Boat Maintenance - Rig Service part 3 - Hallberg Rassy 54 Cloudy Bay - Oct-Nov 2020. Season20 Ep23 

Damn ... you got me! OK, but which planet?

@@SailCloudyBay I can’t remember where Superman was from without doing a search but you must be Superman’s brother.......that planet!

Thanks Glen. The hard bit, that I dont film, is feeding myself, going up and down that damned ladder, biking to bathroom trips and trying not to shiver too much in bed at night!

Thanks Matthew. Nice boat the Xc45

:) ... dont start me on the modern younger generation and all their mollycoddling. Megan and Harry are classic examples! ( don't get me going on that one either ).

More coming Tim ....

Oh yes Steven, that was indeed a perfect sail from Cayman to Cuba. Delightful.

I'll see what I can do next time :)

Right!

Thanks Nick, yes, that device is pretty useful. the guys in Spain did a great job making it.

Yeah, the Benny Hill theme suggestion came from one of the viewers! I think it worked quite well, especially for BH fans :)

Glad you enjoyed it Guy, I certainly enjoyed doing and editing it all.

Dave, yeah, taking the shaft out with our thrust bearing is no easy task. The guys in Spain made a good job of this special tool. But I will actually be removing the shaft in April, because I want to renew the bellows on my stern gland (PSS seal). Fun and games .... it will be a first for me.

Wow, we even reach the mid-west farming community! Thanks Todd.

Thanks Conny. I'll be back out April/May, but not back in the water till September. I'm going to give Oana another summer in Europe before going back to the adventure (my adventure ..... not so much Oana's).

Wow .... now THAT is an interesting tip. Thanks. Will certainly try it because hammering on that P-Bracket cannot be good for the structure.

Hans, I'm very glad it was helpful to you. I now have all the parts and will be putting back to gether again in April. If you want to msg me for any details on parts etc, you can contact me via FaceBook messenger, Sail Cloudy Bay

Thanks, Glen

That's the plan, Ivan :) Now go get to it!

Yet, once I'm in the groove I tend to work non-stop. Glad you enjoyed the video.

Grazie Renato, Questo è un bel complimento.

I think most of this is in the editing frankly John. I'm actually pretty useless at talking and concentrating on what I'm doing at the same time! You need to be female to have that skill!

Thanks. Glad you liked them Carter

You are welcome. And thank YOU for appreciating the ride :)

Thank you very much, John

Thanks Steve. Yes my generator drain shewee is pending patent!! :)

You are welcome, Scott.

I do like to get knowledge just by doing. But before I tackle anything new, I'm as green as anyone out there, but with maybe a bit more confidence than average.

Thanks 👍

Thanks Peter. Yes, I like to get stuck in because when things break in remote areas or nesty conditions when off-grid, every possibility needs to be in my knowledge scope. So I use these maintenance session to ready me for such an eventuality. Plus of course, I enjoy it :)

Your show is a master class in cruising. Hoping to get cruising again in the near future. Spent 12 years cruising my Bristol 32 ,my home port being St. John VI during that period. Looking to get A Garcia Explorer 45 next. I ran into a few social and weather road blocks that told me I need a very versatile and beast of a cruising machine. Love your boat. I own Tutu point salt pond on St Thomas and to get in you need under 4 feet draft. Best Hurricane hole in the VI. NOT that I want to hang around during hurricane season. But If I have to fly out I can put the boat on the hook there and know my boat isn't going anywhere while I'm gone. Thanks again.p

I got the last bit of the comment Wayne, but you completely lost me on the first part!

@@SailCloudyBay Just saying you know how to put things together.

@@waynefederico9396 Ah ha ... sorry, now that I read it again I wonder why I didnt understand first time. Losing my marbles I think!

Yep, thats the plan. Although, I'm sure Cloudy will still throw a few challenges at us

Dan, agreed, the boat is certainly going to be in great shape for the next stage. But that said, boats and systems don't like lying idle either. So I'm anticipating Cloudy throwing a few surprises at us when we restart.

My pleasure! Yes, just 5 weeks till I'm back there.

