TANKS OR BATTERIES?
Bahía de Caraquéz, Ecuador, Thursday, October 02, 2008
Monday, “Wacho” Moreiera and his helper Mario came out to the boat to address the issue of our fuel tanks. We had already decided that the tanks had to come out; something is clogging up fuel filters at a far-too-rapid rate. The question is whether they can be re-conditioned and re-installed, or whether we have to make new ones.
Wacho started with the bigger tank. We carry about 75 US Gallons of fuel in two tanks of differing size. The port tank is somewhat smaller to allow space for the inboard exhaust pipe. As far as I know both tanks are as old as the boat (35 years). According to Nigel Calder in his famous electrical and mechanical how-to book for cruisers, steel tanks are quite good but have a useful life of only about ten years. So, thirty-five years is pretty good. The trick seems to be to keep them full of diesel fuel to prevent rusting and crud build-up at the bottom.
The tanks must have been built into the engine compartment before the boat was decked over or at least before the engine was installed. They are heavily made (1/8-inch steel) and attached to structural portions of the boat, five points for each tank. Wacho was convinced he could get the tanks out without removing the Lister engine. And he did, in the end. It just that it took eight hours, much of which he spent lying behind the engine and trapped behind the half-extracted fuel tanks. Some wood had to be chiselled away behind the galley stove, which of course meant removing the stove itself and some ceramic tiles first. (This was all right since we have decided either to rejuvenate the old RV stove or replace it with a 4-burner cocinetta, a table-top propane affair popular in Latin America and perhaps to find new tiles.) The steel attaching lugs (tags)had to be cut away using a hack saw and a lot of prying and jiggling to finally get the damned tank through the engine-room bulkhead and into the cabin. But, as it was, the tank left scars and we even had to remove some wood moldings as well just ot get the etra few milimetres of space. Fortunately there was no need to remove the sliding hatchcover! It was relative childsplay to hand it up through the companionway hatch and onto the deck, where Carlos, from Puerto Amistad came by and toted it ashore for us along with the galley cooker. The cabin was of course a mess with greasy foot and fingerprints everywhere; the two guys, especially Wacho who had done most of the heavy work, were exhausted and covered head to toe in grease. But the first and larger tank was out!
It is always a pleasure to watch Wacho at work. He never hesitates; he never stops until he either gets the job done or he collapses from trying; he is knowledgeable and; hardworking. What more can one ask of a marine mechanic? I did think he was about to give up yesterday a couple of times, though.
Thursday, 02 October 2008
This morning Wacho was back admittedly looking a little pale and exhausted from the strenuous work of yesterday. Mario, his helper, and I carried the galley stove and the fuel tank out to Wacho’s blue, Russian-built stake-truck, and drove off to Leonidis Plaza, the neighbouring village where Felix’s open-air welding shop is located (a metal sign above the gate says “Amigo Felix”). I had met him before for a quick welding job last year and, although like most welding shops his place is dusty and dirty, he seemed to know what he is doing. Wacho, in any case, swears by him.
The outside of the tank still looks good, the welding lines very neat and clean. There is some sort of plastic-like coating on the inboard side and the remainder is painted black. Could it be Stockholm tar? Then, after complimenting whoever had built the tanks in the first place those thirty-five years ago, Felix spent an hour with the cutting torch to cut the end off the big tank. Nice neat lines all done freehand. It took only about two minutes for the three of us to assess that the corrosion and rust on the bottom inside were too far advanced to save the tank. Felix thinks it would soon corrode through.
So, the conversation immediately turned to making new ones. Wacho and I had already decided that we could still get the second and smaller tank out of the boat and that we could possibly use the empty space behind and above the engine where the house batteries had once been situated to fit in a new, third tank. We left it that everyone would show up at Puerto Amistad to measure the new tank space this morning.
My night was quite strange since I seem to have picked up estomacho turistico. This combined with the diet that Kathleen and I have been following made me feel very weak and nauseous. On top of that, we stayed up until 2230 to watch the ‘debate’ between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin. By the time we had rowed out to the boat in a strong ebbing current, I was shaking from the exertion and from the cold (Puerto Amistad is pretty draughty). Kathleen piled a couple fleece blankets on me and finally got warmed up enough to stop shaking uncontrollably and to get some sleep. Awoke feeling very übernächtigt. What I need is a coffee but at present we have no cooking facilities on board and, as it turns out, no drinking water either.
