Maintenance Time
Tuesday morning saw us start by checking out the steering ram and helm pump to ascertain why the steering was not performing normally. On inspection we discovered that the mounting bolts had come loose and the whole pump was moving side to side slightly and was not making the stop when on full lock to starboard. We extended the ram in that direction by adjusting the clevis position. Then tested it and it was making the stop now, after locking up the steering ram again after fitting some really heavy duty washers I had on board H3, the whole assembly was working fine again. We then topped up a reservoir (that was empty) on the wheel pump and everything was mint again. The location of the reservoir making it a mission to check easily (my only excuse). The steering felt beautiful again and had stopped pulsing suggesting it was no longer getting air into the system. We were able to test when we went for fuel at the jetty and it was completely back to normal.
The next task was to replace a turbo gasket which was fitted by a Cummins engineer - badly! Bolts were not tightened properly so it simply blew out past the gasket damaging the sealing face. We had been monitoring it for some time but even after nipping it up it continued to leak. I had already had the gasket sent down ready for us to fit. It was funny, when I phoned Cummins about the gasket they said they needed an order from me so that they could supply. To which I replied, “you won’t be getting an order but if you do not supply, there will be hell to pay when I get back to Auckland”. The gasket arrived the next day on courier free of charge!
We reassembled everything and tested by running the engine and found that the coolant discharge hose was leaking slightly (salt water) due to pitting on the metal swage. Another issue we identified to Cummins when the engines were brand new, but that is another story. We cleaned up the swage and went back into town for replacement certified hose and new clamps , just to be really certain of sorting it out properly. I was replacing the hose as a precaution, it was possibly ok. While in town I decided to buy some warm footwear to use inside the boat as well as a pair of cotton overalls to keep me clean and warm! That was our day done - weather wasn’t that great so we retired indoors for tea.
We prepared another Blue Cod dinner with vegetables and planned our next day.
Main Steering Ram - four mounting bolts had come loose. The ram has done some serious hard work on this trip. Some trip 3 hours of full lock to lock every minute of the journey with multiple small inputs port to starboard interspersed!
Cummins 550 HP coupled to ZF Vee drives hence engines are facing the stern.
On Wednesday we continued with the boat preparation for Stewart Island and the trip back up the east coast of New Zealand. I started by donning my new overalls to stave off the freezing cold temperatures outside then set about carrying out another check of the steering assembly to ensure the stops and steering ram were all locked up tight. Following this we were both needed to fit the new hose and fittings purchased yesterday. After completing Robin washed down the engines and engine bay with simple green finally using the water blaster we have on board to wash down. My engine room is kept mint in order to be able to see very quickly if an issue is developing, you could eat your lunch down there - see the photo attached. There was some belt dust and the odd mark to wipe down, overall it was pretty damn good. I finished by pumping the water out of the engine room and finally giving it a wipe down with clean rags. The whole engine room was looking mint again! Robin did some coving with silicone around the glass top above the helm station that we were unsure if it was leaking or whether it was just condensation from running the heaters in extremely cold and damp conditions. We have resigned ourselves to the fact that it is probably just condensation. All jobs done, we headed for lunch at the Bluff Cafe and followed with a great coffee. We decided to go to Bluff Lookout Point where there is the similar type of signage as there is at Cape Reinga. We watched some of the boats coming in through the channel and then decided to take the 2.1k hike to summit of the Hill there. It was quite a challenging climb, particularly for Robin, even though the path and steps are a credit to DOC as they were in perfect condition, with his damaged foot it was really too much. He suffered that evening for doing the climb and had a rough night as a result. It clearly is a debilitating injury that has plagued him since the work place accident many years ago. The damage was severe at the time, so he is lucky to still have his foot but the pain is a huge price to pay for keeping it! Shame ACC is trying every trick to get him off their books. I am sure that was not the intention of ACC when introduced, but it certainly has morphed into that today, certainly in his case anyway. He is an old statistic on their books that they would love to just go away. If you give up your rights to sue then you expect that ACC will honour its obligations to treat and compensate as necessary under the law. I could go on but I will leave it there.
We have made it to the southern most part of the South Island.......by sea!
View from the top of Bluff looking South with Stewart Island just visible - our next destination
Fishing entering the harbour on a good day - note the shoals in the background with breaking waves running across the top.
With the weather deteriorating again tomorrow (Thursday) we decided to visit the car, truck and motorcycle museum in Invercargill. It was an amazing place, very professionally developed through the passion of Mr Richardson. Today it is a credit to his daughter who has taken it over and built a magnificent museum to create what I understand is one of the best Ford vehicle Museums in the Southern Hemisphere - it certainly looked that way. There were themed toilets and a complete 1960’s kitchen where you could sit and have lunchcoffee too. A lot of thought and effort has gone into the redeveloped site. Having been through some of the best car museums in the World in Germany, this was indeed a creditable effort for NZ. Sadly, it was still raining and blowing a gale outside when we went to leave so we decided to stay on and have lunch there in the cafe, fabulous coffee too! It was clearly a popular destination for tourists who came from far and wide to take a look. The photos will give you some sense of the size and scale of the operation. I strongly recommend this place to any Ford fans who love old tractors, stationary engines, trucks, cars and motorbikes; it really is a ‘must do’ place! We had also wanted to visit the Mariners Museum at Bluff but both of us had had enough of toughing it out in the cold miserable weather of the south.
Every vehicle was presented in concourse condition a credit to the ongoing work by the team at Richardsons
The beginnings of Ford Trucks
This was my favourite - a Dodge fuel pump service vehicle - it was a monster!
Front wheel is about 1.2M high! What a machine!