Yeah .. kind of got carried away as usual. But the actual winterizing is in this one!

@@SailCloudyBay where do you plan on living for the winter until you all start sailing again? States? Or do you travel during the winter months?

We are back in Oana's home town, Bucharest, Romania

David, well, its true, maintaining a boat to keep it in good working condition is alot of work and cost. As a rule of thumb, 10% of the value of the boat per year. You've really got to either be pretty wealthy or dedicated or both. Interestingly, in Europe people tend to work on their own boats much more than I see in US. Interesting because professional marine services in US are double the cost of similar in Europe. For us, the only way owning a boat like this makes sense is if we use it all the time. We simply could not afford it just to use on the odd weekend during the season.

@@SailCloudyBay Thank you for taking the time to reply. I absolutely love the perfectionism of both you and you wife. You sometimes pretend to be uppity snobs but I can see the marvelous nuances in both of your personalities. You are both incredible people and very entertaining. I hope your videos continue after this Covid shit.

Just 5 weeks away .... cant wait to get back Eric. And editing these videos has given me ideas on how it can be done better for the next "rebuild" series.

Many thanks! More to come next week, but will be back to sailing and exploring the Caribbean with some older previous footage that we had not yet edited.

Sometimes you just gotta think out the box on boats!

Randy, I'm working on Oana to fill that role :) So far I'm not having much success in the persuasion department!

Thanks Harry, but we will be in Europe this summer.

@@SailCloudyBay The "Log Canoe's race from early July to mid Sept ... mostly in St Micheals and Oxford ...

Some more coming next week ... sailing again. Don't task me how, just watch :)

Steve, thanks. Yes, looking forward to the slightly cleaner aspect of rebuilding, thats for sure. 5 more weeks and I'll be back at it.

Glad you enjoyed it Stuart

Thanks Ian. I will be back to the boat in April (to put Humpty back together again!) then we both start sailing again in Autumn. BUT, next videos will be from our 2019 season where we still had a backlog of editing to do. So Oana will be on screen again soon :) Was also thinking about getting Oprah to interview us, but it seems all the Brits hate her now!

@@SailCloudyBay Lol regarding Oprah. It's difficult not to get into the politics or the "xenophobic" behavior of my European neighbors (the British) but maybe you can answer what your personal impact will be with the Brexit fallout, regarding your traveling plans sailing. Love your channel 😎

Thanks Roly, yes I dream of having a nice dry workshop to have the boat inside .... and a proper work bench. But I guess I'm just used to using whatever I have on hand.

You are so welcome!

Thank you very much, Richard

Yeah ,.... hoping he'll fix offshore communication for us.

Glad you enjoyed it guys

Barry, Thanks for the compliment :) Frankly I don't consider myself to be any maintenance hero. I'm just someone who is not afraid to get stuck in and learn by mistakes. And I hope my videos help to inspire others who maybe less confidence with their own inner abilities. Yes, I do use ACH50 quite alot, thanks for highlighting that. But I only use in non-exposed places, like coating electronics and mechanical items inside the boat. I maybe wrong, but I don't think it has the lasting power be out there in the UV and exposed to the full harshness of marine environment, and continue protecting an aggressive SS-Aluminium interface for 10-12 years. I've been on lots of forums about this, and the general consensus for long-term protection from galvanic corrosion between dissimilar metals are: Durlac, Lanocote and TefGel and the best - total isolation using a thin layer of HDPE plastics. Thanks for the comment and very glad you enjoyed the videos. More coming soon.

Oh, I think there are quite few DIYers out there. Maybe less in USA than elsewhere, but still .... Thanks for the compliment, but truth is I only show that bits that make me look good! All the swearing and things going wrong don't make the cut! haha

Our pleasure!

Yes, like all Englishman ... gotta have a good cuppa! And generally, anywhere in the world, its only really on the "foreign produce" shelves that you can buy a good English teabag.

Yes Dennis, you could be right!

