PROPANE TANKS

Ever since we bought Mintaka, and converted the cooking fuel to propane, we have had two ten-pound, horizontal aluminum tanks.  These tanks were kept in a weather-tight locker on deck, and are in perfect condition.  They were pressure tested here in New Zealand soon after we arrived almost ten years ago.  Ten years is the retest period, so these tanks need to be retested before they can be refilled.  Unfortunately, New Zealand changed the rules recently so that only tanks made in New Zealand can be retested.  A bit of a waste, as our two tanks are in perfect condition.  Horizontal aluminum tanks are also not available here, so we have two options.  We can either decant propane from a borrowed or rented tank into our horizontal ones, or we can buy new vertical ones.

Quite often, a problem is really an opportunity.  Our two tanks lasted about six weeks each, necessitating refilling while on a six-month cruise in the tropics.  Refilling there has never been difficult, but it has often been a chore involving a long walk carrying the tanks, or a taxi ride.  We decided to buy two new twenty-pound vertical aluminum tanks, and keep one of our horizontal ones (even though we can only refill it by decanting).  This would give us enough cooking fuel to last roundtrip from New Zealand for a six-month cruise.  This meant altering our propane locker, though, as the new tanks wouldn’t fit.  I carved a bit on the old locker, and added a few bits of plywood. The new locker is a bit larger, of course, but the dinghy sits down closely over it, giving it good protection at sea.

The new locker has since been painted, and we'll have a waterproof canvas cover made soon (not as good as the old locker with a solid cover, but adequate protection).

"POO TANK"

The holding tank on Mintaka was a flexible bladder tucked away in an inaccessible spot.  It was too small, impossible to tell how full, an inefficient use of space, and with a complex system of valves.

Plumbing chase with most of the plumbing removed

So, never one to avoid big projects, I converted a portion of a plumbing chase -- a chase is a space dedicated to some utility, such as plumbing or wiring -- to an integral, fiberglass holding tank.  This new tank is above the water line, so it will self-drain, removing the need for a pump.  It is also much larger, uses the space more efficiently, and requires only one valve (and that in a better location).  The catch is that I had to reroute all the plumbing that was in that chase, including a couple of deck-fills, and then seal the inside of the chase with multiple layers of fiberglass.  Of course, this being a boat project, the geometry and location of the chase would do the Marquis de Sade proud.  It was only twelve inches wide (fore and aft), but as deep (i.e. to the side of the hull) as I could reach.  Applying four layers of fiberglass in there, together with brutally awkward sanding, all while wearing a "bunny suit" and respirator, was not fun.  

Sealing old holes in one of the bulkheads

Sealing the old vent and deck-fill holes

Sure gets hot in that suit

All glassed in, needing the base and the inboard panel

Base with drain

Drain underneath the tank base

Closing in the tank from the outside, while effectively glassing the inside, posed an interesting problem.  The solution was to cut out an access portal in the final, inboard panel, so that I could reach through to glass it in on the inside, and then to glass in a plug for the portal.  Easier said than done.  I cut a rectangular plug out of the final panel, creating a frame with a portal that had an inward facing bevel.  Then I glassed the frame on the inside as well as the bevels, then mated the frame and the plug, using epoxy "bog" along the edges of the plug to make it a perfect fit.  Only then did I glass the frame onto the tank, followed by the plug.  I put some temporary handles on the plug so that I could turn it sideways, insert it through the access portal, then pull it outward against the bevel while I glassed over the seams.  I’m no stranger to hard, nasty projects, but this one rated right up there.  If I had known how heinous it would be, I wouldn’t have started.

Cutting the bevels in the inboard panel

Inboard panel glassed in place ...

... and with the plug being installed

The old system had two through-hull fittings, one for direct discharge from the head overboard.  The other, for pumping out the holding tank.  Both were old, corroded and very hard to turn.  The first of those was under the head-compartment sink.  With the new system design, we were able to eliminate that fitting entirely, greatly improving use of that space.  The latter was in an awkward spot in the plumbing chase, not optimal for the new tank, so I removed it, and installed a new fitting in a better spot, also improving the use of that space.  Of course, removing those two through-hull fittings left two gaping holes in the hull.  An hour or so with an angle grinder, however, created broad concavities instead of just holes, and repeated applications of fiberglass over the next few days filled them inside and out.  The beauty of a fiberglass boat is that it can be sliced and diced and glued back together as good as new.

One less through-hull

Ground out, ready for glass

Hole gone

The repairs to the holes are just about ready for paint, and a couple of pieces of sanitation hose still need to go in, but this project is largely done.  Actually, that’s only one half of the overall head renovation project, but that’s another post.

