Fluid retention & bits & pieces

Having trundled back into Falmouth on Wednesday we raided the town for food and people with bad teeth. We found both in abundance.

Firstly, a Blog viewing update – the information on Patrick the penguin has overtaken John’s legs as the current favourite document. I think this confirms that most of the people we know are slightly demented as Patrick has been the top read since he appeared in “useful stuff”. You all have the time and inclination to read about a toy penguin stuffed with millet? OK, I admit that we had time to write about him but at least we didn’t do that during work time…..  John’s ego may be collateral damage in all this mess of course.

Now a little bit for the technically minded:

On Thursday, Adrian the man with the big spanner (down girls) came and had a look at the cooler. He figured that the seal had probably given way and so would bring his stock of dowty seals along  before removing the elbow. Sure enough, when he returned on Friday the old seal was split and the insert was no longer fixed in the washer properly. (For those who haven’t had to play with them before, dowty seals are the ones that look like big thin washers with a bonded sealing ring of nice oil resistant compound inside them)

New seal on both fittings, replace and guess what - now it really leaked, not just a weep! So, the sealing on the fitting itself was suspect. To do a “proper job” (very Cornish phrase, they also brew a nice beer called that) he procured two new hydraulic fittings which look rather new, clean and splendid:

And so, fluid was retained again. He also brought some straight SAE30 oil for the main gearbox along. The on board top up can was all going to be used and getting this stuff is hard now – try walking into Halfords and asking for it! Luckily the rest of the lubricants needed on board are standard stuff. The main engine likes 15/40W as do the wing and genset. The wing engine gearbox is a V-drive thing (I’m not a fan) and likes normal automatic transmission fluid. The stabilisers and crane to launch the RIB like normal hydraulic oil and the crew just likes wine. In copious quantities of course. Simple really – it just means finding space for lots of different containers on board.

And for normal people again

The very best bit of the two days was eating outside, sitting in the aft cockpit where we were sheltered from the wind. We even managed breakfast alfresco – this was particularly enjoyable because AT LAST we were in the right bit of the country! As we enjoyed brekkie in the sun, the radio told us that it had been the coldest spring for 50 years. Sorry everyone, must be down to us giving up work. Also learned that the lovely old yacht moored in the harbour:

was owned by someone Arabic who was a little short of cash and so it is being stripped of the apparently lovely furnishings and will be laid up for 2 years “upriver” (see the pictures in earlier posts as an example) to save money.  The superyacht  Telios that was in an earlier post after her major (expensive) refit is still here as the owner “isn’t sure where he wants her to go” yet. Decisions decisions…