@@SailCloudyBay Hey Thanks For Having A Sense Of humor. And Incidentally, I Owned A Lightning With A Serial # 11079 Back In 1990. It Had A Fiberglass Hull, Spruce 26 Foot Mast That Was Not Quite In Plumb And A Stainless Center Board, So I Have An Idea Of How Much Maintenance Is Required With A Boat Powered By Wind. Dennis

I agree totally Henrik. Hence I watch quite a few hours of RU-vid myself to get up the enthusiasm!

Thanks Martin ..... maybe we will progress to me chasing Oana to Benny Hill music :) Though I'm not sure she will buy into that image!

@@SailCloudyBay Hahaha ...... just remind her that life is too short and we all need a bit of fun and enlightenment in our lives.

Thanks for watching!

Yes Jorge, I will be back there April 15th ... hopefully. So the blog should restart then too.

Glad you enjoy it, Thomas.

Peter, good idea. Hadn't thought of the 1-way-valve. I plan to get this set up next time I'm on the boat ..... if I ever get down to that part of my to-do list!

Yep, thats what I'm using. Impact driver. the screws will back in with Durlac.

Glad you enjoyed them Ricardo ... more parts to come once I get back to the boat.

Hi Kevin, Yes I'm now back at the boat for 6 weeks, back to filming and maintenance again. The maintenance videos won't be out till I get home and edit them, but if you want to see what I'm doing take a look at www.sailcloudybay.com. I undated daily maintenance progress along with photos. In the meantime there are other videos posting each Friday on our channel.

Yes, I was just reading that too. But also, in the finer print, Elton says the system would be too big for a car, but OK for RVs, Trucks and ships. So it will be interesting to see the size of the equipment. But all in all, I'm quite excited about it. It will certainly change sailing for all those that crave continuous connectivity to the world .... like Oana!

There could certainly be a good argument there. I think you are right, the extra cost my be advantageous. But there are not many 12 year old carbon masts out there to compare to

Bill, did you see that there is Part 1 and 2 also?

@@SailCloudyBay I haven't looked for them yet because I to complete a few jobs. I will look for them tomorrow. Thank you

Thanks for the great comment Bob. Yes, I did the water maker, and all the hot/cold water systems and sink/shower/toilet drains, but I cut those out the video as it would have been too much of simply pumping antifreeze around stuff. Yes, been thinking about re-anodizing. I understand how to do that on small pieces of aluminium that fit into a bath, but not so sure how I would re-anodize parts of the mast. But you have got me thinking. I'm going to do some research. Also thought about cameras .... may well add one ready to high-view when coming into reef structures in the Pacific. Hmmm you've just added to me to-do list!

@@SailCloudyBay Hahaa, love the channel Glen, just another way for me to get more content from you! Joking aside, the costs involved wold be stratospheric if you were to subcontract this work - thank-you Seldon... so it's beneficial to all and sundry to understand and be able to carry out these repairs. A couple more thoughts and comments - the corrosion on the mast is electrolytic - I've often wondered if an anode arrangement could be implemented, particularly keel stepped, and, secondly following on from an incident on a super-yacht, you should check neutral and earth loop impedance from the generator and inverter(s). Dangerous situations can occur when a neutral or earth has a high impedance.. This is one time when you might want to get a marine electrician as a normal multimeter cannot perform these task.

Thank you Diane :)

You are welcome Andrea

Prego Luca :)

Glad you found it good to watch James.

Thanks for the compliment Darren. I spent 31 years with an Oil & Gas service company. Initially working on rig operations for 10 years then office and management. Being on Cloudy Bay kind of takes me back to my operations days where everything seemed to need constant attention to keep things running in the harsh environments the equipment was exposed to. Those were my happiest days .... not so much behind a desk!

We'll be right there next to you .... heading south at that time too.

@@SailCloudyBay excellent may cross paths, we are leaving from Halifax, SV Bella

Hi Brian, difficult to estimate service life really. Its all about how much the boat is used. I expect to get another at least 10 years out of the replacement rigging, but the hydraulic motors will probably need another thorough service in about 5-6 years, mainly to change the seals. On the Cutlass, I feel I should really get more out of it than 900 hours. I could likely have carried on using it for another season, but I also know that vibration can do terrible things to a transmission and prop. Could possibly have just turned it 180 deg too, because the wear is only on the lower side. But its one of those things I don't like to cut corners on, once the boat is out the water. On selling Cloudy Bay, when it comes to it, I'll be sure to let people know. I don't think I will be needing an agency!

