{"id":62,"date":"1999-11-16T18:00:00","date_gmt":"1999-11-16T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/?p=62"},"modified":"2009-04-17T13:21:02","modified_gmt":"2009-04-17T18:21:02","slug":"getting-ready-to-head-offshore-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/getting-ready-to-head-offshore-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Steps for Getting Ready to Head Offshore"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before each passage we’ve learned that it pays big dividends to go over all of the boat’s systems, rigging, and sails to make sure everything is in the proper condition. In the past couple of weeks we’ve spent a few days on Beowulf<\/em>, getting her ready to head offshore. Here are the items aboard we’ve checked:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Drive Line<\/h4>\n

We check everything over from the front end of the engine to the stuffing box. All accessory and motor mount bolts are checked as are those on the prop shaft. Engine liquids and belts are reviewed, zincs are checked, and the shaft packing gland (in our case a Strong lip seal) are looked at. Beowulf<\/em> has a SCATRA joint between her engine and Hundested prop gear box. As it now has 800 hours on it (projected life is 2000 hours) we have removed it and sent it back to Aquadrive to be checked and replaced it with the spare.<\/p>\n

Steering<\/h4>\n

Nothing messes up a nice passage faster than a steering problem. On Beowulf<\/em> we use a Hynautics hydraulic system, with a WH Pilot doing most of the work. There are two separate systems, either of which will do the job and both of which have a separate WH Pilot. As the hydraulic cylinders now have 20,000 miles on them, and there is a slight oil weep on the seals, I removed them for overhaul. Boat Tech in San Pedro is the closest Hynautics agent and after a quick call I found out that one of their service teams would be in Marina Del Rey. This gave me the opportunity of watching the overhaul process.<\/p>\n

The starboard cylinder was fine and we replaced the seals easily. However, the port cylinder had a nick in the piston rod, the result of a dropped tool no doubt, and this was what had damaged the seal. The only fix was a new cylinder rod.<\/p>\n

In addition to this process, we always check all of the steering system bolts. For a hydraulic system like ours this means quadrant bolts, cylinder base bolts, and connection of the piston to the quadrant.<\/p>\n

Sails<\/h4>\n

Our normal practice is to check all sails once a season and our main and mizzen hardware before every long passage. We use Battslide hardware, and although these are large, powerful sails, have had little trouble over the years.<\/p>\n

This time we dropped both sails from the spars, and then proceeded to first clean each slide and batten end, and then check all the many bolts and clevis pins for tightness. As is the norm, we found several loose pins out of several hundred. These were removed, cleaned, and replaced with blue Loctite.<\/p>\n

Our storm canvas is hank on and we find that about twice a year the hanks need to be lubricated – otherwise when you need them to work easily on a heaving foredeck in storm-strength winds they will stick for sure!<\/p>\n

Roller Furler<\/h4>\n

We use a Profurl roller furler on the headstay. We’ve found that the set screws used to fasten the extrusion sections together tend to work free over time. So, every three or four thousand miles we drop the jib, and Linda winches me up the stay in the boatswain chair (I tie the chair to the headstay so it doesn’t swing aft). There were six set screws that were loose, and for sure sometime during the coming passage, we would have had the extrusion separate (which creates all sorts of problems with the luff of the jib).<\/p>\n

Checking the Rig<\/h4>\n

I like to check all of the wire terminals with a magnifying glass, inspect spreader bases and tangs, and make sure halyard sheaves are free-running and smooth (we use Vectran and Spectra Halyards). In addition, we keep an eye out for sharp edges that could catch and tear our spinnakers. When I go aloft I take along tape and silicon for protecting any sharp edges (usually split pins). In addition, we find it helpful to clean and then lube the tracks on the back edge of the mast (I lube with a Teflon spray). This clean-and-lube process keeps the sails running up and down smoothly.<\/p>\n

More people seem to have problems with their booms than anything else. In our case, they are quite heavy, with massive goosenecks. If there’s a weak spot, it is in the outhaul, which sees lots of load and is subject to some chafe. So, periodically, I like to inspect the internal tackle, wire pennants, and related gear. The mizzen looks fine, but I replaced the main pennant – just in case<\/p>\n

Ground Tackle<\/h4>\n

We’ve always believed in big anchors and lightweight, high-strength chain. On Beowulf<\/em> this takes the form of a 110kg\/240 pound Bruce anchor and 9.6mm \/ 3\/8″ schedule seven Acco chain. With this big hook it is essential that our Maxwell windlass works well. Every couple of months we remove the top and clean and lube the mechanism.<\/p>\n

On this occasion the drive shaft seemed to be loose. We found that a circlip on the bottom of the shaft had broken. After digging through our spares we found a new circlip and the problem was repaired. We could do without the windlass if we had to (using the electric winch at the mast) but it would not be fun!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Before each passage we’ve learned that it pays big dividends to go over all of the boat’s systems, rigging, and …Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tech-talk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}