Docklands 5

Docklands 5

Home for the next 2 weeks!

Or so we thought. Turned out a tad longer...

On dropping the rudder for our usual inspection of its alloy shaft, we found the bottom rudder bearing cracked - again!

We investigated dispensing with the Delrin roller bearing and having a new bushing made from solid Vesconite* by a local engineering firm.

It took a bit of getting out...

[*Interesting fact: self-lubricating Vesconite expands less than 0.1% in water, while nylon expands by up to 3%!]

However, Jeffa, the manufacturer of both rudder & bearing, responded to our complaint by immediately despatching two replacements, gratis, with profuse apologies. It took only 2 days to rush them from Denmark to AKL airport, but another 4 days for DHL to then process and deliver the package to Whangarei. Kiwi pony express... ;)

Saildrive seals shot

Then, on draining the Saildrive, we were delighted to find gear oil like juiced avocado. And on closer inspection, with the prop hub off, the remains of an orange shopping bag wrapped around the shaft and up under the seals. Must have been recent, you could still read the 'Mitre 10'!

So new seals, fair enough, but the damage was deep enough to also require the shaft to be sleeved otherwise the new seals, well, wouldn't. Thankfully only an overnight job with the local Volvo-Penta agent. Again, Whangarei is a great place to get boat stuff done.

Hull prep...

Those jobs, plus a hundred-and-one others, kept us busy for the allotted fortnight. And some...

So instead of splashing on the Friday and having the weekend for final prep before departing Monday, it all happened on the hardstand.

Thankfully, we had a great team of helpers and the weather was kind to us!