To repair or replace that is the question? (Sorry Will)

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Well, if you have been following the adventures of Cap’n Doug and his trusty sidekick, Hakura, you will know that the motor broke down during the first 24 hours of the big trip to Tonga in 2013. You will also know that the decision had been made to fix the motor. So that was the story in the pervious blog. Have I tell you that the only constant in the universe is change? Well, no, oh then, it is.



With Hakura safely back on the hard in the Riverside Drive Marina, Whangarei, and the parts ordered, you would think that it was only a matter of time and the engine would be fixed and Hakura would be relaunched.



No such thing. This was forgetting the mischievous nature of the fates.



Even though I had checked that all parts had been ordered from Italy, when they arrived we found out that a couple were missing – like the two main gaskets needed to complete the job. These were hurriedly ordered and further waiting followed till they arrived.



At last, in November all parts where available, but the mechanic was not (he had been when the parts were not). So I asked the local marine shop to give me a price. What? How much? And other explanations followed. In addition, it looked like the engine had seized up whilst waiting for the parts.



This all lead me to re-examine the option of a new motor. The price of installation was less than the cost of repairs. This still left the cost of the new engine. I had several options – another Lombardini (no thanks its fuel injectors were way to fiddly), a Yanmar (good though a bit pricy) or a Beta (a British marinization of a Kubota engine).



The final deciders were – cost (Beta was the cheapest), availability (the Beta was sitting in Auckland right now) and fit (the Beta was the only one that would fit in the existing space).



So you most probably have quested it, I went for the Beta. The chosen Beta was a 3 cylinder 30 horsepower red motor (also it is true that everything red goes faster).



So in December 2013 the engine arrived in the yard. While it was being prepared, the old motor was removed using a block and tackle system attached to the boom. The same method would be used to lower the new motor into place. With the old motor out of the way, I was given the job of cleaning to bilge, especially under the motor. Some long-term readers may remember that back in 2010 while in Suva we lost a 16 mm socket into the bilge. You can now rest easier, it has been found, though not the missing jockey wheel that disappeared into the bilge way back then.



After some minor woodwork, the new motor was in place. Next came the placement of the engine mounts, alignment of the gearbox with the prop shaft (oh yes there was a new gearbox with the engine, plus new control panel and external controls). There were good days and bad days in the process. For example initial estimates were that the prop shaft was too short. Next it was too long but finally it was just right. Is this an example of the goldie locks effect?

Finally on 19 December Hakura was lowered back into the Hatea River for her first run with the new motor. Now I have been expecting some settling in issues. Not too many I hoped.



The first issue arose when I pushed the controls into forward and she went backwards. Yep, the controls were setup backwards. This was no problem when we were running up and down the river but boy I could not get them right when coming into the dock. The mechanic quickly changed them over, done.



Next, during the sea trail (actually another run up and down the river) we could not get the engine up to full revs (3500) when under load (going forward). This indicated that the prop was wrong for the motor and Hakura. The issue of the prop had been looked at earlier, while Hakura was ashore and experts had been consulted. The answer was that it was not right but could not be reshaped as it was developing some fine cracks plus there was extensive signs of electrolysis. It would need replacing before any offshore trips; however, it would do for over the summer around Northland.



Thus on Friday 10 January Claire and I set off for an extended sea trail by heading to Tutukaka and the Poor Knights Islands. Well we got an hour down the river and the overheating alarm in the motor went off. I jumped down into the cabin to check while Claire put the motor into natural. The alarm did then turn off.



A quick call was made to the mechanics. I was expecting one of two answers; head back slowly or anchor there, turn off the motor and we will come and get you. Thankfully it was the former and we made our way back without any further alarms. Still, no further sea trail would occur until the engine was checked.



On Monday morning (after a weekend of fabulous boating weather that we could not fully enjoy though we did have a great drive to Cape Reinga) no problem were found. Later that day, Claire and I headed out and had 3 very pleasant days motoring out to Whangarei Heads and up to Tutukaka and back (too little time to get out to the Poor Knights – bummer). We had a great trip and all went well. No further sound has been heard from the temperature alarm. The only fish caught was a good size ray that we released.



The next big milestone was to replace the prop; so in late March Hakura was hauled out again. The original plan had been to get the prop made before hauling Hakura out to fit it, however, nobody took the needed measurements last time so the prop making could not start until after the haul out.



Hakura and the fates had another surprise for me when she came out. There was a healthy crop of barnacles growing on Hakura’s bottom. This was very unexpected as she had been re-antifouled prior to her re-floating in December. The usual life of antifouling paint is 18 to 24 months, not 3 months!



It turns out that several other vessels had experienced similar issues and they had all used the same brand of paint. The last I’d heard was the paint manufacture was not accepting any responsibility, though the chandlery where I brought my paint did come to my aid and refund its cost.



After a couple of weeks the new prop arrived and fitted perfectly, plus the new anti-fouling paint was applied (oh yes I did change brands – actually back to a brand I had used successfully a couple of times before). There were a few changes made to the engine layout. The control panel (which was an external one and had been placed in the same place as the previous one) was moved outside so that the helmsperson will be able to see the engine revs plus start and stop the motor from the cockpit.



With all these changes made, Hakura was re-floated just before Easter as we hoped to get a trip into the Barrier.



The new sea trail did show that with the new prop the engine got up to 3000 revs and pushed Hakura along at 8 knots.



After adding 180 litres of fuel, refilling a gas bottle, 2 packets of squid bait and lots of food, we were ready to cast the lines off on Good Friday. We were now heading for the Barrier and the Hatea Bridge was on the way up.



What was that rattle when the motor was in forward. Shit it sounded very expensive. Oh bloody hell, we can’t do the 3 hours motoring out to the heads, let alone the 7 to 10 hours to the Barrier.



Dear bridge opener, thank you and please close it as we are returning to the wharf. No trip was possible and, again, the weather was great.



On Tuesday morning, the mechanic came down and found out that his offsider had removed the belts from the compressor that runs the freezer and fridge, as per our agreement, though he had also unbolted the compressor. So it was the compressor rattling against the motor. The mechanic then reattached the compressor, fitted a new tensioner wheel and new belts and we are good to go.



I can hear you all saying “what agreement”? Well while I was doing my pre-trip engine checks back on Thursday, I noticed that one of the compressor belts was twisted and eating away the tensioner wheel. I asked the mechanic’s offsider to either fix it or remove the belts and we would go without refrigeration.



Now the offsider had removed the bits but did not make it all shipshape, hence the rattle.





Now Hakura is sitting in the Hatea River, hopefully with no more mechanical issues before (or after) we head off.

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Photos

Hakura a float again
This is just before Christmas 2013

Cape Reinga
Note how rough the sea is. We are so fortunate not to be out on Hakura this weekend!