Outboard Service

Oil change, new spark plug and fuel filter.

New E5 fuel

Started after a couple of pulls and ran fine.

 

Gaff Jaws

Over time most things suffer from fatigue and certainly the gaff jaws can suffer. But the real mistake was lowering and raising the mast without ensuring the gaff did not twist. It would have been better to either remove the gaff or tie it to the mast, so both were lowered/lifted together. This later method does increase the weight when handling the mast.

A local motorcycle repair works did a great job while I waited.

 

Winch Strap

The current winch strap is 11 years old, so it seemed sensible to obtain a replacement, before it broke. The new one is 6.5 metres long, which is just long enough. The previous one was 7 metres long.

 

Transom Board

 

New Outboard

 

Pump Service

The pump has recently needed a few actions to get it working. It quite easy to dismantle and check that that the inlet flap and outlet valve are sealing fully. Putting the pump back together can be frustrating, unless you have 4 foot long, double jointed arms.

 

Sticking Brake Cable

 During this year one the brakes seemed to rub and on inspection it appeared that it was not releasing fully. This seemed to be caused by the cable sticking, as if this was given a shake then the brakes would fully release. Once the cable was removed it was clear that the cable was not moving freely in the outer casing. However, after lots of WD40, pulling and twisting etc and finally some grease all is well and the brakes now move on and off with great ease.

Useful things are - a good head torch, so you can see what you are doing and an old piece of carpet to lay on !

Indespension used to produce a trailer manual, which is really useful. It includes lots of information with excellent coloured photos showing how to work on your trailer.

Masthead

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Initially two coats of West epoxy was applied, along with a layer of glass fibre tissue, this was sanded smooth and then finished with Deks Olje.

 

 

 

The brass ring was slide on first before the mast head fitting was attached. The aim of the ring is to stop the fitting sliding down and damaging to the top of the mast. New standing rigging has also been attached, as the previous set was probably original and therefore over 25 years old.

 

 

Start of Maintenance

Each year the mast head band slowly slips down the mast, due to the load of the shrouds. This could be solved if the band had a strap that went over the top of the mast, or was a cap.

 

The mast head will need cleaning up and perhaps some epoxy added to fill the grove caused by the band. A brass ring has been made and hopefully this will prevent the band cutting into the mast. Stainless steel may have been better a better choice, but a lack of material meant brass had to be used. The age of the shrouds and forestay are unknown, so perhaps it is time to replace these.

 

On some boats the inside pockets have a wooden trim and door. However, on Kathleen plastic moulding was used, this has now started to deteriorate. A replacement was found on eBay, which has proved very easy to fit and provided a good solution. It was a good tight push fit and not glue was used, time will tell how durable it is. The supplier claims it is suitable for 1mm to 2mm thick material.

 

Search for:

 

Small White Car EDGE TRIM SEAL - Interior & Exterior - PVC Rubber Van Boat Truck

 

 

Attempts to head north

A walk around Kerrera, on a windy day.

MOMA porridge - just add boiling water and it is very tasty. However, would suggest a hungry sailor does require 2 packets.

During this time I experienced that dreaded feeling, with no water coming out of the outboard jet, therefore showing there was a problem with cooling system. It was fortunate this was not in a “life n death” situation and a 2 hour sail got me back to a marina. Where with free the use of their workshop (many thanks to Craobh) it was possible to drop the gear box and remove the impeller. This showed the impeller was spinning freely on the drive shaft. A small round key provides the drive, this had worn and was now D shaped. It was not possible to obtain one locally, so a replacement was made from a stainless steel clip and is still working after 2 weeks use.

I found an online supplier (http://www.outboards-cambridge.co.uk/), which sent a new key to the marina and I was able to collect this a few days later as I passed. Once home I measured the new key, it is 2mm dia and 10mm long. The photo shows the clip from which a temporary key was made from, the worn key and a new key, as well as the impeller.

What is interesting is that a new key is not supplied with either the service kit or new impeller, which indicates that this part is not replaced during a service, something I will question at the end of the year with the service centre I use. I will now carry a spare impeller, key and relevant spanners.

 

New centre board cleat

Steps

 

The design is not original, seen on many other boats. Made from 12mm thick plywood, with the lower part of the cutouts reinforced with another strip of plywood. A total of 8 small stainless steel hinges are used, so it folders flat. The maximum width is 6 inches, so it will store along side the gunwales, at the stern of the boat.