Adventures on Yarramundi
27 October 2012
22 August 2012 | Trinity Inlet, Cairns
17 August 2012 | Cairns Harbour
16 August 2012 | 14 56.8653'S:148 11.3993'E, The Coral Sea
15 August 2012 | 14 14.19156'S:149 5465'E, The Coral Sea
14 August 2012 | 13 12.0330'S:150 26.6810'E, Still in PNG Waters, Coral Sea
14 August 2012 | 70 miles north east of Australian Waters, Coral Sea
13 August 2012 | N N'N:E E'E, The Coral Sea
13 August 2012 | N N'N:E E'E, Solomon Sea
12 August 2012 | N 'N:E 'E, Solomon Sea
11 August 2012 | 'N: 'E, Solomon Sea
10 August 2012 | N N'N:E E'E, Solomon Sea - South of Deep Planet
09 August 2012 | N 'N:E 'E, Solomon Sea
09 August 2012 | 'N: 'E, Solomon Sea
09 August 2012 | Blanche Bay 4 miles from Rabaul
08 August 2012 | Rabaul Yacht Club
07 August 2012 | Rabaul Yacht Club
06 August 2012
06 August 2012 | Rabaul Yacht Club
05 August 2012 | Rabaul Yacht Club
Engine problem worse than expected
01 August 2012 | 0 N'N:E E'E, Rabaul Yacht Club
David
Engine problem
We really have been hit by some bad luck on this one. Despite going to our best of efforts to drain the bottom of Yarramundi's fuel tank in Rabaul before filling up with new fuel we have a serious fuel contamination problem which has led to some serious engine problems that are not easily fixed.
Something nasty happened in the tank after we left Rabaul and we got the diesel bio bug right through the engine fuel system creating numerous blockages. This was confirmed today as we pulled the system apart. As written previously we have been told by a mobile engineer a reaction occured with the new fuel when it went into our fuel tank which must have had a dirty layer on the bottom. Today we took out the fuel tank - not an easy job - and have sent it off with on of the Yacht Club members who is going to clean it for us. As we emptied it we could see lots of little spots of coffee colour bubbles on the bottom of every bucket of fuel we pulled out. I am not completely convinced that it is just a chemical reaction as the bubbles sink indicating that they contain water meaning we got some sort of leak somewhere along the way. Or Mobile sold us very dirty fuel out of the 44 gallon drums.
The fuel tank is now being cleaned for future use but the engine fuel system still needs major cleaning. Some parts such as the high pressure fuel pump and the injectors are so badly clogged or covered in stuff it seems we may need to replace them. Not expensive parts thankfully but not easily available here in PNG ......probably. The other issue is the ex-pats here at the Yacht club all strongly suggest I do all the work myself as the local mechanics have "light fingers". This will slow down the process as I struggle to work out what to do and make mistakes along the way.
Rod the salvage man has been a great help in identifying various issues and explaining the workings of a diesel engine as well as lending tools etc. Adam has also continued to be a great source of energy, ideas and simply someone to get things done. Unfortunately he flies back to Cairns tomorrow. We will head into the main town Kokobo together to pay for his tickets and will visit some work-shops to see what replacement parts I can get here in PNG. Some parts are better cleaned and repaired than replaced as the engine is somewhat old. If you know about engines you will know what I mean. So I am also considering taking those now faulty parts for repair to a) Lae where there is a German mechanic who can do it all - but Lea is one of the most dangerous places on the planet so flying there with a box of broken engine bits is not all that attractive, b) Cairns - further away but a chance to have a break from lawless PNG and I can stay with Adam, and c) catch the flight back to To kyo on Saturday and get things sorted there for the week. Summer Obon holidays may present a problem in finding a workshop to do it though. Decisions, decisions!
For now, I'll go to Kokobo with Adam tomorrow and we will see what parts and workmanship we can find here locally and hopefully I won't have to fly anywhere.
Nothing else to report expect after a full day of hard work in hot weather working in disel fumes we are very tired. Adam fell asleep as soon as we got back to the boat from dinner and I am falling asleep writing this blog.
David
We really have been hit by some bad luck on this one. Despite going to our best of efforts to drain the bottom of Yarramundi's fuel tank in Rabaul before filling up with new fuel we have a serious fuel contamination problem which has led to some serious engine problems that are not easily fixed.
Something nasty happened in the tank after we left Rabaul and we got the diesel bio bug right through the engine fuel system creating numerous blockages. This was confirmed today as we pulled the system apart. As written previously we have been told by a mobile engineer a reaction occured with the new fuel when it went into our fuel tank which must have had a dirty layer on the bottom. Today we took out the fuel tank - not an easy job - and have sent it off with on of the Yacht Club members who is going to clean it for us. As we emptied it we could see lots of little spots of coffee colour bubbles on the bottom of every bucket of fuel we pulled out. I am not completely convinced that it is just a chemical reaction as the bubbles sink indicating that they contain water meaning we got some sort of leak somewhere along the way. Or Mobile sold us very dirty fuel out of the 44 gallon drums.
