Category Archives: Boat Technical

Specifics about the boat.

Passage to Gran Canaria – Days 1 and 2

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Yesterday we wanted to get up early so we could leave ASAP. Mind you, early for us these days is before 0800, when the sun rises. It was cold and dark, making getting out of bed painful, but we had to do it. We had no time to dilly dally. Fortunately, it wasn’t as cold as it had been all week, so getting up before turning the heater on was a little more bearable. The wind was calm when we awoke. We knew it would change soon.

Eric gave Kosmos a quick wash down. There was jet fuel residue all over the boat, and we are afraid if we go out to sea that it will turn to cement and be difficult to remove down the road. Christi ran to Continue reading →

Stabilizers, Fuel, and Chores in Gibraltar

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Eric is starting to stress out about the Atlantic crossing. We were originally going to be here for only three days, leaving us lots of time in the Canaries to get things ready for the big crossing. Now, thanks to the stabilizer delay, it looks like we will only have a few days in the Canaries to get things ready. The “to do” list is long, and sadly, most of it is last minute stuff.

So, needless to say, yesterday and today have been chore days. The biggest and most important news is that ABT repair technician came today at about noon for the stabilizers. He was done by 1400. We now have a new hydraulic cylinder actuator. This time we Continue reading →

Day 3 of the Water Pump Saga

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We are happy to report that today was sunny with calm winds. The marina is calmer, which is nice. We like calm days.

Eric went to the marina office as soon as it opened, where a Spanish speaker was on duty and happy to help. Yay. He called and found out that the distributor did carry the part, but absolutely would not sell to us direct. We had to go through a retail store, and they didn’t volunteer any information as to what store we might be able to find their product in. Our nice translator didn’t seem to want to call back to press them on the retail store locations.

Yesterday, the clerk at the Gibraltar chandlery suggested that we go to a nearby chandlery in Spain, just a 15 minute away, and ask them to order it for us. They would be able to get it sent from Barcelona via overnight express with no customs issues. Now that we knew the distributor had the part in stock, we were happy to make the trip. We got directions, which were go out to the road, turn left, walk over the airstrip and you are at the border. Catch a taxi to the chandlery on the other side. We were kind of dubious, but the directions were accurate. You really do walk across the airstrip. Or drive across, if you are in a car. When a plane needs to land or take off, they just close the road for a few minutes. Seeing the wide open strip explains why the other day, we heard several announcements over a loudspeaker demanding that the car parked on the runway be moved now.

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One more block from the runway is the border. Crossing the border was Continue reading →

Day Two of the Water Pump Saga

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This morning we got confirmation that ABT has shipped the broken part to their repair person in Mallorca. He will fly out to Gibraltar to fix the stabilizer next week after the part arrives. ABT has been great to work with.

Last night he found the number for the Shurflo manufacturer in England on the internet. He and called first thing this morning. They told him they only sell in bulk to distributors and gave him the number to their distributors in the UK and Spain. The UK distributor said to call the Spanish distributor in Barcelona. We tried, but they don’t speak English and we don’t speak enough Spanish to carry on a conversation. We went to the marina office to see if someone could call for us. No one on duty spoke Spanish, and they said to come back later.

Eric went back to the chandlery to buy different hose clamps, hoping maybe he could find ones that would fit better. He went to work on trying to beef up the connection so that the water pump we have is usable, this time using the new clamps and plumber’s tape. We are sad to report it is still leaking slightly. Here is a picture of his craftsmanship.

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While Eric worked on the pump, Christi washed the boat (using the marina’s spigot). It was a windy day to start with, and while she was out there the wind picked up dramatically. Christi only got Continue reading →