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More progress

We made good progress yesterday. The skies were clear all morning allowing us to do all the work we had planned. This time we took pictures as we went. These first two pictures show the original 6 8D batteries in the starboard locker:

   

The first task was to remove the 6 8D batteries, each weighing approximately 160lbs (about 72kg). Again, some were covered in acid which meant we had to clean them while lifting them. Now that we’re ‘getting used’ to removing batteries our technique was getting quite good. We were able to use existing battery boxes more creatively to help break down the task of lifting the batteries into smaller steps. Once the batteries were all removed Helen tested each one to see how good they were while I removed all the batons and straps, cleaned up the locker and put wood glue into the ‘holes’ left in the floor before she was delivered.

   

Helen then washed all the boxes and created and affixed the starborg supports into the bases while I screwed in the batons and straps.

 

The last task was to place the boxes and 12 6V batteries. The second of the following two pictures is actually from the port hull. I don’t have a picture of the batteries all cabled up but I should get one today.

   

Note how we now only need 4 boxes rather than six and that I am able to space the boxes to create considerably improved access.

As a complete aside, it appears one of the gas rigs (or another just like one of them) appeared off the coast a couple of days ago. Helen was quite surprised wondering why she hadn’t seen it there before. It seems it has moved. If you click on the image you’ll get a close up view.

Left for this morning is the wrap up on the starboard battery bank. We’ll take our old cables in to be cut up and have new ends put on as we did for the port bank. Once they’re ready we can install them and test. I then want to fully charge both banks and reset the system so we’re good to go. This may mean running the genset for a few hours. We can do our washing and maybe run the air cons to drive out some of the moisture we’ve collected in the last week.

We’re tentatively expecting to head back to Grenada Wednesday night to arrive Thursday morning. This gives us two days to be tourists here in Trinidad. We’re likely to hire a car tomorrow to do some touring as well as pick up food. Most food items are about 20% cheaper here so we want to stock up. Diet coke is a fraction of the price so we’ll load up on that and other similar items.

Emancipation Day

Yesterday was a public holiday in Trinidad – Emancipation Day. I had asked locals in stores earlier in the week if anything special would be happening and no one seemed to know. The best I got was that something maybe happening in Port of Spain but not around here. We were also told that shops are likely to be closed.

We debated our original idea to take the bus into Port of Spain as we didn’t want to go all the way there and find nothing open. We never really came off the fence on this one but we thought it was worth a try. Once in the dinghy we first went over to see Diane and Gerald on Whiskers who had arrived a couple of days ago. We chatted for a while and agreed to meet up at Sails in Power Boats for beers later in the evening. A steel band was due to play and we were hoping to have a good atmosphere. They were also of the opinion that not a lot would be open in town.

We then popped round to Freya of Clyde to talk to Anne and Alan. They had a map to lend to us which we picked up. Again – another chat about things. We talked of our plans and they pointed out the busses would likely to be infrequent too. That kind of did it. We had a plan B which was to go for a walk so we decided to do that.

As we walked along the main road, two local busses passed us by. This was hardly infrequent so we decided to catch the third into Port of Spain. When we arrived we found our bearings and headed off into the center of town. It didn’t take long to realize there something was happening. We came to a corner and there were some men and women in bright African clothing, all the same.

Soon we realized there was a parade on. We had no idea of the size of it. Some of it had already passed by but we stood our ground to watch what was left of it. This parade put the carnivals we have seen in Dominica and Bequia to shame. I was glad I had pocketed my small camera so we could record the occasion.

There were floats of many kinds. There were a number with deep booming drums being beaten intensely by enthusiastic drummers. There were trucks with 20 piece steel bands with bands both young and old all well practiced.

Almost every truck was themed in some manner. Some being themed by a local association or church, some going back to African roots. Practically all were followed by throngs of colourfully dressed crowds enjoying the music and occasion.

It didn’t take long before the end of the procession passed us so we walked further into town only to come upon the front of the parade which had looped back along a parallel street. This allowed us to see the rest of the parade that we hadn’t seen before. There were a couple of trucks with the immense speakers stacks that would send our clothes and eardrums vibrating (as we’d seen further up the islands) but fortunately they were the minority – the rest being live music.

In all we must have spent over two hours watching the parade. It was such a pleasant surprise. We wondered why no one had told us of this and why none of the cruisers, some of whom had been coming here for years, knew about this. Perhaps this was a personal thing and it’s not advertised broadly for tourists to come and see. Who knows? We felt privileged to be part of such a wonderful celebration.

We then wondered around for a while zig-zagging through the streets at random. Many of the shops were indeed closed but a few were open. We didn’t go in many but the cold air conditioned air pouring out of some was very welcome. We had lunch in a Chinese restaurant. Every takeaway had solid bars between the eating area and the cooks as if they were in jail. This was a reminder that crime is an issue here in Trinidad. The meal was a little bland but we had huge plates of food for about US$4 each, including a large soda. Not bad.

