Derwent Marine: Replacing the fuel and water tanks

When we bought the boat the old mild steel fuel tanks had seen better days.  In fact as part of the work before completing the sale we found that the two fuel tanks were in fact full of water!  The outsides had been left to rust and so we knew that one day soon it would need to be tackled.   I had tracked a small fuel leak in one of the tanks in Sydney and so it was time.   There are usually horror stories about replacing tankage in old boats and ours like many are in the bilge and under the floor.  We had spent some time figuring out just how much of the floor and fittings would need to be cut out to do the work and had been pleasantly surprised at how little it would take. 

Still it was a big job requiring good carpentry skills and so we asked Don Bailey at Derwent Marine near Hobart to help us do this and also weld up the new stainless gantry for the solar panels.  We went alongside their wharf and were glad we did this job whilst in the water as it was much more convenient than it would have been on the hard.

I had searched around for the options to replace and really it was a 'no brainer' to replace with HDPE (plastic) both on cost and ongoing integrity.  I ended up ordering with Atlas Tanks in Brisbane, mainly because any business that has an actual production schedule gets my vote of confidence on the basis that they must be organised, or trying to be, and possibly even reliable on delivery.  Turns out they were organised, reliable and professional and produced great tanks delivered exactly when planned.  

At this point it was time to move off the boat to a nearby apartment.

Glen who works at Derwent marine is a good carpenter, which is just as well as the first job was to take out the companion way steps and then cut out the main floor below.  We were lucky in that we could do this without resorting to cutting out cupboards and bench seats.    

The two mild steel tanks were built port and one starboard which I never understood as if one only was used the boat would be heavy one side. The water was the same configuration. They were very obviously put in before the coachroof was built as there was no way they were going to get through the hatch space without being cut in pieces.  We set to with jigsaws and a sabre tooth saw which made short work of the job. It took four hours for two of us to cut and clear them out of the hull. 

I had measured up carefully and planned that the replacements would be built to fit across the width of the boat and so be longer and thinner.  The new size allowed them to just fit though the hatch space.  Each tank was 375 litres which was marginally smaller than the originals.  Outside size was exactly the same and the reduction came as a result of the 10mm sheet size of the plastic lowering the internal capacity.

There was a lot of shifting and pulling to get access to the space, this is Glen, not me! adjusting the tanks before cutting them up.  It was pretty clear that the time was right to clear them out as the insides were a sludge of rust and the outsides a mass of flaking rust. 

The bilge had not seen the light of day since the build in 1984 so there was quite a lot of mess and sludge.  I scooped out what i estimated to be 30kg of mess and this explained the old boat smell.  I scrubbed it all back degreased cleaned and ground it all back to clean fibreglass before painting the bilge with a two pack paint.  I also took advantage of the space under the floors to re route all the electric cables through tubes so I know where everything is. 

After taking the fuel tanks out I had a good look at stainless water tanks. they were immediately forward of the old fuel tanks that were now scrap. Again they were the original and it had been difficult to see what sort of condition they were in.  I found four small leaks on one of them at the base welds so there was no question that they needed to come out as well given this was the only time I planned to pull out the floor of our home.  The space made by the fuel tanks departure made enough room to slide them out, cut them up and send them to the scrap yard. I had cut out lots of panels to be used for backing plates for the planned new winches and deck gear.

The new tanks were pretty easy to replace in comparison to the removal.  Glen did a great job of preparing batons to fix them down and ensuring they do not move and then replacing all the joinery.  He re organised the joists and fixings on the companion steps so that it would be a fairly easy task to take them up if the need ever arose in the future.

I moved the tanks around and put the fuel forward and the water aft.  Tiki sits too high in the water at the rear, a legacy of losing a mizzen mast perhaps when converted to a cutter, and we have more water than fuel on most occasions so there is more weight aft now.  We also only use the rearmost fuel tank as 375 liters is enough for most journeys and the forward will be filled only on long ocean trips where we need to have 700L of fuel.

Lots of detailed fitting of new lines, gauges and breathers and realigning access hatches and we had a glass or two of bubbles for a job well done.  We even came in under what we expected to spend which is a minor miracle in marine world! It took just over five weeks, longer that planned because of the need to wait for the additional water tanks that had not been scheduled to be built. 

Using a Parachute sail - our initial trials in Platypus Bay

Setting off from the anchorage the wind was light and right behind us, the sun was setting gloriously in front of us - what better time to trial the new parachute sail?!  We obtained an ex-army issue parachute from the US and set it up by dividing the lines equally and tying them off onto two steel rings.

It was raised by one ring on the spinnaker line towards the top of the mast. The lower end Neil attached to a line and ran it through a shackle on the bowsprit and back to the cockpit. The results were fantastic! Without a breeze to mention we were being gently pulled along at just under 3 knots. The type of breeze from behind and changing direction that would require lots of work using a spinnaker or any other poled sail was a relaxing event with the parachute. We both lay on the foredeck with our arms folded behind our heads, looking up as the parachute changed direction with the wind as required - it looks so peaceful.

