svbeachhouse

Category: Ship’s Log

  • Beach House – Ship\’s Mini Blog and Position Report….Bora Bora YC – Isle Bora Bora – Leeward Islands …..

    AIRMAIL YOTREPS
    IDENT: N6ABC
    TIME: 2016/09/08 23:39
    LATITUDE: 16-29.38S
    LONGITUDE: 151-45.71W
    MARINE: NO
    WIND_SPEED: 15
    WIND_DIR: E
    CLOUDS: 20%
    VISIBILITY: 20
    BARO: 1015.6
    AIR_TEMP: 31.7C
    COMMENT: Beach House – MOORED – Bora Bora Yacht Club – Isle Bora Bora – Leeward Islands

    We had a lovely evening at our mooring last night and with winds predicted to be 18-25 knots today, we knew it would be a blustery sail.
    This gave us a good chance to check the new gooseneck attachment which worked perfectly. With a single reef and our staysail poled out to windward, we made the 20 mile sail on one tack, averaging about 8.5 knots. There are lots of boats here and I looked in the log and was last here
    in June of 2010 with Cindy, Clark and Vincent. This is my fourth time sailing into this island including when I did in 1977 aboard my 32 foot ketch, \”Triad II\”. Lots of memories and we placed a California Yacht Club Burgee here last time around, so maybe if it\’s still here, we\’ll get to update our log and re-sign it.

    We should be here for 2-3 nights awaiting a bit calmer conditions and then head for the very remote Suwarrow Atoll about 650 miles to ENE.
    We\’ll update the photo\’s and main ship\’s blog if we can find any decent internet.

    Engines and steering seems to be good. No runs, no drips, no errors!!!

    KIT,
    Scott and Nikki

  • Beach House – Ship\’s Mini Blog and Position Report….Bora Bora YC – Isle Bora Bora – Leeward Islands …..

    AIRMAIL YOTREPS
    IDENT: N6ABC
    TIME: 2016/09/08 23:39
    LATITUDE: 16-29.38S
    LONGITUDE: 151-45.71W
    MARINE: NO
    WIND_SPEED: 15
    WIND_DIR: E
    CLOUDS: 20%
    VISIBILITY: 20
    BARO: 1015.6
    AIR_TEMP: 31.7C
    COMMENT: Beach House – MOORED – Bora Bora Yacht Club – Isle Bora Bora – Leeward Islands

    We had a lovely evening at our mooring last night and with winds predicted to be 18-25 knots today, we knew it would be a blustery sail.
    This gave us a good chance to check the new gooseneck attachment which worked perfectly. With a single reef and our staysail poled out to windward, we made the 20 mile sail on one tack, averaging about 8.5 knots. There are lots of boats here and I looked in the log and was last here
    in June of 2010 with Cindy, Clark and Vincent. This is my fourth time sailing into this island including when I did in 1977 aboard my 32 foot ketch, \”Triad II\”. Lots of memories and we placed a California Yacht Club Burgee here last time around, so maybe if it\’s still here, we\’ll get to update our log and re-sign it.

    We should be here for 2-3 nights awaiting a bit calmer conditions and then head for the very remote Suwarrow Atoll about 650 miles to ENE.
    We\’ll update the photo\’s and main ship\’s blog if we can find any decent internet.

    Engines and steering seems to be good. No runs, no drips, no errors!!!

    KIT,
    Scott and Nikki

  • Beach House – Ship\’s Mini Blog and Position Report….Bay Tapuamu – Leeward Islands …..