FIRST OF MANY PROJECTS

So much for fun.  We are hauled out in Whangarei now, busily working on projects.  The first one I started on, some weeks ago before we hauled out, is now ready for final sanding and painting.

Gap between coaming on left and lazarette hatch

We really like William Atkin’s design of the Ingrid, but many details of any architect’s design are left up to or modified by the builder.  This was the case with the cockpit coamings in the Ingrids built by Blue Water Boats in Washington back n the ‘70s.  The coamings are a raised structure that stands between the cockpit and the side decks, effectively creating the cockpit.  They chose to leave a gap between the aft end of the coamings and the lazarette hatch.  The lazarette is a top-opening locker aft of the cockpit.  The coamings actually ran past this hatch a bit, so the gap on either side ran fore-and-aft.

I don’t know what the builder was thinking when they designed this detail — How many times have I wondered what they were thinking? — but it was a bad idea.  Whenever we were heeled over far enough to have water run down the leeward side deck, it would slosh back in through that gap and along the leeward side of the cockpit.  Obviously, if we were sitting in the cockpit, it would be along the leeward side.  If the weather was at all wild, we’d likely be wearing “foulies”, and a little salt water in the cockpit wouldn’t be an issue.  However, if the conditions were milder, and we weren’t wearing foulies, an occasional dip of the rail would do the same thing, soaking our butts with salt water.  Nuisance.  Annoying.

So, after years of noodling on possible solutions, I dove in.  I laminated some plywood into blocks, sculpting them into plugs which I glued into those gaps.  That sounds easy enough, but it involved endless filling and sanding with epoxy putty and fiberglass.  Its all smooth and fair now, just needing a final sanding and paint, which is on hold for the moment with other projects.

Plug laminated from plywood

Endless epoxy filler and sanding

Rough bog, ready to sand and fair

Making progress

Ready for paint

CRUISING THE HAURAKI GULF

One of my adoring readers told me recently to "update the blog".  How sweet.  OK, you might not be adoring, but obviously you are readers.  So, I'm back.  Now, what have I been up to since my last post?  Well, some great coastal cruising here in New Zealand, plus some truly heinous boat work.  Fun part first.

On Thanksgiving day, we motored out of the Town Basin Marina here in Whangarei for a cruise around the Hauraki Gulf that lasted almost two months.  The weather was not the best, often a bit cold and rainy, and we were boat-bound several times, but the un-summer-like weather also brought lots of un-summer-like wind.  Sailboats do go better when the wind blows, and we took full advantage of it.  Some of the best sailing I've ever had was on this cruise.

The first couple of weeks, we buddy-boated with Dennis and Pam and their son Lindsey on "Pamela".  We've been with them off and on since the Baja Ha-Ha in 2013, sharing many good times.  They will be missed sorely when they leave at the end of this season.  But for now, we had a great time together.  The first stop was Great Barrier Island, the large island northeast of Auckland that forms the Hauraki Gulf.  The Pamela crew are keen hikers, and we covered some ground.  The longest of our hikes took us up Windy Canyon, a narrow, scenic gorge with lots of stairs, to the summit of Mount Hobson (the highest peak on the Barrier, with a 360 degree view over the island, the Pacific to the east, and the Gulf to the west), then down a circuitous route back to our dinghies at the shore.

From Great Barrier Island, a romping sail brought us to Man O' War Bay on the east end of Waiheke Island, the largest of the Lower Gulf islands.  The rural east end of Waiheke is home to a number of vineyards, Man O' War Winery among them.  Robyn and I are not generally interested in wine tastings and such, but this place is special.  We'd been here once before for lunch and a tasting, and we thoroughly enjoyed sharing it with the Pamela crew.

Another repeat stop was to climb Rangitoto, the iconic volcano just outside Auckland's harbor.  Then it was up to Kawau Island where the well-known cruising couple Lyn and Larry Pardey live.  We were fortunate to meet them and begin a friendship with them some years ago in the Marquesas, and have always enjoyed dropping in on them in their island home here.  Dennis was keen to meet them, and Larry in particular enjoyed Dennis' superb guitar playing.

Then it was back to Whangarei for a brief reprovisioning stop before heading out again, this time with our old friend Martin on "Oraka".  After some lovely sailing inside the harbor, we set off again with Martin for a second visit this season to Great Barrier island.  Once again, the sailing across the Outer Gulf to the Barrier was superb.  Did a little hiking with Martin there, then sailed back across the Gulf to Kawau again.  Christmas dinner with Lyn and Larry, then we all sailed on south for the short hop to the magical island of Tiri Tiri Matangi.