Yes, I use T9 alot. Especially on electrical parts. But on the mast, open to the weather, heat, sun, UV, salt etc. I'm certain T9 would not stand the test of time. Lanocote on the otherhand will be in place for a decade at least.

@@SailCloudyBay Good to know that about Lanocote. Thank you.

Yeah, it takes a bit to get motivated to start things but once on the roll its difficult to stop me!

@@SailCloudyBay see you out there next winter maybe.... Covid willing.

Benny Hill song? :)

Hi Michael, No, I didn't freeze the cutlass.... that's a trick that I only just learned. Thought the Benny Hill music may add something .... just need some scantily clad ladies around me to go with it!

Thanks Zeke. I didn't really think of that angle, because I didn't think you could re-anodize a surface that was previously anodized. But, you got me thinking. I'm going to investigate.

@@SailCloudyBay there is a Russian guy that I saw on RU-vid that was doing this on ends of metal sort of like overlapping paint, some overlap will come off but the cleaned and dressed part will cost! They took his channel down I think. And if you can buy used spreader type extruded aluminum that are little longer than yours needed you can shorten and fit lastly the welding sticks they sell for aluminum allow as strong welds (when done right as you would😉) and it's just using soldering torch with propane and no Tig gas needed but I know you would love to learn Tig welding the things you can weld and do OMGOSH IT SATISFIES LOL (see I get OCD treatment by completion of these type things 😆) and I was asking what professional field you were in( sorry I'm not trying to be a bother) Thanks again for the finishing video very nice work that ship looks like NEW!

@@SailCloudyBay oh the part that's getting redone has to be striped to bare metal this is the part that takes stamina and nerve but you can do the whole process it's just dipping till submerged maybe you can do blue to match her boot strip and letterhead oooh that would be neat and just as protective

Probably not James. Because on HR forums I've heard plenty of stories from others, some with yachts only 4 years old, and no recourse from manufacturers on this point. Mostly regarding the spreaders.

Thanks for the tip Brian, I'll go do some research on it. But so far it looks like an additive to spray into engine air intakes .......

I think the airplane guy might be on to something. Corrosion x. Or the 50 stuff. They say it’s seaps a oily film for a while from the treatments. And they fog the aircrafts every two years. Hum don’t know. . Interesting subject.

Yes definitely. It’s 2/3 the price of anywhere in Annapolis. The yard and staff are fantastic and the whole place is manicured like a park. Ray, our friend, also does boat work. I should start getting commission from HHN! Only downside is depth getting in. 7ft. But we draw 8ft and manage OK on high water.

@@SailCloudyBay any way u could share Rays’ contact info? Thanks!

Hank Gibson send us a message via our FB page and I’ll put you in contact. I dont want to write his details here.

Well, I guess I was pretty practical even as a young lad. Taught and inspired by elder brothers who were always tinkering on this or that. And a Dad who refused to throw anything away unless he finally finally could not fix it. Then my career was a field engineer in the oil and gas industry, working for Schlumberger. All very hands-on-practical ... up to the point they promoted me to manager. From then on the only thing I got my hands on was a PC mouse and a desk :( Retiring, and having Cloudy to tinker on is like being re-born for me :)

Good thinking Samai. I'll take a look. Likely the "waxy like" substance you spray on sea planes is probably something like Lanocote.

Brain, of all things on the boat, I really do find winch servicing tedious. Probably because its routine and nothing new about them. But nice to know they are done for another 18mths to 2 years.

Ups I missed it, of course you changed them on January 2020.

Yes Issac, we changed all to Bronze (Groco brand) in Nov'19

May I suggest both! :)

@@SailCloudyBay That's a winner!

