Emerald Tales

Currently in Portugal after 7 years in the Mediterranean

15 September 2023 | Porto Santo
09 August 2023 | Porto Santo, Madeira
28 July 2023 | Porto Santo, Madeira
23 June 2023 | Porto Santo
15 January 2023 | Porto Santo
15 September 2022 | Porto Santo
19 August 2022 | Porto Santo
29 July 2022 | Porto Santo, Madeira
02 October 2021 | Faro, Portugal
06 June 2021 | Alcoutim
28 May 2021 | Alcoutim
16 April 2021 | Rio Guadiana
31 March 2021 | The Balearic Isles
20 March 2021 | Ayamonte
05 March 2021 | Alcoutim
17 February 2021 | Ayamonte

Advice for Servicing a Hydraulic Autopilot

15 September 2023 | Porto Santo
Nichola Wright
This article shares our experiences and tips for servicing a hydraulic autopilot. In our case, the unit is a Simrad HLD2000 MK2LS, also known as a Robertson. The servicing involved replacing the seals in the ram, cleaning the components and replacing the hydraulic oil.

Emerald's rudder is attached to the boat via the rudder shaft which comes up through the stern of the boat. On top of the rudder shaft is a steering quadrant with the steering cables attached to both sides. As the helm turns, it pulls the cables, which in turn pull the quadrant which turns the rudder. We also have an Edison tiller arm connected to the rudder shaft and to which an hydraulic autopilot ram is attached. The ram is operated by the autopilot.

To read the full post, please click here to visit our webpage.

Our DIY Boat Engine Rebuild: The First Test Run

09 August 2023 | Porto Santo, Madeira
Nichola Wright
We ended the last blog with our Volvo Penta D2-75 engine finally back in Emerald's engine room. This was a major milestone in our DIY boat engine rebuild following salt water damage. With no previous experience of rebuilding an engine, we'd had many months on a steep learning curve with several soul crushing set backs. But we'd resolved each problem and to have finally reached this point was an incredible feeling.

The next big step was to test run the engine.

But before we got to the test run, we had to reconnect all of the ancillary systems. And of course there was another unexpected part failure.

To read the full post, please click here to go to our website.

Boat Engine Rebuild - The Gasket Debacle

28 July 2023 | Porto Santo, Madeira
Nichola Wright
We left you in the last blog of our boat engine rebuild, having discovered oil leaking from around the timing case cover. When we investigated, we found a tear in the gasket that sits between the case and the engine. We'd just been at the point where we were ready to set the engine upright, so to say it was a disappointing setback was a huge understatement.

We took a moment to lick our wounds. After that, there was nothing else for it but for us to get on with taking it apart. After all, there was no one else to do it for us. And, the sooner we got started, the sooner we could get back to making forward, rather than backwards progress.

To read the full blog please click here to visit our website.

Rebuilding a Boat Engine - Our Continued Adventures

22 July 2023 | Porto Santo
Nichola Wright
With all the cleaning completed as described in our last blog, we could start rebuilding our boat engine. We'd purchased an engine overhaul kit that contained new bearings, pistons and all the gaskets that we would need to hopefully get the engine running again. Could we get it all back together ourselves? On the plus side, we're both technically minded and we had a good support network. On the down side we had limited parts and tool availability, plus we were working in a borrowed space, not set up for what we needed to do.

Warning - this post contains subjects that may be of a technical/not very exciting nature! But I've tried to condense things and focus on the drama and emotion of what went right or wrong. The work took place over many hours and I could probably have written a whole blog on each section.

To read the full article, please click here to go to our website.

Repairing A Water Damaged Boat Engine

23 June 2023 | Porto Santo
Nichola Wright
This blog reviews our issues and experiences having decided to try and rebuild our water damaged boat engine.

How did we end up in that situation? Well in June 2022, during a four day passage between Portugal and Porto Santo, sea water found its way inside the engine. It sloshed around for several days and the result was an engine that wouldn't start. Initially we were successful in getting the pistons moving again, but there was further damage deep inside the engine block where rust had had time to do its worst. The previous blog discussed our options to resolve the problem, which boiled down to repair or replace. We chose the latter, and now, with the rebuild almost complete, it's a good time for a look back at our experience.

Read more on our website here.
Vessel Name: Emerald
Vessel Make/Model: Kelly Peterson 44
Hailing Port: No fixed abode
Crew: Colin 'Skip' Wright, Nichola Wright
About: One from Northern Ireland, one from Yorkshire, UK
Extra: Emerald has been our home since 2004. We've sailed around the UK, the western Baltic and have spent 7 years in the Med. We're currently in Portugal, planning a refit. Lot's more information about us and the boat can be found at www.yachtemerald.com
Home Page: https://www.yachtemerald.com/
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