    AIRMAIL YOTREPS
    IDENT: N6ABC
    TIME: 2016/09/08 02:43
    LATITUDE: 16-36.86S
    LONGITUDE: 151-32.72W
    MARINE: NO
    WIND_SPEED: 15
    WIND_DIR: E
    CLOUDS: 15%
    VISIBILITY: 25
    BARO: 1015.6
    AIR_TEMP: 31.7C
    COMMENT: Beach House – MOORED – Bay Tapuamu – Isle Tahaa – Leeward Islands

    We finally got our parts and after great difficulty getting off the dock (pinned by 20 knots of wind), we went out with Robin the mechanic and tested everything. At first, we thought we had a dead battery on one engine, but that turned out not to be the case. Once underway, friends Pete and Sue Wolcott on \”Kiapa Nui\” went sailing by and gave us a thumbs up on the engines.

    So far, all appears to be going well and to give it a good 4 hour test run. Nikki and I motored completely around the island of Tahaa where we are now moored for the night. We\’re so far behind schedule, we suspect we\’ll sail off to Bora Bora tomorrow which we are now watching the sunset over as I write!

    It\’s about 25 miles and will give our new gooseneck a good work out and of course we\’ll check the engines thoroughly before we depart.

    I\’ll write up in the \”big blog\” exactly what we think happened, but suffice it to say, they didn\’t install the motors correctly in alignment with the transmissions which caused a lot of vibration and stuff just broke and came loose. This seems to now all be in good order including our two new oil seals in the upper parts of the transmissions.

    Whew! Good to be in a calm spot, enjoying the remains of the day.
    More when we get to Bora Bora and if internet allows we\’ll get one or two more Photo/Ship\’s Main Blogs out before we depart for Suwarrow in the Cook Islands.
    That will be about a 3-4 day sail.
    KIT,
    Scott and Nikki

  • Beach House – Ship\’s Mini Blog and Position Report….Bay Tapuamu – Leeward Islands …..

    AIRMAIL YOTREPS
    IDENT: N6ABC
    TIME: 2016/09/08 02:43
    LATITUDE: 16-36.86S
    LONGITUDE: 151-32.72W
    MARINE: NO
    WIND_SPEED: 15
    WIND_DIR: E
    CLOUDS: 15%
    VISIBILITY: 25
    BARO: 1015.6
    AIR_TEMP: 31.7C
    COMMENT: Beach House – MOORED – Bay Tapuamu – Isle Tahaa – Leeward Islands

    We finally got our parts and after great difficulty getting off the dock (pinned by 20 knots of wind), we went out with Robin the mechanic and tested everything. At first, we thought we had a dead battery on one engine, but that turned out not to be the case. Once underway, friends Pete and Sue Wolcott on \”Kiapa Nui\” went sailing by and gave us a thumbs up on the engines.

    So far, all appears to be going well and to give it a good 4 hour test run. Nikki and I motored completely around the island of Tahaa where we are now moored for the night. We\’re so far behind schedule, we suspect we\’ll sail off to Bora Bora tomorrow which we are now watching the sunset over as I write!

    It\’s about 25 miles and will give our new gooseneck a good work out and of course we\’ll check the engines thoroughly before we depart.

    I\’ll write up in the \”big blog\” exactly what we think happened, but suffice it to say, they didn\’t install the motors correctly in alignment with the transmissions which caused a lot of vibration and stuff just broke and came loose. This seems to now all be in good order including our two new oil seals in the upper parts of the transmissions.

    Whew! Good to be in a calm spot, enjoying the remains of the day.
    More when we get to Bora Bora and if internet allows we\’ll get one or two more Photo/Ship\’s Main Blogs out before we depart for Suwarrow in the Cook Islands.
    That will be about a 3-4 day sail.
    KIT,
    Scott and Nikki

  • Beach House – Ship\’s Mini Blog and Position Report…..Uturoa, Raiatea – Leeward Islands – More Engine Woes…..

    AIRMAIL YOTREPS
    IDENT: N6ABC
    TIME: 2016/09/01 01:42
    LATITUDE: 16-43.73S
    LONGITUDE: 151-26.60W
    MARINE: NO
    WIND_SPEED: 15
    WIND_DIR: SSE
    CLOUDS: 15%
    VISIBILITY: 20
    BARO: 1014.9
    AIR_TEMP: 30.0C
    COMMENT: Beach House – DOCKED – Uturoa, Raiatea – Leeward Islands

    Update – Monday, September 4th….  We\’re still waiting for parts to be delivered today and some tomorrow. The dock we\’re at is well beyond uncomfortable and such is life. We went for a nice drive around the island and saw the historic sites and had a lovely lunch and dinner out.

