation. I had gotten an email from Giulio saying that the windlass had arrived but George had already left for Caracas and when we called on his cell phone, he couldn't pick up the small crate. So we agreed that Giulio would send it by a local freight company. Hopefully it would be OK. Also during this period, I went back and forth a few times with the same chainplate I was trying to get replaced. The new one was made but the holes were too small and the bolts I had would just barely fit. Of course, it also wouldn't line up with the holes in the bulkhead where it was mounted so I had to bring it back, again. Friday morning Arnoldo called us on the radio saying that Giulio had telephoned and we should call him back. I did that at about 10 and he said that he had sent the windlass and would fax over the waybill to the marina office. I immediately went up to the marina office and the fax was just coming in. I asked one of the girls in the office to call the shipping company for me (the local office was in Barcelona, the town just next to PLC) and she very nicely called and they said it would be delivered sometime in the afternoon. The rest of the day was a slow one, just doing some small chores. I spoke to the guy about the chainplates again and explained the problem - he seemed to understand but we'll see when we get the new one back. At least I haven't spent any money on this yet. Later on, Diane spoke to 'Charlie Alpha', Carlos, who made arrangements for a refrigeration guy he knew to come to the boat tomorrow at 9. We explained what the problem was to Carlos, who spoke English well, and he called his friend and relayed the information. We also agreed on a price. Hopefully, this will solve the problem. About 4:30 that day, Arnoldo called us again to say we got a package delivered to the marina office. Diane and I went over and there was a small crate waiting on the floor. I picked it up (it felt light with all the adrenaline, even at 80 pounds), carried it down the stairs and put it in the cart to get it back to the boat. I got the boat closer to the seawall and managed to slide it under the railing on the bow while Diane slipped a small pad under the crate. We got it on the foredeck with no problems. I got some tools to open the crate and everything seemed OK and it was the right one. Everything seemed to be there as well. I'll try test fitting it tomorrow in the anchor well - it's a much bigger footprint than the old one but its also much more powerful. Saturday morning we spoke to Andrea aboard Midnight Stroller again- they were 24 hours out from Panama but we heard each other pretty well. It was just the three of them as crew but the weather was calm so the passage was pretty easy so far. Hopefully it will be that way for them all the way to the Galapagos. We had just finished breakfast and I started to work getting the windlass out of the crate when Henry, the refrigeration guy, came over, escorted by one of the guards. He came right on time. We went below and I showed him the system. He worked on the system, first putting in a valve on the low-pressure side. It was one I had never seen before, a clamp on valve that greatly simplified the addition. He hooked up his gauges and saw that the pressure was zero. Well, that was the problem so he put the gas bottle on and recharged the system until the pressure reached 12 PSI. He waited and looked around for what must have been a small leak and seemed to find one at the connector in the low-pressure line to the evaporator. I suppose, over the years, it vibrated loose a bit and lost some gas. He tightened that and didn't find any more leaks. He then put the valve on the high pressure side and showed me what the pressure on both side should be when the system was operating normally. Since Diane couldn't understand everything that he was saying, we asked Blanca, a native of Venezuela but who also spoke English very well and lived on another cruising boat, to come over and help translate. She very kindly did and we could now understand everything he was saying. Although he didn't put in the new filter since he said it wasn't necessary, we paid him the full amount we agreed on yesterday, still only the equivalent of about $41 USD, which included the 2 valves, the gas and his 2 hours of labor. Not too bad if we don't have to buy a new system now. After lunch, I continued with the windlass. I had already removed the old one but now I needed to remove the wood pad that the old one sat on. I had rebedded it 4 years ago and I guess I did a very good job because I couldn't get it off now. After 2 hours in the sun, I gave up for the day. I did get the rest of the windlass unpacked and later studied the installation wiring diagrams. I was going to run several new cables since not only was this windlass bigger and more powerful but I had bought the reversing solenoid and that had to be wired in. In the evening, Janice and Weedie came over for drinks and some snacks - it was Weedie's birthday so we went out to a nice Brazilian restaurant in PLC. The food was good but we had a bit too much to drink. We were going to have dessert at another place but when we got there, it was closed so we came back to the marina, planning to have something at the marina restaurant but, amazingly, it