Wacho, Mario and I walked around the town looking to find a cocinetta, a 2-4-burner table top propane cooker. We have never trusted the oven on our RV oven aboard Vilisar, and used it only for storing pots and pans. We do all our cooking on the three-burner stovetop. The old cooker is in pretty bad shape and one of the burners no longer functions. The guy Wacho thought could re-condition the apparatus is no longer in town, it appears. A new, 4-burner cocinetta costs between $35 and $60, depending on the bells and whistles (e.g., trim and electrical sparking, etc.) I measured the cocinettas we saw at the various appliance stores but of course, in my misery last night and this morning, I forgot to measure the space on the boat. Oh, well.
Had agreed to meet Felix and Wacho this morning at 0900 to measure the space behind the engine for an additional fuel tank. But I have now decided just to stick with the two existing ones. Since there was no measuring to do, we set out in Wacho’s stake truck to buy ¼-inch steel plate and to see if a local guy could do the bending on the equipment he has. No deal in both cases. Consequently, we are off in the morning at 0700 to Puerto Viejo, the provincial capital, to buy and bend.
The stockist here in town says what we are wanting will cost $130 a sheet (I estimate 3’x6’, but I’m not sure). Assuming we need two sheets to replace the two existing tanks, that is not too bad. Need to get Felix to make me an estimate for his fabricating and welding work. I also need to talk to him about how to coat the outside to we don’t get any rust in the engine room. The inside will be bare acer negra (black steel) and Felix told me to keep the tank filled up.
Although I don’t feel great again this morning, I am glad we are moving forward on this project. Again, thank goodness for Wacho!!!!
Also had a talk last night with Joe Bayne, the marine electrician who is ordering the new Bosch batteries for us (4x6-volt deep cycle batteries to double our storage capacity, and one 12-volt starting battery; the 6-volt items cost about $135 each). We decided to postpone the purchase of batteries for a couple of months so “our cash resources are not overly stressed” (a polite way of saying things, right?) No problem. Anyway, Joe will have eventually have to get into the engine room and check things over once all these fuel tanks have been pulled out and reinstalled; when you look in there now, all you see is wires hanging down crazily. The two existing Motorex (Columbian) Series 30 batteries we bought two years ago (at $130 each through Puerto Amistad) are pretty much dead. This happened while we were away; no explanation. The starting battery (also a Motorex Series 30) can still be used to start and for some electrical needs on board for the moment if we are careful. Fortunately, we invested in a number of low-draw, LED cabin lights while we were in the U.S.A. These are coming into their own now.
Now, if we can just get a cooker installed, we can have espresso café in the morning.
My camera battery is dead or I would add original photos.
Bahía de Caraquéz, Ecuador, Thursday, October 02, 2008
Monday, “Wacho” Moreiera and his helper Mario came out to the boat to address the issue of our fuel tanks. We had already decided that the tanks had to come out; something is clogging up fuel filters at a far-too-rapid rate. The question is whether they can be re-conditioned and re-installed, or whether we have to make new ones.
Wacho started with the bigger tank. We carry about 75 US Gallons of fuel in two tanks of differing size. The port tank is somewhat smaller to allow space for the inboard exhaust pipe. As far as I know both tanks are as old as the boat (35 years). According to Nigel Calder in his famous electrical and mechanical how-to book for cruisers, steel tanks are quite good but have a useful life of only about ten years. So, thirty-five years is pretty good. The trick seems to be to keep them full of diesel fuel to prevent rusting and crud build-up at the bottom.
The tanks must have been built into the engine compartment before the boat was decked over or at least before the engine was installed. They are heavily made (1/8-inch steel) and attached to structural portions of the boat, five points for each tank. Wacho was convinced he could get the tanks out without removing the Lister engine. And he did, in the end. It just that it took eight hours, much of which he spent lying behind the engine and trapped behind the half-extracted fuel tanks. Some wood had to be chiselled away behind the galley stove, which of course meant removing the stove itself and some ceramic tiles first. (This was all right since we have decided either to rejuvenate the old RV stove or replace it with a 4-burner cocinetta, a table-top propane affair popular in Latin America and perhaps to find new tiles.) The steel attaching lugs (tags)had to be cut away using a hack saw and a lot of prying and jiggling to finally get the damned tank through the engine-room bulkhead and into the cabin. But, as it was, the tank left scars and we even had to remove some wood moldings as well just ot get the etra few milimetres of space. Fortunately there was no need to remove the sliding hatchcover! It was relative childsplay to hand it up through the companionway hatch and onto the deck, where Carlos, from Puerto Amistad came by and toted it ashore for us along with the galley cooker. The cabin was of course a mess with greasy foot and fingerprints everywhere; the two guys, especially Wacho who had done most of the heavy work, were exhausted and covered head to toe in grease. But the first and larger tank was out!
It is always a pleasure to watch Wacho at work. He never hesitates; he never stops until he either gets the job done or he collapses from trying; he is knowledgeable and; hardworking. What more can one ask of a marine mechanic? I did think he was about to give up yesterday a couple of times, though.