    Stand by, more updates soon.

    No, I don\’t even believe it! (September 1st).
    We pulled into Huahine after a 12 hour motor sail and when I went to do my normal engine checks, I found that the pulley at the front of the right (starboard engine) had sheared off. The high tensile bolts had sheared off and this put both alternators and the fresh water pump out of action and we could not use the engine. If this happened to the right side, might it not happen to the left? I checked and no problem….so far. We also noted an oil leak on the right engine from the interface of the transmission and rear engine. This was an issue on the old engines. Could it now be the transmission?

    So, we moved on early this morning to the island of Raiatea where fortunately, Sin Tung Hings\’ engine rep, \”Robin\” (who we heard nothing but good things about since we arrived in Tahiti), met us this afternoon. He diagnosed the issue with the belts as the bolts were not tightened and one of the plates may have been defectively made to hold the pulley on the front of the engine. He checked the port side and found the same oil leak as the starboard side but first confirmed that the pulleys there were okay. The bolts were a little loose but not damaged. As such, he put them in with red loctite which should keep them in forever. He will remove the right engine front plate to remove the broken bolts tomorrow and have the whole assembly sent to Tahiti by air tomorrow. They will replace or remake the necessary parts and get back to us hopefully by Friday or Saturday – also by air.

    As to the leaks. He said they did not level the engine correctly when they installed them to align to the sail drive transmissions. He ordered two new motor mounts to be able to lift the front ends of the engines up about 1/2 – 1 CM. 1/4\” to just under 1/2 \”. This will align the transmissions properly and according to Robin stop the leak from pushing at a seal. The seal he thinks is fine as the oil leaks are indeed very small. We only need new front right mounts on both engines. The port ones will be able to be extended high enough.

    We\’ll do some exploring and try and relax and while here, I will try and get the boom shimmed up as well where it\’s \”working\” on the gooseneck.
    It never ends folks. It\’s a boat!…..

    We have from excellent to non existent internet here which has been capricious so far. So, we hope to get a photo blog up in the next few days about our time in Moorea and our \”moment\” in Huahine. If the weather cooperates and we get fixed fast enough, we might go back there for a few days? It\’s only 22 miles away.

    KIT,
    Scott and Nikki

  • Beach House – Ship\’s Mini Blog and Position Report…..Uturoa, Raiatea – Leeward Islands – More Engine Woes…..

    AIRMAIL YOTREPS
    IDENT: N6ABC
    TIME: 2016/09/01 01:42
    LATITUDE: 16-43.73S
    LONGITUDE: 151-26.60W
    MARINE: NO
    WIND_SPEED: 15
    WIND_DIR: SSE
    CLOUDS: 15%
    VISIBILITY: 20
    BARO: 1014.9
    AIR_TEMP: 30.0C
    COMMENT: Beach House – DOCKED – Uturoa, Raiatea – Leeward Islands

    Update – Monday, September 4th….  We\’re still waiting for parts to be delivered today and some tomorrow. The dock we\’re at is well beyond uncomfortable and such is life. We went for a nice drive around the island and saw the historic sites and had a lovely lunch and dinner out.

    Stand by, more updates soon.

    No, I don\’t even believe it! (September 1st).
    We pulled into Huahine after a 12 hour motor sail and when I went to do my normal engine checks, I found that the pulley at the front of the right (starboard engine) had sheared off. The high tensile bolts had sheared off and this put both alternators and the fresh water pump out of action and we could not use the engine. If this happened to the right side, might it not happen to the left? I checked and no problem….so far. We also noted an oil leak on the right engine from the interface of the transmission and rear engine. This was an issue on the old engines. Could it now be the transmission?

