[p]pjr4728
[s]
pos: 39 33.973N 002 38.079e
sp: 0.0
h: 0m
w: 0kn W, CC 0, SS 0
d: 24/10/19 19:07 GMT+0200
Well given the lack of engine, the move to the marina in Pollenca turned
out to be a good one, despite the fact that the 'med-mooring' visitor
berths at the (RCN) marina are on the unprotected side (N) of the marina
quay! ...We had 36hrs of pretty strong winds (up to 80kn being quoted by
others although we saw 'only' 45), with a number of boats that were moored
and anchored out dragging. These included one catamaran that rather rudely
awakened us as it came to a halt by hitting us arund midnight! Fortunately
with the help of a couple of other cruisers we managed to tame the beast
pretty quickly and no real damage suffered by either boat.

After that bit of drama we could settle down and enjoy the rest of a really
wonderful week with my family (3 brothers, sisters-in-law and all but 1 of
the 9 nieces and nephews) in Port de Pollenca, despite the fact that Mum
and Dad couldn't make it as we'd hoped.

Mili got heaps of walks (not least because the dog beach was a long way
away!) and made LOADS of friends on her wanderings!!...Us humans also got
to do LOTS of eating, drinking and making merry on both water and land
(although the other karaoke patrons may not agree).

Once the family departed we eventually got hold of the local diesel
mechanics and confirmed the problem with the injection pump was indeed a
broken shaft. This part wasn't available but we were able to order up a
full reconditioned pump from the UK. The delays weren't too bad really as
it allowed us to continue to eat, drink and relax for even longer (and Paul
could spend lots of time watching the Rugby World Cup at the local sports
pub).

The mechanics here also fitted the pump when it arrived but (we should have
guessed from the effort it took to get them!), the service was a bit
disappointing: When we could actually test under load (away from dock
around the harbour), it was clear that the engine wasn't achieving the full
power it should do (and had done, prior to Menorca breakdown)...but they
simply not interested in putting it right (and unfortunately for us had
been paid :-(). I put it down to timing, although was a little worried at
the appearance of some evidence of blow-by by one of the injectors.As the
performance was 'kind of' ok (at our usual cruising revs) and we were keen
to move on, thought we'd wait and address in Palma. Thus off we toddled,
cruising around the spectacular N and W and SW coasts of Majorca.

At ione of a number of anchorages we used near Palma, we managed to get a
prop wrap with a line while anchoring and the product of this was some very
worrying vibration, to add to our decreasing engine performance. Sigh!
Turns out the mechanics were't too great after all...and I should have
taken more notice of the blow-by! I found an injector flange had cracked
(due to tightening well beyond spec) and it so it wasn't getting the
essential seal. Luckily we did carry a spare, so that was a simple
replacement for me to keep us going. But the engine was also even more of a
devil to bleed adequately than usual - and it soon became clear why - the
Pollenca mechanic had obviously also overtightened and actually stripped
the highest bleed screw when he'd installed the 'new' injector pump, so
that was never going to seal, and thus bleed properly!

Oh well, at least we were only a short distance from the services of Palma
to get both the engine and vibration issues sorted.

First stop was to pull all the injectors and take them to a workshop to be
cleaned (as the poor running of one affects the others). We also
temporarily sealed the problem bleed screw, first with sealant and
eventually with epoxy (another pump was considered but unavailable and this
temporary fix did seem to work and seemed to negate the need to pull the
pump rethread the bleed point properly, for now). I also tracked down and
solved some air leak problems upstream of fuel pump first using transparent
hoses and then replacing a number of lines and better sealing all
connections.

Sadly the vibration issues required a haul out, and replacement of the
shaft - and the recently-installed cutlass bearing and shaft seals (not
least because the shaft was now scored, a little more bent and the keys
didn't fit snugly, the cutlass bearing installed in Turkey was a
mickey-mouse affair that wound in and out of the stern tube and couldn't
properly lubricate the shaft seal - and the shaft seal anyway was wearing
badly being also the wrong size (too tight) for the old shaft! Oh and the
coupling to the gearbox wasn't sufficiently tight either. Sigh!

All the ongoing issues (and associated delays and costs!) were starting to
all get a bit depressing tbh and at this stage we were seriously
contemplating all of our options...These included crewing for others,
starting to look for alternative boats (not really realistic given both
cost, lack of something as solid and tested, as well as the time needed to
get to know and bring up to a safe enough standard). We were even thinking
it may even be necessary to abandon (or extensively postpone!) our trip
altogether! One very pleasant vulture had even got wind of our predicaments
and started circling...I was visited in the yard by yet another mechanic
and his mates, as he was 'potentially interested' in buying our boat if we
weren't able to get it going reliably in the time we had available when we
needed to head west. He even seemed relatively unfazed by a price we would
be lucky to get in NZ and so remained as our 'backup' plan, should the work
here not result in a sufficiently-reliable boat for us to make the Atlantic
Crossing.

Anyway, we were determined to give it our best (and likely last!) shot, in
the time we had available...One good thing was the modifications made in
Turkey did make it very easy for me and the lovely Alesandro, yet another
mechanic, to drop the rudder and then he and his boss Jose got the parts
machined and installed pretty quickly. Given the trouble of getting Mili up
a ladder while the boat was on the hard, we hired an apartment for a week
while this work was happening, in a less-touristy area near the Belver
Castle. A pleasant walk for me to and from the yard each day, a short
distance to some lovely walks for Mili and Sue, and a good area for cafes
and restaurants - Hell, it was directly above a curry house! Life could
always be worse eh!

There were further subsequent issues with the starter too (we went back
from yard to here at our marina berth under tow) but Jose determined the
starter was OK (after I'd unnecessarily removed it!) and ultimately I
managed to trace that to a dodgy thermostart drawing too much power, a
simple fix, for once!

We are finally ready head on West tomorrow!

[END]