Thursday, 02 October 2008
This morning Wacho was back admittedly looking a little pale and exhausted from the strenuous work of yesterday. Mario, his helper, and I carried the galley stove and the fuel tank out to Wacho’s blue, Russian-built stake-truck, and drove off to Leonidis Plaza, the neighbouring village where Felix’s open-air welding shop is located (a metal sign above the gate says “Amigo Felix”). I had met him before for a quick welding job last year and, although like most welding shops his place is dusty and dirty, he seemed to know what he is doing. Wacho, in any case, swears by him.
The outside of the tank still looks good, the welding lines very neat and clean. There is some sort of plastic-like coating on the inboard side and the remainder is painted black. Could it be Stockholm tar? Then, after complimenting whoever had built the tanks in the first place those thirty-five years ago, Felix spent an hour with the cutting torch to cut the end off the big tank. Nice neat lines all done freehand. It took only about two minutes for the three of us to assess that the corrosion and rust on the bottom inside were too far advanced to save the tank. Felix thinks it would soon corrode through.
So, the conversation immediately turned to making new ones. Wacho and I had already decided that we could still get the second and smaller tank out of the boat and that we could possibly use the empty space behind and above the engine where the house batteries had once been situated to fit in a new, third tank. We left it that everyone would show up at Puerto Amistad to measure the new tank space this morning.
My night was quite strange since I seem to have picked up estomacho turistico. This combined with the diet that Kathleen and I have been following made me feel very weak and nauseous. On top of that, we stayed up until 2230 to watch the ‘debate’ between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin. By the time we had rowed out to the boat in a strong ebbing current, I was shaking from the exertion and from the cold (Puerto Amistad is pretty draughty). Kathleen piled a couple fleece blankets on me and finally got warmed up enough to stop shaking uncontrollably and to get some sleep. Awoke feeling very übernächtigt. What I need is a coffee but at present we have no cooking facilities on board and, as it turns out, no drinking water either.
Wacho, Mario and I walked around the town looking to find a cocinetta, a 2-4-burner table top propane cooker. We have never trusted the oven on our RV oven aboard Vilisar, and used it only for storing pots and pans. We do all our cooking on the three-burner stovetop. The old cooker is in pretty bad shape and one of the burners no longer functions. The guy Wacho thought could re-condition the apparatus is no longer in town, it appears. A new, 4-burner cocinetta costs between $35 and $60, depending on the bells and whistles (e.g., trim and electrical sparking, etc.) I measured the cocinettas we saw at the various appliance stores but of course, in my misery last night and this morning, I forgot to measure the space on the boat. Oh, well.
Had agreed to meet Felix and Wacho this morning at 0900 to measure the space behind the engine for an additional fuel tank. But I have now decided just to stick with the two existing ones. Since there was no measuring to do, we set out in Wacho’s stake truck to buy ¼-inch steel plate and to see if a local guy could do the bending on the equipment he has. No deal in both cases. Consequently, we are off in the morning at 0700 to Puerto Viejo, the provincial capital, to buy and bend.
The stockist here in town says what we are wanting will cost $130 a sheet (I estimate 3’x6’, but I’m not sure). Assuming we need two sheets to replace the two existing tanks, that is not too bad. Need to get Felix to make me an estimate for his fabricating and welding work. I also need to talk to him about how to coat the outside to we don’t get any rust in the engine room. The inside will be bare acer negra (black steel) and Felix told me to keep the tank filled up.
Although I don’t feel great again this morning, I am glad we are moving forward on this project. Again, thank goodness for Wacho!!!!
Also had a talk last night with Joe Bayne, the marine electrician who is ordering the new Bosch batteries for us (4x6-volt deep cycle batteries to double our storage capacity, and one 12-volt starting battery; the 6-volt items cost about $135 each). We decided to postpone the purchase of batteries for a couple of months so “our cash resources are not overly stressed” (a polite way of saying things, right?) No problem. Anyway, Joe will have eventually have to get into the engine room and check things over once all these fuel tanks have been pulled out and reinstalled; when you look in there now, all you see is wires hanging down crazily. The two existing Motorex (Columbian) Series 30 batteries we bought two years ago (at $130 each through Puerto Amistad) are pretty much dead. This happened while we were away; no explanation. The starting battery (also a Motorex Series 30) can still be used to start and for some electrical needs on board for the moment if we are careful. Fortunately, we invested in a number of low-draw, LED cabin lights while we were in the U.S.A. These are coming into their own now.
Now, if we can just get a cooker installed, we can have espresso café in the morning.
My camera battery is dead or I would add original photos.
posted by rjb @ Friday, October 03, 2008
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