Dry dock day two
27 May 2012 | Faraulep, State of Yap - Federated States of Micronesia. The Caroline Islands.
David
We decided to stay in the dock for another low tide. During high tide I went to Saint Joesph's once again and then for my first walk through and around the island. It is much larger than I expected and once away from the crowded and cultivated village very beautiful. What is suprising is the lack of sand on the beaches. They are all rock with the exception of two areas. Thomas confirmed later that 20 years ago it was all sand and streched out for a hundred metres or so. They are very aware and worried about climate change and one of the reasons there is so much emphasis on education is they know some time they (the next generation) will have to vacate and get jobs and no longer live the way they do.
We still have a leak and can't work out where it is coming from. I fear it is from a complex fracture on the starboard side of the hull near the rudder. The immediate issue is that fibre glass resin won't set properly if it is not dry. While the tide was low we got the inside dry and put down a couple of layers. We also put some on the outside to see if that would stop the leak. As we don't have brushes or acetone to clean them, we are using disposible coconut husks brushes to spread it. They are not ideal and the result this afternoon was a lot of resin dripped back in the water and then drifted all around Nicky and I and got over us. The worst being the hair on the arm. I've given up trying to rub it off with sand and hoping by tomorrow it will have dried and can shave or cut it off. I won't call it horrible stuff as it is going to help us get out of here.
Also drilled 2 new holes through the hull on either side of the rudder and put the bolts through them with the plan to attach something to them to hold up the rudder or rather its supporting structure which is damaged. Not sure how to do it yet but seemed like a good idea while we still have a stable dry dock and can put them through and waterproof them. As the nut end is on the outside we don't need the dry dock to complete this task. Thomas earlier this evening found a strong thin piece of steel which I can use in the strengthening process. It seems I can drill through it too.
As it is high tide tomorrow morning I'll be having a bit of a sleep in.
David