First Cruise

It's been one year since I bought Seawyf and brought it over to Nanaimo from the mainland. In that time I've made a number of upgrades. After 48 years many of the systems were either worn out or obsolete.

The most significant change was taking out the hydraulic wheel steering and reverting to a tiller. I'm not sure which previous owner installed it but I'm sure they'd be mortified at the idea. Luckily the original tiller and rudder head fitting were still on board. On an offshore boat this size I feel a tiller is the better choice since it's much easier to hook up a wind vane to a tiller than a wheel. I also like to use sheet-to-tiller self steering and this of course is also easier to do with a tiller. Since the throttle, gear shift and engine shutoff were mounted on the pedestal I had to relocate them to the side of the cockpit. The Garmin GPS was also on the pedestal. I moved it to the main instrument panel inside.

Another worthwhile addition was an oil pressure gauge. Using a brass tee fitting I was able to have the gauge and keep the existing audible alarm with idiot light. Although the Yanmar 3GMF engine runs well it looks tired with some parts harboring quite a bit of rust. I cleaned up and repainted some of the parts. I replaced the raw water pump and alternator belts, the impeller, then did an oil and filter change.

The water tanks needed some major work. Luckily both tanks had large inspection ports on the top. I removed the 18 bolts holding each one on and was able to thoroughly clean them out. I cleaned or replaced all the inlet and outlet valves and all the hoses. Now I can fill one tank at a time or both. I can also select either tank to draw from or draw from both. The propane system was a bit archaic so I fitted a new hose from the tank to the stove as well as a solenoid shutoff valve and pressure gauge for leak detection. I wanted to have an inside tank so using epoxy and glass mat I sealed off the aft lazarette, converting it to a propane locker.

While all this was going on people kept saying, "When are you going to take her out?" I really wanted to keep making improvements but going off for a weekend was very tempting so I switched my focus to preparing Seawyf for a weekend cruise. I left Nanaimo harbor on the Labor Day weekend and now being well away from shore decided to test the macerator pump, something I had not tried since I was reluctant to dump sewage into the harbor. I flipped the switch and went on deck to see if there was any visible discharge. There wasn't but I did notice a holding tank odor coming from somewhere. This was to be expected, I thought, until I looked below and saw a trail of liquid on the cabin floor. I traced it to the macerator pump. It was leaking profusely through the seams. I tried tightening the bolts holding the pump together but they turned freely. Two of them were broken above the threads and pulled out easily. To make a long story short, I spent the next several hours trying to contain the contents of the holding tank and keep the mess to a minimum. I made it back to the dock in the late afternoon, totally discouraged. Luckily West Marine was open on Sunday and they had the exact replacement pump on the shelf. While I'm doing this I thought I might as well put new sani-hose on. Three hundred dollars later everything was back together, or so I hope. I still haven't had the nerve to try it.

Finally, on September 11, we were ready again. I left Nanaimo in company with the 34 foot steel cutter, Cavale III, crewed by George and Dorothy. They had the week off and we decided to head south to the Gulf Islands. The first night we anchored in North Cove, Thetis Island, a placed I had passed by many times but never stopped. It was around this time that I noticed the tiller was starting to delaminate. Oh well, it should be okay for the rest of this trip. Next day we motored down to Clam Bay on the south side of Thetis. Again we dropped the hook. It was a relief to find the anchor and windlass worked well. It was the first time I had ever used an all-chain rode. Since I hadn't got around to measuring the marks on the chain I had to guess how much scope to let out. Even so, it felt secure and Seawyf didn't wander back and forth with every wind shift. Checking the engine I saw the alternator belt was loose. Odd since I had tightened it recently. I readjusted it and made a mental note to keep and eye on it.

On the third day there was a gentle wind out of the south but since we were headed that way and had to weave our way through islets and reefs we motored and went to Montague Harbour on the southwest side of Galiano Island. Here we decided to pick up mooring buoys to be near the shore but we may as well have dropped anchor since we wouldn't have been much further out. Would have saved 11 bucks too. I enjoyed wandering around the trails and midden beaches of the park, something I hadn't done for a few years. This was always one of my favorite places to kill a few days relaxing. It's never a problem getting in, even at the height of summer. If the moorings are taken you can always find a place to anchor. Another equipment casualty was my "homemade" anchor light. The department store solar-charged LED garden light clamped to a 1x1 stick and hoisted to the masthead worked great but I had neglected to positively secure the twist-on top section which contained all the electronics. It fell to the deck and bounced over the side while lowering it.

I had been having trouble keeping up with Cavale while motoring and this we determined was because the prop was fouled with barnacles. I made a quick dive to scrape them off before departing Montague. What a difference a clean prop makes. We returned to Clam Bay and anchored for the night. I left the dome light in the hard dodger on as an emergency substitute for my lost masthead light. Checking the alternator I saw that the belt was loose again. I had needed to tighten it and the end of every day. By the end of the final day, when we arrived back in Nanaimo, the tensioning bolt needed to be set near the end of the adjustment slot. One more thing to add to the list.

In summary it was an enjoyable trip despite the equipment problems. But if nothing ever goes wrong you don't have any good stories to tell.