After lunch we were worn out so we headed back to the bus station via a supermarket where we shopped for some essentials and, by luck, a street market with lots of fruit for sale. On the way back we were again deluged by rain but not for long. By the time we arrived in Chaguaramas, the rain was mostly behind us.

Back on Dignity we were set for a rolly time. Not only was the swell coming in and making the bay choppy, the hoards of power boats coming in and out were creating immense wakes. A few were respecting the anchorage but they were the minority by far.

I did do a little more work on the batteries. I used my mini blow torch to heat the lids where they needed to bend around the cables. It wasn’t often pretty but it worked. Now all four lids sit snugly on the batteries. Port side fully done.

In the evening we went ashore to Sails for beers and a plate of chips. We sat down with Carol and John from Sweet Caroline and another cruising couple from Sail Away. We were soon joined by Diane and Gerald from Whiskers. We were also joined by Gary and his wife from Inspiration Lady. We’ve crossed paths before in Grenada. We didn’t get much time to talk but hopefully we’ll bump into them again in our travels. It looks like they are aiming for a Panama crossing around the same time as us.

We invited Diane and Gerald back to Dignity for a final Rum and Ting. On the way out we passed the Freya’s who we’d not had much of a chance to talk to in the evening. We had a pleasant time aboard with the Whisker’s. A late night to bed was the result.

This morning the weather looks fine. We need to goad ourselves into getting to work on the starboard side drive bank. The plan today is to remove the battery cabling, lift out the six 8D batteries and remove the boxes and all straps and dowels. We’ll then clean up the locker before redoing the dowels and straps and putting some wood filler to cover some burn marks left by some welding that was done before Dignity was originally delivered. If the wood filler sets sufficiently we’ll place another 12 of the 6V batteries into the boxes ready for cabling tomorrow. We still ache so we’re not looking forward to this work at all.

Rain

It rained a little more today but not as much as earlier this week. Here is a brief clip of the rain we experienced on Thursday.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tSb078LsGk[/youtube]

Aches

We had no rain yesterday which was a timely surprise. That meant we were able to work all day on the batteries.

First order of the day was to check the acid concentration on all of the batteries. Helen did most of this while I disconnected the first battery on the port side. We removed this battery together – it really is a two man job to move 8D batteries around. This enabled us to remove the battery box, clean it and verify that three golf cart batteries would indeed squeeze into it.

The good news was that they did fit. The bad news was that the ridges on the bottom which keep most of the 8D battery out of contact with the bottom caused the golf cart batteries to sit unevenly. This felt like a solvable problem so we made the decision to proceed with the port side battery bank replacement. The next step was to remove all the cabling between the batteries and to start removing the remainder of the batteries and boxes.

This was hard work. The batteries are extremely heavy and lifting them out can’t be performed in a single move. A plan is required for each one so that the lift can be performed in a series of steps. Making the job worse was the fact that some batteries had spilled acid. This was from before we moved aboard. I had put baking soda in the boxes to neutralize some of the acid but this was incomplete. This required cleaning the batteries while lifting them. Under the boxes was some oily residue so this had to be cleaned too.

During all this the morning net came on. I was able to ask the listeners where I could get some acid resistant plastic to create supports in the bottom of the boxes. We received some good advice. I also advertised our batteries as going spare and that we were willing to trade.

Once we had all the batteries and boxes removed I left Helen to unscrew all the batons which held the cases in place as well as all the battery straps and to give them all a wash. I then took the dinghy into Crewsinn to visit Dockyard Electrics. I took all the cables that I had removed from the batteries and gave them my requirements for new cables to be made. As I was landing in Crewsinn, Sweet Caroline were landing at the customs dock so I gave them a hand before heading to the store. Next stop was Budget Marine to pick up washers, lock washers and a handle to carry the batteries.

Back on the boat Helen had made good progress. Mike from Whitebird, who I had met in a store the previous day and had mentioned the spare batteries, was aboard to look at them and measure up. He was interested in two or three of them depending on fit. He returned to his boat to check to see if they would fit and how many he could take.

While Helen got back to work clearing and cleaning out the port locker I went off to find the Marc One marine store where I could get the starborg I needed to create the new supports. It turned out I could not dinghy close to the store so I had to leave the dinghy at Peakes and walk about a mile in the midday heat. The humidity was forecast to be 94% and we both felt it.