😊

Thank you 👍

Hi Paul. THanks for the compliment. Our generator is a WhisperPower 8-Ultra. Dutch made I believe. Fitted as standard to HR

The truth is Hayden that you cannot stop the metal contact everywhere. These plastic strip(s) should protect the raw ends of the aluminium extrusion and inside I use Lanocote and Durlac on the rivets.

Thanks for the comment. Yes, You are right, I should use the longer bits next time, with the impact driver. I believe the thread inserts do 2 things: 1) allows the SS screw/bolt to be thread locked into place without the worry of SS touching any aluminium and 2) the larger thread size of the SS thread insert (vs the screw thread) means there is more threaded area to "survive" corrosion. (a very small thread into aluminium would be much more likely to fail and be striped out). Selden also has threaded inserts on the alloy housing for the furling motors, where stainless steel screws would enter.

I can see that point 2 is very valid, you get more "meat" on each thread. But point 1 would require the thread insert to be of a different material than stainless steel, unless extra care is taken to insulate between the insert and the aluminium. Are these parts, the goose neck and furling motors servicable parts? Then it could be that the thread insert are there to reduce wear on the aluminum and reduce risk of ripping the threads. Thanks for the reply :)

Haha .... I did have that in my first edit. But thought I'd better keep the rhetoric tame!

Jan, I agree. They say cost and yacht systems size/strength goes up exponentially with length. And I think its quite true. Its one of the reasons that I see this size of boat is the max that 2 people can safely handle (maybe already too big). Above this the forces on everything just get unhandlable, especially when things go wrong.

may i ask how many years u have on the sea?

Jan, Prior to Covid we had been "at sea" (living on the boat) since May 2016. That is when I retired from work. But we stopped in June 2020 to take a break while this Covid thing is on, causing issues for entering different countries.

Paul, I always do as much as I can possibly do myself, for these reasons: I learn about the system when I maintain it, and this knowledge could be invaluable if/when (more like when!) I need to fix anything when we are sailing remote places. We save a lot of money, particularly in USA where man-time starts at $100/hr. And lastly, because I enjoy it, and get great satisfaction knowing the job is done properly. Unfortunately that is not always the case whenever I've used professionals.

Yes, those are helicoils. I'll replace and put back in the same.

Hi Anna, Peter. Glad you enjoyed the videos. More to come soon. The grease was just basic marine grease. It seems to stay there OK (very tight space) until I next replace the cutlass. On the corrosion preventer, I'm a bit new to this but it seems there are 3 go-to products: Durlac, Lanocote and Tefgel. I feel each has its own place, with some overlaps. Durlac is the only one that chemically protects against galvanic corrosion, and while it remains moist its probably the best. Trouble is that is tends to dry out and crack off after several years with strong exposure to heat/sun, so dont expect it to last a decade. On the other hand, Durlac is the only one that dries, so is good where you a) dont want the liquid migrating and b) where you don't want the screw to come out accidentally. I use this on screws and rivets Tefgel is brilliant in that is does not dry out, really good at keeping out moisture and seems to last the time. But it doesnt dry and my rigger tells me that over time is tends "walk" all over the rig. Its also a good lubricant. So advise not to use on screws up the rig, unless you like screws raining randomly on you! I use this for parts that I want to regularly get apart. Lanocote is the only naturally occuring product. It smells like old sheep! It extremely viscous, and acts like Tefgel, but doesnt "walk" even in high temperature zones. But while much more vicous than Tefgel it is still a lubricant, so good for rivets and metal touching metal, but not good for screws that you want to stay in place. Hope that helps. Like said, I'm no expert, but this is my understanding.

Thanks Glenn! Your information was helpful and naturally thorough!! Just so you can track where your channel reaches we live in the middle of Canada and sale on a large fresh water lake full of islands known as Lake of the Woods. We were very impressed with the tool you had made for removing the cutlas bearing. What material is it fabricated in?? Anna & Peter

@@annafuller1422 THat tool is made of stainless steel

I learned something. Thank you Joshua. I'll get me some of those!

I learned it from Wes on Watch Wes Work, for what it’s work. That guy is awesome.