The weather for the whole day was pretty grim. The high overnight winds persisted for much of the morning before dying out. The sky remained overcast the whole day and we were subject to rain and drizzle for most of the day. Wonderful.
Our new spot to which we had dragged was not that good as we had less protection from the wind and with increased distance from the land (fetch) we had more chop than we would have like. However, with 250ft of chain out we were safe so it was better to stay there and wait for better light and conditions before moving somewhere better.
I ran the morning net which has now gone from just a few boats to 25 plus weather forecasts. All the boats at sea had taken a bit of a pounding overnight with many experiencing winds in the high forties. It was good to hear that all were safe and well.
Around mid morning we moved the boat 1 nautical mile to the north east where the land was more continuous and the thicker trees offered more protection from the wind. The wind was around 25 knots on our nose and feeling quite chilly as we made our way carefully keeping an eye out for coral heads.
Once safely anchored I turned my attention back to the water maker. I had previously communicated our symptoms to Spectra but hadn’t yet received a response. Over night my mind had churned on the problem. While I didn’t think we had a blockage I couldn’t rule this out so I dismantled a few pieces of the equipment and took a close look inside to see if something had come loose which could be creating a temporary blockage. I could find nothing wrong so I put it all back together. Having ran out of ideas I could only wait on Spectra fearing I would have to ship a new motor out.
I caught up with some lost sleep in the afternoon and awoke to the same grim sky as earlier. We had thought of lowering the dinghy and going for a walk in the drizzle but an email check revealed some advice from Spectra to check the brushes on the motor.
So began 2-3 hours of grubby work. The motor has two inspection covers to access the brushes. The way the motor was mounted onto a larger assembly prevented access to one of them. The one I could open I did but wasn’t entirely sure what I was looking at. The email had warned that removal of the end of the motor should be avoided if at all possible as putting it back on was supposed to be difficult. I couldn’t see that I had a choice as I had to understand what I was looking at and I had to be able to access the second brush. Once I had the end of the motor off I could see that the brush that was accessible in the first place was stuck in its slot and it took no time to get it sliding back in and out.
Now began the hard work. Two long screws held the back of the motor in place. The nuts at the other end had dropped too far so they could not be screwed back in without removing the pump assembly. To get the brushes back over the commutator required access to both inspection hatches so the motor needed to be removed from the broader assembly. To remove the motor from the broader assembly required removing the broader assembly from where it was mounted on the boat to access screws from behind. This all took a lot of time and required four hands. John helped throughout and finally as it was getting dark we had it all put back together. On testing the water maker worked perfectly. What a relief. The irony is that we could probably have fixed the problem by banging the back of the motor with a spanner and fixing it in 10 seconds flat.
But this is good news. The grim feeling brought on by the poor weather and the prospects of continued water rationing (ie – no showers, etc.) was now lifted.
I’ll order spare brushes and springs as these are getting a little worn and one day will require replacement but this is not urgent.
Today we’ll move the boat to the village. We know a few friends have arrived there: Lileth, Bristol Rose, Whoosh, Sea Mist among others so it will be nice to see them. We promised Richard and Lileth a while back we’d have them aboard for dinner one day so we’ve invited them over this evening. Tomorrow or the day after we’ll head over to Fakarava.
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