The current setup which requires some tweaking causes it to manoeuvre with a jelly fish like motion, meaning the vertical sides accordion in and out because the lines attached in equal lengths are relatively shorter here than on the top and bottom sections of the chute.

We will adjust as we go to see the best set-up, for now we deem this trial a success.

Keppel Island

Position:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=position@-23.194607,150.946701&z=12&t=m

We made it to Keppel island last night and we anchored in the most amazing bay on the south side as the wind is northerly now.
What a dilemma, the wind and forecast are perfect for continuing south to Brisbane, the yacht is settling into a good pace and Dave and I are in cruising mode. However I need to head off to Thailand to meet Heather who has booked a break for her 40th birthday. That means we will track off to Keppel bay Marina on the coast and moor her up for a few weeks before the final leg to Brisbane.
The anchorage is stunning and we a sure to return and spend more time here. There is the adage that blue water cruising is 'the art of yacht maintenance in exotic places' and the yacht next to us proves this by spending all morning running a disc cutter and sander inside their cabin. It must be a major job and i make a mental note to leave those jobs for rainy days when possible as today is just wonderful sunshine and uplifting to be on deck watching the world.

Percy to Keppel overnight

We left Percy anchorage late yesterday at 4pm. The weather had not changed and we could not get ashore at all. We had planned leaving for earlier and were delayed as the anchor chain got caught on a bommie. The tide had been catching us and I suspect had turned us in a circle overnight. We tried circling to release her, tightening up and running over the position and all to no avail. We had just about resigned to waiting the night and diving down when the weather had settled in the morning when I inched her up and she began to give bit by bit and freed off. Three hours of effort and seceded off under sail.

The night passage was overcast with some breaks of moon, strong NW winds pushed us down with maybe over 2m of swell behind us and so we averaged over seven knots reefed down. It reminded me of the English channel trips we have taken and as dawn appeared the day brightened to sunshine and warm winds now on the starboard beam. A great dry day for sailing on our way to Keppel Island for anchorage.

Last night was the first night at sea with Tiki. I reefed her down before dark and she sailed well with the wind about 30deg off the stern. She feels safe and stable, what we would expect really from a solid long keeled blue water cruiser. The swell behind us was taken in her stride and never felt uncomfortable unless we steered her off at the wrong angle. We are hand steering as we have no autopilot and this is good for me as I am learning more about how she handles as a result. I love sailing into the dawn, whatever the weather, it is the most inspiring part of the day.

I plan to sail into many more daybreaks.

Sailing south - sail performance update

Position:

Running along in great weather, wind from north west so just behind the port quarter. Cloudy and warm. Can just make a track with all sails up. Have not tried running with sails goose winged yet. Must buy a parachute soon.

Dramas Sailing to Goldsmith Island

What a day! Setting off this morning at 0545 was simple, a calm quiet and warm morning for us to slip the lines and start heading south. The sails were soon up and and pushing us along in the WSW breeze. Despite having checked and rechecked the rigging,lines and sails several times it was a relief nothing broke or fell down during the morning. We headed along to clear water and tacked around to travel south along long island, just making a bearing close to the wind as we could go.

Dramas unfolded on the starboard tac as the bilge line was not taken high enough above the water line and so began syphoning water in, then i found the fresh water tank breather pipe had been cut off short somewhere in her past life and drained to the bilge on a tac. Good for easing the tepid bilge smells at least. No worries these are easily fixed and I set to it with plenty of spares and materials on board. Of course the wind died and so we began to motor a while which made my repairs much easier until the engine died as well as an attempt to keep me on my toes.

For the first day at sea this was getting interesting so it was moving swiftly onto diesel repairs after a session of pipe fixing. We were drifting over some sandbanks, at low tide, that theoretically gave us less than 1m of water under the keel. Well, the tide would come in if we bump them.
I suspected the diesel system needed a good clean through so I started at the tank to check fuel input, then the electric pump, then checking each seal and changing the primary filter, testing for good fuel, to the mechanical pump and check again, then the second filter change and then to the injectors. She had not been used for a while and this set up the engine to work again so I put it down to the filthy fuel filters from tanks that had just been wired brushed free of years of sediment and rust build up.
At last we settled down and got on with sailing south again as the wind picked up.

Our first evening we anchored at goldsmith island. Arriving at about 1730 we used the guide to place ourselves in a good position. Unfortunately we got too close in and ended up in 2m of water. Tracking around it was obvious the bay shelved steeply in places down to 16m in a long channel just off the beach and not noted in the guide. We moved out beyond this channel and anchored in about 6m. We had 15kn of wind and yacht was sitting good in the bay. I will make a sketch of the bay from my soundings and add them to the guide for future. We are the only yacht here and the island is uninhabited. The difference between this coast and Brittany or UK is stark as we sit in the cockpit. There is no one to go ashore for!

Dave loves creating food from our fridge full of pasta, meats and wine so we soon settle down for a relaxing evening with a glass of wine and then a session of bleeding the steering hydraulics out to clear the air that is in them. It is making steering harder work than it needs to be and I have a feeling we will need a complete service to eliminate this.

Plan to leave at 0530 in the morning as light gets up and I go to sleep with the anchor alarm set on the iPad. Life's good.