    So, we moved on early this morning to the island of Raiatea where fortunately, Sin Tung Hings\’ engine rep, \”Robin\” (who we heard nothing but good things about since we arrived in Tahiti), met us this afternoon. He diagnosed the issue with the belts as the bolts were not tightened and one of the plates may have been defectively made to hold the pulley on the front of the engine. He checked the port side and found the same oil leak as the starboard side but first confirmed that the pulleys there were okay. The bolts were a little loose but not damaged. As such, he put them in with red loctite which should keep them in forever. He will remove the right engine front plate to remove the broken bolts tomorrow and have the whole assembly sent to Tahiti by air tomorrow. They will replace or remake the necessary parts and get back to us hopefully by Friday or Saturday – also by air.

    As to the leaks. He said they did not level the engine correctly when they installed them to align to the sail drive transmissions. He ordered two new motor mounts to be able to lift the front ends of the engines up about 1/2 – 1 CM. 1/4\” to just under 1/2 \”. This will align the transmissions properly and according to Robin stop the leak from pushing at a seal. The seal he thinks is fine as the oil leaks are indeed very small. We only need new front right mounts on both engines. The port ones will be able to be extended high enough.

    We\’ll do some exploring and try and relax and while here, I will try and get the boom shimmed up as well where it\’s \”working\” on the gooseneck.
    It never ends folks. It\’s a boat!…..

    We have from excellent to non existent internet here which has been capricious so far. So, we hope to get a photo blog up in the next few days about our time in Moorea and our \”moment\” in Huahine. If the weather cooperates and we get fixed fast enough, we might go back there for a few days? It\’s only 22 miles away.

    KIT,
    Scott and Nikki

  • Beach House – Ship\’s Mini Blog and Position Report…..Fare, Huahine – Leeward Islands – WHALE HO!……

    AIRMAIL YOTREPS
    IDENT: N6ABC
    TIME: 2016/08/30 03:51
    LATITUDE: 16-43.20S
    LONGITUDE: 151-02.33W
    MARINE: NO
    WIND_SPEED: 11
    WIND_DIR: S
    CLOUDS: 20%
    VISIBILITY: 20
    BARO: 1016.9
    AIR_TEMP: 29.4C
    COMMENT: Beach House – ANCHORED – Fare, Isle Huahine – Leeward Islands

    We had a lovely day yesterday in Moorea. We rented a car, drove around the island. Had some great views and photos.
    We even climbed \”Magic Mountain\” and will write about that in our next Photo Blog.

    The trip took exactly 12 hours and we\’re anchored where I\’ve been 5 times before! We motor sailed the entire way as there just wasn\’t enough wind to make it here during daylight hours. Cindy and I met Clark and Vincent here, almost exactly 6 years ago. They spent a wonder few weeks with us, I\’ll never forget it.

    We had our first major whale sighting today. On the outside of the Western Reef, we saw a solo humpback and then right when we got to the \”corner\” on the mid leeward side of the island, we had 3 humpbacks less than 200 feet away. I even got a \”tail shot\” which of course will make the next photo blog.

    We\’ll be here for 2 or possibly three days and then make the short 20 mile day sail to the Raiatea/Tahaa reef and island complex.
    The engines, steering, water maker, boom vang all worked fine. I\’ll need to add some \”shims\” to the boom as it works a bit too much at the gooseneck.
    Feel free to write, we love hearing from all of you.
    Scott and Nikki
    www.svbeachhouse.com

  • Beach House – Ship\’s Mini Blog and Position Report…..Fare, Huahine – Leeward Islands – WHALE HO!……

    AIRMAIL YOTREPS
    IDENT: N6ABC
    TIME: 2016/08/30 03:51
    LATITUDE: 16-43.20S
    LONGITUDE: 151-02.33W
    MARINE: NO
    WIND_SPEED: 11
    WIND_DIR: S
    CLOUDS: 20%
    VISIBILITY: 20
    BARO: 1016.9
    AIR_TEMP: 29.4C
    COMMENT: Beach House – ANCHORED – Fare, Isle Huahine – Leeward Islands

    We had a lovely day yesterday in Moorea. We rented a car, drove around the island. Had some great views and photos.
    We even climbed \”Magic Mountain\” and will write about that in our next Photo Blog.

