2014: Repairs Underway in Poros

Poros, Greece

Raw water inlet hose on engine started to leak, just a few drops every minute.  I hate water inside the boat at the best of times so, having found the leak by feel, I bound it with some very stretchy tape that I carry on board which is designed for just this sort of eventuality.  It stretches about four to five times (I’m guessing) its original size and you wrap it around whatever you want – it sticks to itself if you don’t ruin the sticky part with grubby fingers.  I also wrapped some duct tape over that and it stopped leaking for the rest of the season. 

We had a great trip north up the Turkish coast from Marmaris, with some
isolated anchorages, clear waters perfect for snorkelling and amazing
ruins (like Pergamum) to explore along the way.  Highly recommended!

Continuous Furling Line for the Mainsail.  It needed replacement I thought as it was looking a bit hows-your-father.  Tried at the Marmaris marina boatyard sailmaker but, by now, we weren’t talking to each other so no luck there.  Tried other contacts but, although promising to get back to me, didn’t.  At this stage we were on anchor just off the Marmaris boatyard and, I have to admit, I sensed  a lack of enthusiasm by tradies to work on boats when at anchor (perhaps they worry about getting paid before boaties sail away in the night).  So, we gave up trying and departed Marmaris still with the original line and it lasted fine (for quite some weeks) until reaching the west coast of Greece and about to enter Poros, with a good wind blowing.  I started to furl the mainsail, probably under a fair bit of pressure but not as much as we’ve experienced before, then, bang, the line snapped.   I simply furled the main using a winch handle on the winch on the mast. 

In Poros there is a popular chandlery and the staff there were very helpful, selling me some new line and also arranging for someone to come out the next day to do the splice.  I might add here that the furling line is braided, this splice has to be pretty much exactly the same diameter as the line is so it will easily run through a bunch of blocks and winches, while at the same time be almost as strong as the line itself. 

The one that got away!

We had arranged that I would meet the ‘splicer’ the next morning and take him to and from the boat, which was on anchor.  The chandlery man very kindly came along to the pickup point to make introductions and off we went.  The ‘splicer’ was a local, in his late seventies, couldn’t speak English and had a gammy leg (at least one of them).  On arrival at Windjammer he almost fell into the water as he endeavoured to cross from the dinghy to the boat at the stern (it doesn’t get friendlier than this let me tell you) and all crew had to come to the rescue – it was a near run thing.  

Unperturbed he set about his business and nothing I could say would influence him as he went about his task.  Anyway, after an hour of honest toil I had a splice that did indeed slide through all the sheaves and winches but with about 5% strength.  We all agreed that it was a fine effort and I duly returned him to shore, paid him the agreed amount plus a healthy tip, and we parted on very good terms.

We had spectacular scenery through Greece too. 
This is Cape Sounion.

I now did what I wanted to do in the first place – do it myself.  I had watched YouTube for ‘how to’ instructions several times and also had written instructions to refer to.  It was a fairly easy fix by following the instructions.  The hardest bit was the three splices you have to stitch in place to hold the joins neatly and securely together – it took me two goes to do a neat job ie making sure the rope’s diameter was not increased so it easily moved through blocks and jammers.  Very satisfying effort in the end!  Why didn’t I do it myself in the first place?  Well, I thought that for such an important repair I would watch an expert do it first, then do it myself next time.  Oh well, he was a lovely old bloke and it was one of those magical experiences you only get when boating.  We also think he’s dined out a few times with his mates on the strength of his “near death” experience on our sailboat.   In 2015, when the rig was checked by professional riggers for insurance, they noted that the furling line is too stretchy and too large so I may replace it next year.

Outboard Doesn’t Go Fast When Powered Up.  In Poros, one night we headed into shore for dinner and since we were anchored a fair distance from the town docks we sped into town at best speed on the plane.   Our 15hp RIB dinghy ‘Bruce’ can tow a skier.  On the way back to the boat we motored along fine but when trying to get onto the plane the engine would rev madly but not have the "umph" to get the boat going on to the plane.   We could still use the dinghy but only at slow speeds.  I checked the prop and it seemed to be locked in ok and couldn’t find any fault with the gear box.  When we eventually got to Preveza the first time to check out the boatyard, we gave the motor to the mechanic arranged by the Aktio Marina.  The mechanic took the outboard away and next day it was back with a new propeller fitted.  Seems that the old prop had worn its gearing so badly that it slipped on the gear shaft at high revs.  So, there you go, I certainly didn’t think of that.

Poros is the quintessential Greek island village