Tiri Tiri is a great ecological success story.  Several decades ago, it was a ruined sheep farm, the native forest long since replaced by grassland, many invasive pests, few remaining birds.  With tremendous effort, mostly volunteer, the island has been returned to native "bush", the pests have been eradicated, and native birds have been reintroduced or have self-recolonized.  

It is a delightful place to wander around, watching the plentiful, but yet for some species rare, birds.

Martin had to head north, but we sailed back south into the Lower Gulf to the west end of Waiheke Island.  The west end is semi-urban, a bedroom community and popular vacation spot for Aucklanders, only a short ferry ride away.  This is where we had arranged to meet Patricia, Robyn's sister, on New Year's Day.  Patricia has visited us on Mintaka quite a few times over the years, in Mexico and here in New Zealand, but we've always been in  a marina.  Before this time, she had only been on short day-sails with us.  This time was for a complete cruise, and she got the full treatment.  Patricia had just flown in and taken the airport bus down to the ferry terminal in Auckland.  Robyn took the ferry over, and then right back with Patricia.  The weather was awful, rainy and windy.  They took the local bus from the ferry terminal to the bay where Mintaka was anchored, but the tide was out, leaving a quarter mile of so of muddy sand for them to carry Patricia's bags across, in the rain, to where I could meet them with the dinghy.  Not a great start, one which could easily have caused a bad mood in a novice cruiser.  Patricia, however, was laughing and giggling at the absurdity of it all the entire time.  Then we were all "boat bound" in horrible weather for a couple of days.  But Patricia was cheerfully game for the adventure, and the following week was much improved.  Patricia was treated to a grand tour of the Hauraki Gulf, with some fine sailing.

We stumbled upon friends Frank and Lisa on "Mango Moon" -- we met them a couple of years ago in Vanuatu -- on Motutapu, another Lower Gulf island.  We revisited Tiri Tiri with Patricia, then "treated" her to a hard upwind sail in high winds and big waves back to Kawau (sorry about that Patricia).

Beginning to head back south towards Auckland, we were sheltering from a blow in an anchorage with only two other boats.  One of the two was a boat we know from Whangarei -- well met -- but unfortunately, the other boat was a derelict sailboat that broke free of its anchor and drifted down on us.  Relaxing below, we were startled by a loud bang as the hulk collided with our bowsprit.  We fended her off -- Robyn thinking to pull in our solar panel just in the nick of time -- but we couldn't just let her drift out into the Gulf to become a hazard to navigation.  As she slid down our side, I snagged a line on her stern and secured it to our stern.  OK, now what do we do with her?  After some time talking with authorities on the radio, and waiting, the owner finally came out and organized a tow.  Not to worry, we suffered no damage; the hulk hit us sideways against the steel cap on our bowsprit.

Last stop with Patricia was back at Waiheke.  After seeing her off on the ferry again, we were just about to head home to Whangarei, to start on a long list of projects, when Frank and Lisa tempted us out to Great Mercury Island.  What the hell.  The jobs will wait.  So, we met up with them there for a delightful time hiking, snorkeling and just socializing.  Mango Moon is a gorgeous catamaran that Frank and Lisa built some years ago in Vietnam.  Neither Robyn nor I had ever sailed on a "cat", so we jumped on the chance for a day sail to another anchorage a few miles away.  I was impressed.  I still prefer monohulls like Mintaka, but I have to admit that I was impressed.  Frank and Lisa are keen snorkelers, too.  We are not quick to jump in the rather brisk water here, but that was the order of the day, so in we went, and quite enjoyable it was.

Another brief visit with friends at the Barrier, then another brief visit with Lyn and Larry on Kawau, and it was back to Whangarei to start work.  So, lots and lots of great sailing, criss-crossing the Gulf, sometimes in company with friends, visiting both new places and old favorites.  But, it was finally time to get to work on Mintaka, so now we're hard at it back in the Basin in Whangarei.  Some of the list is just routine maintenance, but much of it involves improvements.  Just as with a house ashore, after living with some nuisance for a period of years, the time comes to just deal with it.

This post is long enough, though, so I'll be back soon with the "projects".

Lindsey in Windy Canyon

Robyn on the stairs in Windy Canyon

Looking west on Mt Hobson

Summit of Mt Hobson

One of the ubiquitous swinging bridges in NZ

On Waiheke with the Pamela crew

At the Barrier

Little Barrier Island in the background

What do we do with this?!

Robyn and Patricia

Robyn and Lisa on Great Mercury Island