I was able to obtain 24 feet of ¼” starborg 1″ wide for a very small fee. Walking back to the boat I was contacted by Jack who was receiving a box of Doyle guide books from Grenada. We met up by the Dinghy dock and I took him aboard to collect the books. Ordinarily we would have chatted for a while but we had a lot on and wanted to get as much done as possible while we had good weather. Apologetically I rushed Jack off the boat and took him ashore.

I began the work of reseating four of the boxes in the port locker. Now that we only had to place four rather than six I was able to space them a little more conveniently. Meanwhile, Helen took on the job of snapping the starborg into smaller pieces and attaching them to the bases of the boxes.

I had just started reinstalling the batons and straps when Mike returned. He’d worked out he could take two of the 8D batteries. We agreed a deal and then tested the two older batteries I was pretty sure still had six good cells each. I then helped him take the batteries to his boat before returning to Dignity to complete installing the batons and straps.

Then it was time to go and collect the modified cables from the store. Back on the boat the new supports had had enough time to bond to the boxes so we went about the job of putting the boxes into the locker, putting the batteries into the boxes and connecting them up. Once they were all connected we postponed testing in order to take three of the 8Ds which we knew to have bad cells (including one which was reading a low voltage) back to Marine Warehouse for eventual disposal.

Finally, back on Dignity we tested the new battery bank. Everything was fine. We were able to operate the motors using just that bank. I charged them for 20 minutes or so before testing the cables and connections for any warmth. All was fine.

All that remained was to tidy up and wind down with dinner and a movie. Helen fell asleep before the end.

This morning we ache. Now that we know the port battery bank is fine we can work on the starboard bank. We’ve decided to give our bodies a rest today. Coupled with the fact I want to minimize the time period we have only one bank we’ve decided to work on the starboard side Sunday. Today we intend to take the local bus to Port of Spain to have a look around. This evening we’ll probably go ashore to one of the weekend cruiser get togethers.

We forgot to take ‘before’ pictures of the port locker so I’ll postpone publishing the ‘after’ pictures until we’ve opened up the starboard side. The port side still isn’t quite finished. We need to find a way to bend the back of the lids where we now have cables running where previously we didn’t. A problem for another day.

 

Limbering up

Yesterday morning I decided to remeasure everything and get my plans straight in my mind in terms of what I need to do with the batteries. I discovered, much to my regret, that the house bank battery boxes are tapered top to bottom. While the top of the battery boxes are big enough to fit four Trojans, the bottom certainly isn’t. Double checking the drive bank I was able to confirm the cases were ok. This meant I’d have to find boxes for the house bank or, most likely, build them.

On the off chance I could find boxes I lowered the dinghy to go ashore. Then it started raining again. Another real downpour. That pinned us aboard so we waited it out and had lunch. In the meantime we discovered a small leak in the hatch above our bed so we made plans to fix that too.

Once the rain had subsided I went back ashore to look for boxes and other items. As suspected, I could find no boxes but I did manage to get a dive tank holder, a breaker which I’ve been looking for since Martinique, a new hydrometer for testing battery acid and a decent pair of cutters for cutting hooks (remember the sea gull?).

Back on the boat I was just preparing to install the dive tank holder when the phone rang. I was informed that the batteries were ashore and I needed to bring in some paperwork. So off I went with our customs papers to be copied. I was asked to come back around 4pm when the customs inspection should be complete. I returned a little after and had to wait a while. The prospect of lugging all those batteries by dinghy didn’t appeal to anyone so we agreed to keep them on the truck and move them over to Peaks dockyard where we could temporarily dock.

That we did and with the help of a couple of guys we loaded the 36 batteries and 7 gallons of paint/primer onto Dignity. Not easy work. The batteries were places roughly one third in each hull and one third in the cabin. The effect on the water line is obvious as we’re now dipping at the front. We need to lighten up.

As soon as we could we were back on a mooring, showered and ashore at Sails bar/restaurant where we had agreed to meet Ann and Alan from Freya of Clyde who we learned are here in Trinidad for the summer. We had dinner and beers together and they, being regular summer guests here in Trini, were able to share much info about the island with us. We won’t be able to use it all as we’re heading back to Grenada next week for the Carnival. Still it was nice meeting up with friends from earlier in the season and catch up.

This morning we both ache a little from yesterdays activities. We’ll ache some more tomorrow because today we start swapping batteries. I am focusing first on the port set of drive batteries. Once we have the new batteries in place I can measure up and take all the old cables and have them cut to new lengths and new lugs put on the ends. With them in place I can then take the cables off the second set of drive batteries and hopefully have them cut and prepared today too. If there’s time.

I’ve had some thoughts about what to do with the house bank but the final, proper job will probably get done in Grenada where we have more time. That will also allow us to enjoy Trinidad a little during our brief stay.

So right now we’re limbering up mentally and physically for a strenuous day. Once the coffee is down, it’s off to work we go.