Pre-departure Lift & Polish

Nicky jetwashing BV

There's snow on the ground and we chose to play with a hosepipe and water. Given the air temperature you would be fully justified in questioning our sanity. Explaining that "my stern gland has a slight leak" would most likely raise an eyebrow or two rather than providing a full explanation, however, a few small drops of oil and water spotted dripping from our stern gland (propeller shaft seal) last September, and confirmed when we were sailing over Christmas, set in chain a decision-making process that led to a 'bracing' (= chuffing cold) few days working in the boatyard this week.

The transom polished up nicely

We had always wanted to give BV's hull a clean and polish just before our planned departure for NW Spain in 2 months time. That was for both cosmetic and practical reasons: all yachts sail much faster with a clean bottom and any extra polish on her topsides would help to protect BV from the strong sunshine we are hoping to find. Sadly back in November when I asked about space on the hard and the availability of the travel hoist in March, the yard staff looked at me as though I was a simpleton; surely I should have known that there would be no space on the hard and that the crane was already fully booked well into April lifting people's yachts back into the water in time for the 2013 season.

But for the small drops of oil we would have forgone polishing the topsides and used the nearby Sealift 2 submerging platform to lift us out in March. They lift you out for about 45 minutes, just long enough to jetwash BV's bottom before the platform is re-submerged and you have to move away to let the next yacht in. The drip, however, could not be ignored and it needed BV to be lifted out onto the hard to allow part of the drive shaft to be disconnected and drawn out. So, a deal was brokered to lift out BV in the last remaining space in January. It seemed like quite a good plan back in November when it was significantly warmer.

Prop polished up and then covered in lanolin wax

And so it was that this week I found myself at the helm of a 12 ton sailing yacht embarrassingly looking like it was about to become stuck sideways across the narrow entrance to the travelhoist pen. Proof that one of the unwritten rules of sailing is that there is never anyone watching when you 'park' a yacht perfectly, however, the whole world (or at least a good handful of boatyard staff) seems to be looking on when you get it wrong? Reversing a long fin keel yacht with a strong headwind is, admittedly, about the hardest manoeuvre to get right as they just want to go sideways when reverse is selected and the wind blows the bow away. But.... ones ego still takes a bruising when you are the one providing the 'entertainment' in a marina.

We had already discovered that if I went into the travelhoist forwards BV's forestay would hit the crossbeam when she was lifted, which is why she had to go in backwards. This wasn't a problem last time because the mast had been taken off first. The lift itself went okay apart from one heart stopping moment when the forward sling slipped just as she was being lifted out of the water. That could have ended our planned departure abruptly if BV had slipped out of the slings over the hardstanding; we have now learnt to always insist that the strops are lashed together wherever we are lifted in the future.

Once ashore the powerful  jetwash quickly cleaned off the small amount of slime and grot on the underside and then BV was moved into a cradle so that we could clean up the propeller and polish her topsides. Hard work, even with an electric polishing machine, but the results are spectacular.


















BV gleams with the reflections (including of the photographer) in her blue topsides; well worth the effort.

The new stern gland

The cosmetic improvements were most satisfying but the main reason for the lift was changing the stern gland. Not surprisingly we prioritise anything that is key to keeping the sea water on the outside of the hull so changing the stern gland at the first sign of any leak is a logical step. Our last one was very well made and, provided you looked after it with annual oil changes, was very long lived. Unfortunately it is no longer manufactured, I suspect because the profit margins were not there for a reliable, expensive to manufacture product. Getting a comparable replacement was surprisingly difficult because there is not much of the shaft between the stern tube and the shaft coupling. It seems that the last stern glad was quite compact and we found that the available dripless seals needed more clearance. After much searching, we found the stern gland pictured above. It's similar to the Volvo type of seal but with a couple of improvements: a water inlet to properly lubricate and flush the cutlass bearings plus a removable cap which allows the injection of silicon lubricating grease. Both should help keep it running well for several years to come. Fitting it was comparatively easy. The hardest part was driving out a rolled pin which goes through both the coupling and the drive shaft. Once that had been removed, and the bolts on the coupling loosened, we were able to draw out the shaft with me working on the inside and Nicky jiggling and pulling the propeller on the outside. The new stern gland was then fitted and the cleaned shaft pushed back into position with a small removable plastic device temporarily protecting the lips of the seal. After a bit of bashing to drive the pin back in, tightening of the bolts and connection of the water supply, the job was done. It needed a quick squeeze once BV was back in the water to let out any trapped air and since then we have not seen a single drop of water from it, which is the way we would like it to remain.

London Boat Show trophies

We have also been starting to collect together the last few bits and pieces that we need. In particular things that have left until close to our departure because they have an expiry date. For example, all four of the fire extinguishers have now been replaced so we can forget about them for a few years. The EPIRB (emergency beacon) battery also needed replacing but that is an expensive game that has to be done by a qualified technician. In the end, weighing up the costs, we decided to retire our 13 year old beacon and replace it with a new one that transmits for longer and has a longer period between battery replacements.

The London Boat Show provided an opportunity for us to pick up the 2013 almanacs plus a few other sundries. It was pretty exciting for us to actually be buying the electric charts for the Mediterranean and the last few courtesy ensigns for countries that we hope to be visiting over the next couple of years. It brings it home how close we actually are to setting off.