    The trip took exactly 12 hours and we\’re anchored where I\’ve been 5 times before! We motor sailed the entire way as there just wasn\’t enough wind to make it here during daylight hours. Cindy and I met Clark and Vincent here, almost exactly 6 years ago. They spent a wonder few weeks with us, I\’ll never forget it.

    We had our first major whale sighting today. On the outside of the Western Reef, we saw a solo humpback and then right when we got to the \”corner\” on the mid leeward side of the island, we had 3 humpbacks less than 200 feet away. I even got a \”tail shot\” which of course will make the next photo blog.

    We\’ll be here for 2 or possibly three days and then make the short 20 mile day sail to the Raiatea/Tahaa reef and island complex.
    The engines, steering, water maker, boom vang all worked fine. I\’ll need to add some \”shims\” to the boom as it works a bit too much at the gooseneck.
    Feel free to write, we love hearing from all of you.
    Scott and Nikki
    www.svbeachhouse.com

  • Beach House – Ship\’s Mini Blog and Position Report…… Oponohu Bay, Moorea

    AIRMAIL YOTREPS
    IDENT: N6ABC
    TIME: 2016/08/27 23:08
    LATITUDE: 17-29.30S
    LONGITUDE: 149-51.07W
    MARINE: NO
    WIND_SPEED: 11
    WIND_DIR: ENE
    CLOUDS: 35%
    VISIBILITY: 15
    BARO: 1015.8
    AIR_TEMP: 31.7C
    COMMENT: Beach House -ANCHORED – Oponohu Bay, Moorea

    Dear Friends and Family,
    We are finally on the move again! Anchored at the NE corner of Oponohu Bay for one or two nights. This is the very bay that Jimmy Buffet said he
    wrote his song, \”One Particular Harbor\” about.

    We motored the 16 miles here to check the engines and autopilot/steering. All seemed normal.
    It was quite the washing machine ride as well which gave the steering a good test.
    This is one of the most \”Bali Hai\” beautiful anchorages in the South Pacific. We\’ll be here a day or two and then head off toward
    Huahine – making the 85 mile long trip a very long day sail. We\’ll leave very early. I\’ve been there before, so I\’m familiar with the entry.
    Scott and Nikki

  • Beach House – Ship\’s Mini Blog and Position Report…… Oponohu Bay, Moorea

    AIRMAIL YOTREPS
    IDENT: N6ABC
    TIME: 2016/08/27 23:08
    LATITUDE: 17-29.30S
    LONGITUDE: 149-51.07W
    MARINE: NO
    WIND_SPEED: 11
    WIND_DIR: ENE
    CLOUDS: 35%
    VISIBILITY: 15
    BARO: 1015.8
    AIR_TEMP: 31.7C
    COMMENT: Beach House -ANCHORED – Oponohu Bay, Moorea

    Dear Friends and Family,
    We are finally on the move again! Anchored at the NE corner of Oponohu Bay for one or two nights. This is the very bay that Jimmy Buffet said he
    wrote his song, \”One Particular Harbor\” about.

    We motored the 16 miles here to check the engines and autopilot/steering. All seemed normal.
    It was quite the washing machine ride as well which gave the steering a good test.
    This is one of the most \”Bali Hai\” beautiful anchorages in the South Pacific. We\’ll be here a day or two and then head off toward
    Huahine – making the 85 mile long trip a very long day sail. We\’ll leave very early. I\’ve been there before, so I\’m familiar with the entry.
    Scott and Nikki