The fuel tank is now being cleaned for future use but the engine fuel system still needs major cleaning. Some parts such as the high pressure fuel pump and the injectors are so badly clogged or covered in stuff it seems we may need to replace them. Not expensive parts thankfully but not easily available here in PNG ......probably. The other issue is the ex-pats here at the Yacht club all strongly suggest I do all the work myself as the local mechanics have "light fingers". This will slow down the process as I struggle to work out what to do and make mistakes along the way.
Rod the salvage man has been a great help in identifying various issues and explaining the workings of a diesel engine as well as lending tools etc. Adam has also continued to be a great source of energy, ideas and simply someone to get things done. Unfortunately he flies back to Cairns tomorrow. We will head into the main town Kokobo together to pay for his tickets and will visit some work-shops to see what replacement parts I can get here in PNG. Some parts are better cleaned and repaired than replaced as the engine is somewhat old. If you know about engines you will know what I mean. So I am also considering taking those now faulty parts for repair to a) Lae where there is a German mechanic who can do it all - but Lea is one of the most dangerous places on the planet so flying there with a box of broken engine bits is not all that attractive, b) Cairns - further away but a chance to have a break from lawless PNG and I can stay with Adam, and c) catch the flight back to To kyo on Saturday and get things sorted there for the week. Summer Obon holidays may present a problem in finding a workshop to do it though. Decisions, decisions!
For now, I'll go to Kokobo with Adam tomorrow and we will see what parts and workmanship we can find here locally and hopefully I won't have to fly anywhere.
Nothing else to report expect after a full day of hard work in hot weather working in disel fumes we are very tired. Adam fell asleep as soon as we got back to the boat from dinner and I am falling asleep writing this blog.
David
Comments
| Vessel Name: | Yarramundi |
| Vessel Make/Model: | Jeanneau Espace 990 33 feet |
| Hailing Port: | Sydney |
| Crew: | David Devlin |
| Extra: | Yarramundi now lies in Mooloolaba and is occasionally sailed with my son. I do plan to evenutally get her to Sydney. |
Yarramundi's Photos - Main
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Andrew and I don’t think he is human – probably some Viking god who has came back to earth for a visit. He setup a vodka distribution business in 22 countries and sold it to Diageo retiring at the age of 32. He spent the following 2 years designing and building his 56 foot $6 million boat and has been sailing it for the last 6 years. He sails alone and has been everywhere – including Antarctica. Neither of us have seen anything like the boat – The interior is like an upmarket modern Scandinavian apartment, it has every convenience imaginable (both domestic and maritime), and the outside with it’s teak and stainless steel looks like it just came out of a show room. We certainly did not see Bart cleaning it so are convinced it has been blessed. Or he has some little helpers stowed away somewhere and they come out at night and clean it. In fact we did not see Bart do anything else accept hang around and be cool until he left. He does not use a motor. Despite being in the corner of the harbour he untied his huge floating bachelor pad himself and used only the wind to turn the corner and sail out. We motored out to wave him off and even at full throttle could not keep up. He is off to Kyushu and then Hokkaido where he plans to stay for about a year skiing and photographing the wildlife. He had a coffee table book on board. It was of his boat and it’s Antarctic adventures. Of course he would. Very cool guy - we were privileged to meet him in Chichijima, have dinner with him a couple of times and tour his boat.
David
7 Photos
Created 6 April 2012
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Yarramundi is now provisioned with 400 litres of water, 350 litres of diesel, 60kgs of rice and pasta, hundreds of cans of soup, spam, sauces etc to make up more than 800 meals. She is leaning a bit to port side so we will have to do some rearrangement of the contents before taking off on Sunday March 25.
1 Photo
Created 21 March 2012
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Weather permitting Yarramundi will depart Shimoda, Japan on March 25 for Saipan on her first leg to Sydney. Following that we will sail to Chuuk (Truk) via Guam, then Honiara, Cairns and onto Sydney visiting many of the remote atolls of the Caroline and Solomon Islands.
1 Photo
Created 5 March 2012
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I've been lucky to have my sister Maria and cousins Holly, Adam, Liam and his wife Zoe visit Japan and sail on Yarramundi
6 Photos
Created 24 February 2012
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Why is it that every winter I've seem have had to dive below the boat to fix or retrieve something?
4 Photos
Created 22 February 2012
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Yarramundi has been taken to Seabornia Marina on the west side of the Muira Penninsula for some major work. We made it in record time within one day thanks to the 30knot wind from the north but little thanks to George who fell asleep at the helm.
5 Photos
Created 22 February 2012
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A few friends visited Yarramundi on Seijin no Hi (coming of age day) while she was in Tokyo Bay. A brief sail was followed by a turkey lunch.
10 Photos
Created 20 January 2012
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People who have helped fit-out and maintain Yarramundi
7 Photos
Created 26 December 2011
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From Shimoda to Wakayama and Mie Prefectures - a 12 day trip with 3 other yachts from TSPS.
24 Photos
Created 2 December 2011
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Who: David Devlin
Port: Sydney