was also closed. We then went back to Plenum and had some more drinks there. Needless to say, we all felt pretty good by the end of the evening. Sunday, I continued working on the windlass in the morning. It took almost all day to finish removing the old wood pad, footswitch, cables and even the saltwater washdown outlet since it was too close to the new position of the rope drum. In order to have the chain feed to the gypsy in a straight line, the windlass had to placed fairly far over to the port side, where the rope drum then almost touched the side of the anchor well. Once I get another wood platform though, it should have enough clearance since the locker sides flare out from the bottom of the well. Diane just relaxed most of the morning since she was a little hung-over but then worked on our finances in the afternoon - no dominoes today. The next day we ran some errands, first to get another blood test for me and then made another appointment with my doctor. We talked to him for a little while - we both liked him and he seemed very competent. I then got some breakfast and we walked to Plaza Mayor. I got on the Internet for a while and looked up some financials, the duplicate charge for the navigation software had been reversed, and then we went over to have lunch in MacDonalds. Then we went shopping and by the time we got everything back to the boat, it was almost 3pm - too late to really start anything so we just relaxed for the rest of the day. Tuesday morning Diane left very early to go volunteer at a local hospital today; every 6 months a group of doctors and staff donate their services to perform cleft palate and similar surgeries at the local public hospital. There is a group that organizes volunteers from the cruisers and oil company families to help out and so Diane left with the group at about 6:30am. I took advantage of her being off the boat to work in the engine compartment that necessitates removing the companionway stairs, etc. I removed the old windlass breaker, rated at 50 amps, and installed the new one, provided with the windlass, rated at 135 amps. I removed the old windlass wiring inside the compartment since it was only 4 AWG and with that much amperage, I needed to replace it with 1/0 cable. I didn't have any new cable yet so I just removed the old ones and mounted the breaker, but that took all morning. Diane came back while I was making a template for the wood pad I needed to place between the new windlass and the bottom of the anchor well. After I finished the template I brought it over to the marina yard and got a price that was fairly high, but I said to make it anyway. I also picked up the 4th chainplate. At the boat, Diane complained about the price for the wood pad. She suggested I buy a piece of plywood, and I questioned how would I get a 4x8 foot piece of plywood back to the marina. She said I should ask 'Charlie Alpha' how it might be done. Well, I tried the new chainplate and it finally fit well. I brought it back so it could be polished and asked to cancel the order for the wood pad. Fortunately, it hadn't been started yet. After I got back, Diane went to find out about getting the plywood and it seemed possible although a bit difficult. Oh well, I might need more to finish the project anyway - to mount the footswitches and I did have a new saber saw I bought in the States. Wednesday morning, we first went to get my blood test done, and make a doctor's appointment. After getting back to the boat I went to get the plywood. The cab showed up and Carlos explained what I needed and where to go so there would be no confusion. He had also written down the prices for the wood, since he had called yesterday and what the taxi would cost. We got there (I had actually been there before with Tom last year) got the wood, tied it down on top of the roof and got back to the marina with no problems. The driver helped me put it on the dock, leaning against the bushes so that was done. Then of course, I had to cut out the pad for the windlass. I got out my new saber saw, blades and extension cord and went to work. It was very hot working in the sun but the cutouts were fairly easy and after making 4, I tried it out. There was still some room at the top of the well so I made a fifth. The windlass just fit - the rope drum was only about 1 inch from the side of the well (where the washdown fitting had been) but it should work OK. I left the windlass sitting on the pads inside the well and cleaned up. Diane and someone passing by helped get the rest of the plywood on the boat and I tied it to the shrouds so it couldn't blow away or get damaged (or damage the boat). I put some plastic on it also since it was bound to rain again soon. The next day Diane and I went to my doctor but first we got the results of my blood test. The values were clearly much too high and we insisted that they do them again, which they did at no charge. But of course, now we had to change the doctor's appointment. We went over and explained what happened and he said to come back tomorrow when we had the new results. So we went to Plaza Mayor, just a short walk away and had lunch, did some shopping and I got on the Internet as well. By the time we got back to the boat, it was after 2 and raining so we didn't do much else. |