The windlass is leaking oil again; this happened on our maiden voyage, leaked gear oil after a few uses. We called Krogen, they sent us to the Ft. Lauderdale "dealer". Maxwell does not cover the remove/refit labour, only the repair. Costs us a few $$ on a brand new boat (see Maxwell Windlass Part II) but to make matters worse they did not do a proper reinstall, too much to get into here.
Long story short, a year later we are are back in the Bahamas and we have oil leaking out of the windlass! This time I decided to take it apart myself. Disappointing to see that whoever was in here last did nothing to prevent corrosion as per the installation manual. No big deal we caught it early, I can deal with that. 3 of the 4 gearbox bolts are loose and oil is leaking from the gearbox/ motor right angle flange. Either the static "o" ring has failed (not likely) or the bolts are loose. I have to join the Admiral & guest for dinner, to be continued! Maxwell do have a good exploded view in their manual but it does not fully match our build.
If you have a Maxwell, beware, it needs attention and best you learn to do it yourself!
Cheers
Ken
Sunday, January 30, 2011
OK, a storm that never happened
Anchored behind Bonds Cay, the forecast is not very favorable. We call Berry Islands Club, a bit confusing, all the morrings are booked but they have slips available. OK, we head in, wind is blowing 15-20 G25 kts from the NE. It's a struggle but we get into a "slip". Turns out that the wind clocks, there are a few T storms but nothing significant. Everyone is hunkered down, the front goes through, all is well, we enjoyed the grilled conch. On our way to Nassau.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Bahamas, always better in the islands!
Well, another minor delay, after waiting for customs to open Tuesday for an outbound clearance, we find out it's not required to go to the Bahamas (Canadian Flagged Vessel). So we missed crossing with Puffin. We departed Sylvia Lake just after 9 am, headed to North Bimini and with the SW winds we decided to go on the Bank at North Rock, easy, lots of water. Keeping North Rock Light to starboard then turn south and then back west to anchor in the lee in about 12', sand, good holding. Looking at the charts and reading the guide book we decided to go to Great Harbour Cay to clear customs. A straight shot across the banks, again easy, lots of water. We got to Bullock's harbour and found Grand Adventure there at anchor! We talked on the radio, played with the SSB, no luck but I did listen in on Chris Parker in the am so maybe there is hope yet.
This morning we got into Great Harbour Cay Marina, nice! Cleared customs, friendly and professional, no issues. Staff are very friendly, nice protected slips with lots of room, best part is $1.20 per foot (power & water extra). Airport is close by and has flights to Nassau, WPB & Lauderdale. Great place to drop off or pick up guests. The beach on the east side is world class! We meet up with Mark, Emily and their guest Dan from Grand Adventure, Sylvianne & I walk the beach, I take a swim we have lunch, just a great day! Take a bike ride and now back at the boat. We are tied to a dock today and Grand Adventue is at anchor off one of the best beaches around! Tomorrow we're leaving the dock and doing the same!
This morning we got into Great Harbour Cay Marina, nice! Cleared customs, friendly and professional, no issues. Staff are very friendly, nice protected slips with lots of room, best part is $1.20 per foot (power & water extra). Airport is close by and has flights to Nassau, WPB & Lauderdale. Great place to drop off or pick up guests. The beach on the east side is world class! We meet up with Mark, Emily and their guest Dan from Grand Adventure, Sylvianne & I walk the beach, I take a swim we have lunch, just a great day! Take a bike ride and now back at the boat. We are tied to a dock today and Grand Adventue is at anchor off one of the best beaches around! Tomorrow we're leaving the dock and doing the same!
Monday, January 17, 2011
On to Florida
Getting the blog caught up, again. After hooking up with Bob and Nancy on Puffin we continue south in freezing cold temperatures. Windy weather kept us inside the ICW most of the way. We managed off shore only twice and then made some good time. Steve & Theresa on Sea Quill, Jim & Barbara on Ariel are also working their way south.
In Florida things improve, pull into Loggerhead in Stuart, the gangs all here! Off to Canada for Christmas but back for New Years. We had a great time New Years Eve. Thanks Stu for organizing that one.
We hang out in Stuart frantically installing the new toys, getting ready to cross. Head south with Mark and Emily on Grand Adventure. We stopped in Ft. Lauderdale but they carried on. We arrive in Lake Sylvia. The anchorage is good and safe with great access to everything from South Port Raw Bar, (dingy dock is $10, but you can use it as a credit towards food/drinks anytime that day). They serve bar food but it's good bar food! It's an easy walk from there to the Publix, Total Wine, BlueWater Books, Ace Hardware and West Marine. Puffin arrives and we get together to get caught up and plan our journey across with them to Cat Cay.
In Florida things improve, pull into Loggerhead in Stuart, the gangs all here! Off to Canada for Christmas but back for New Years. We had a great time New Years Eve. Thanks Stu for organizing that one.
We hang out in Stuart frantically installing the new toys, getting ready to cross. Head south with Mark and Emily on Grand Adventure. We stopped in Ft. Lauderdale but they carried on. We arrive in Lake Sylvia. The anchorage is good and safe with great access to everything from South Port Raw Bar, (dingy dock is $10, but you can use it as a credit towards food/drinks anytime that day). They serve bar food but it's good bar food! It's an easy walk from there to the Publix, Total Wine, BlueWater Books, Ace Hardware and West Marine. Puffin arrives and we get together to get caught up and plan our journey across with them to Cat Cay.
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