Finally ready to get sailing

After what has been a huge amount of effort over the last month the boat is finally in a decent enough condition to get ready to depart for Brisbane. Over the last week in the Marina the engine has moved to a state where it can be sea trialled. This afternoon we went out in the bay and ran the engine for an hour to make sure it works okay. All seems well and Brett left with advice for further work and maintenance over the coming weeks. It will take some more attention on my part to make sure the Perkins becomes reliable after a long period of neglect.

We are back at the Marina for the evening and planning to leave at first light in the morning. This is the culmination of a lot of sweat and effort. I have lost at least 8kg in the last month, that was definitely needed, we have reinvested at least 12k in Tiki, that was also needed and I have learnt huge amounts about yachts which was also needed. Next step is to start the 600nm journey to Brisbane and find out how she handles at sea.

Yacht Tiki - ours!

This buying a boat malarkey is pretty stressful. The emotional pull of a potential new home that has all the credentials to make our blue-water cruising dreams come true adds to the excitement, and to the level of impatience.

I am amazed at how quickly this boat grabbed hold of us and continues now to engage us entirely. We had looked at so many - over 30 in 3 months. There was an immaculate Ganley, a beautiful Morgan 38, run-down William Gardens, several Roberts refurb projects, Swanson 42's, a long list of custom built steel and ferro varieties and even a selection of multihulls to balance us... we even got to placing offers on a couple which thankfully did not eventuate as, well, our hearts were definitely not in them.

And then there was Tiki, a Young Sun 43. Described by Greg in the Brokers office as "not on the market yet but nearly finished - fully refurbished just waiting for the new cushions that have been ordered". "Let's go take a look and see how she looks" says Rachael our Broker and we jumped in the car to add another to the long list viewed over the Xmas week.

The rain was falling and the tidal creek which cut the boatyard off from the road was rising as we pulled into Edge's boatyard situated in the depths of the mangroves in Airlie Beach. There on the hard-ground was a beautiful double-ended canoe hull complete with full cruising keel, cutter rigged with sexy bowsprit and, well, what more do you need?!

We climbed the work ladder leading up to the centre cockpit to find a slightly different boat to the one we were expecting. She was nowhere near completed and our hearts sank. The timber decks had been removed and left unfinished. The teak railings had been smashed during transit in several places. There was abandoned rubbish and rusting tools everywhere we looked. Oh lordy-me what a mess.


The hatches were rotten and unsecured so it was easy to open her up and look inside. The rain was as torrential inside as it was outside due to the number of large leaks. It was like exploring a magical wet cave, with rainwater filling the bilges up to the solid teak floorboards which were all exposed. There was tropical mould everywhere and the spoils of the previous owners belongings which had succumbed to a "submerging event", including the galley supplies so various critters had happily moved in and made the place their roach-ey new home. Nice.

This is where I re-iterate the part where a boat 'grabs you', as even in this terrible state I thought she felt absolutely gorgeous and I couldn't get the smile from my face. I could see through the superficial to what was truly important to us. Her spacious sleeping areas forard and aft each with their own heads, a light and airy space to relax in the saloon, a great galley, amazing solid teak carpentry, she even had a separate workshop area crying out to store dive tanks and more.

Here is where Neil would add in the important observations about engine / sail inventory / seaworthiness etc which were duly noted as we rushed around trying to take it all in. Heavy rain and rising creeks and the realisation that this boat was nowhere near ready to be on the market meant the visit was very short. I never thought that it would be exactly one month later we would make an offer to buy her, and a month after that before she was all ours.

How amazing!

Above: the aft deck contained piles of mooring lines, fenders, detached bimini covers and various boat debris

Below: The centre cockpit contained mostly cardboard, discarded rusting tools and general rubbish preventing any drainage.


Below: Neil takes a contemplative moment to write down the list of jobs in order to price things up and make our offer. Forard has a basket of rotting / wet food left on deck, the purple basket has broken glass and there is a spare portable toilet by the mast. There were actually 3 portable toilets onboard in addition to the 2 plumbed heads.

Fender pricing

Here we are in Airlie chandlers getting a feel for local prices. This fender is 11 x 30 inches can't you tell?

Purchasing Tiki

Friday 11th is the day we start our life with Tiki. We have taken the plane up to Proserpine airport, I am planning on staying on here to begin refurbishing her and Heather and my father are coming up for the weekend to begin clearing the yacht with me. We expect this first step will take several days of clearing, scrubbing and cleaning.

We have spent a chunk of time planning what needs doing on the yacht and budgeting for all we need to do. Most accounts from other cruisers tells us to double our expected outlay on refurbishing. We have set-up ours in three levels, one is to have her in shape for the sail south and good enough to live on, two is to be comfortable and capable of taking us on a three month adventure along the coast of Queensland and third is to have her in shape for 'blue water' cruising away from the comfort of a local chandlery. At some point we will put a detailed account of our refurbishments and costs on the blog as we are tracking each invoice and cost as we go along.

For now we are starting at the basics, she needs stripping of everything that is not sound, working properly or that is smelling. We start on saturday morning.