Removing The Teak Deck

Yes, Trinda is really ripping up the deck!
She has removed nearly all the teak single handedly. I have helped on a few of the more stubborn boards, but I have been removing the screws, drilling out the holes and sealing them with epoxy.

We rented a car for a few days to get as many of the parts we will need gathered up for the upcoming yard work. We also did laundry again and bought more groceries. The marina and work yard are about 3 miles form town, Keilua, and 4 miles the other way to the "new industrial" area and CostCo. It will be a long hot walk without a car. There is virtually no public transportation here. You would think you were in a backward country, except ll of them had good local transport!

We should be finished with the teak removal and sealing the screw holes before we get hauled out, but I don't know how much of the deck re-finishing will be done.

We got the replacement parts for the windvane! Warrenty repair and air express UPS, Great! Still waiting for the shaft seals and the new rigging. Hopefully they will all be here by Tuesday.

Trinda is removing the teak deck. She has made good progress. This is the starboard looking aft. You can see the pile of scrape teak and the non-skid pattern that was under the deck. We still have to remove the screws and fill the holes.

The shroud that is breaking and the support for it. $wires are broken. I tied the rope and blocks to take the strain off so it wouldn't break all the way.




The gold plated head! It took a while to install, about 10 hours. That's a boat for you. It is guaranteed for the life of the boat, I hope!

Hawaii - Honokohau Harbor

We got a med-moor slip in the state harbor here and have started making arrangements for the boat repairs. We are to be hauled out on Dec 4 and moved to dry storage on the 21st. Then fly to Seattle the 25 thru the 16th. Then hopefully back in the water on the 16th.

We started removing the teak deck and installing the new toilet. Lots of work. Trinda is doing most of the teak. She has removed all of it from the starboard side, except for the fore and aft deck areas and is now cleaning up the remaining caulking.

We bought a Skipper Head, at $1150, guaranteed for the life of the boat. I sure hope it is. I should have it finished today.

Hawaii Honokahau Marina

We moved into the marina to start working on the boat. Its going to be an expensive ordeal! We also decided to remove the teak deck and fiberglass over the thousands of screw holes that have been leaking.

On the passage here from Fanning we seem to have broken a lot of stuff. Two shrouds, the windvane, two water pumps, the propane control valve and regulator, several sheets (ropes), the computer is getting worse, the batteries no longer hold a charge long, and that's besides the plan to replace the frige and add a wind generator. The haulout is to be about $600 and $63 a day for the workyard.

We were invited to Thanksgiving dinner, but he turned out to live over 50 miles away and we have no way to get there. Trinda had bought a small turkey, so we are having two single-handlers over and we'll have a small feast here.

We have discovered another Passport 45, Julia Max, in Portland, Or. He has replaced his teak with fiberglass too. Their site is http://www.svdreamchaser.net/

Hawaii

We made it! 4:00 AM this morning. It seems like a long trip, with lots of tense moments, but we are here. I told Trinda, "Did you ever imagine that I'd take you to Tahiti and Hawaii in the same summer!!"
She just said, "Who took who"?
We got checked in by customs and homeland Security then spent the afternoon at Wal-Mart. We just returned to the boat from Pizza Hut! it is strange what you crave. It had been 8 months since we had a Pizza Hut Super Supreme extra large pizza. we ate it all.

Fanning to Hawaii

still hand steering. Two hundred miles out from Kona on the west of the big island. Every thing is OK still.
The computer is having more trouble, now it ha no key in the upper corner. I have to cut and pate to get an s.

Another long day

The auto pilot gave out completely this time so we are hand steering full time the net 5 days. Not much time for the computer.
we are fine except for being a little tired.

Fanning to Hawaii Day 4

Fish! We caught 2 more tuna. They were small, but ok. We also hooked up a medium dorado, about 3 feet. The first one we've seem since Donnie was with us. Just as we were trying to get him aboard, he got off.

The wind has gone wrong, dead on the nose. We motor sailed through the night, and may all day today.

Another Day

I got the jib car replaced and the big back up. We are making much better time today, although we mad 101 miles the first day and 111 the next. We'll see tonight. The wind and seas have calmed some so it is a pleasant sail now. 8 more days maybe.

We caught a small tuna this morning and had it for lunch and supper. It was just barely enough for 2 meals, but a welcome change from "cup o noodles"!

We are about 100 miles behind Bold Spirit and Avventura hasn't left yet, tomorrow morning he says. Seems he ate something.

Fanning to Hawaii Day 2

we are still trying to go mostly east. The current and prevailing winds for this trip are east wind til the ITCZ (convergence zone or doldrums) at about 7 degrees then 1 to 2 degrees of not much then the winds turn northeast. and the current sets to the west except for a small stretch called the equatorial counter current that sets to the east. Hawaii is about 155 degrees and Fanning was 159 so we are headed for 08N 155w before turning north. This morning we are at 06 17N 156 54W

We tried to change sails yesterday and had some difficulty. the rope for the furler got tangled and by the time I got it un done, the flogging sail broke the pulley on the sheet car on the toe rail. I will move the pulley from the other side over there today. Always something has to break!

No fish.

First day to Hawaii

All's OK so far. A little bouncy and windy almost on the nose, but sailing.
No fish, two lost bites though.

Exciting Day in Fanning

Well I'm not the kind of guy that is overly paranoid about checking every thing before every trip, usually. I did decide that the forestay looked a little loose and should be tightened up a bit. Well I couldn't get to the turnbuckle at the bottom of the cable, cause it is under the roller furler drum. So I took the screws out of the drum to slide it up the cable to make room. While lifting the sail and furler up I accidentally caused the top of the sail to get unhooked.

Well, that's OK, it is designed be hooked and unhooked from the deck. I tightened the turnbuckle some and reassembled the drum. Then I tried re-hooking the sail following the instructions for the sail hook....no good. I can't get it hooked. So I call Scott from Avventura to come over and hoist me up the mast. When I get to the top and start to hook the sail, I notice why the forestay looked loose. The pin that holds the turnbuckle at the top was almost out of the hole!!! Oh no! It had also lost one
of the washers and cotter pins that are supposed to hold it in place. I was really scared. This cable is half of what holds up the mast. If I hadn't had trouble with the sail and not gone up the mast, I would not have known and it might have caused the mast to fall if the pin had worked the last 1/4 inch out!

I seem to have had a lot of "good luck" this way. Back in San Carlos, when we were tied to a mooring buoy, a shackle pin worked it's way out during a rain storm and the mooring was held only by the shackle having happened to turn sideways. Then again in Manzanio, I pulled up the anchor to find the shank hooked to the chain by only the edge of the shackle pin again. Some body seems to be watching out for me!

Scott lowered me back down so I could worry about it in comfort a while. Finally I started going through my junk drawer and found some parts to make replacements for the missing pieces. So I make a new washer by sawing off the eye from the old clevice from before the roller furler, and Scott hoists me back to the top. There is too much strain on the cable, what with the wind blowing 20 knots and the boat bouncing all around. but after a while I finally get it all back together right.

Almost makes me want to go up and check it all out every time before a passage!

Scott did check his!

All that made us late for the Bon Voyage bar-b-que on the beach with Bold Spirit, Southern Cross, Avventura and us. It was fun, we had grilled fish, beans, rice and pasta salad. And some wine to recover from the afternoons adrenalin rush!

We plan to depart toward Hawaii about 7 AM tomorrow. It should be a 10 to 14 day trip, 950 miles. All 3 fo us are leaving together.