Engine trouble! Something small?Water in the engine!

The engine cap with water drops....

June 5th 2011

Now in retrospect it all started on the way over from Langkawi to Phuket. The little trouble with starting the motor. Yes we had the problem checked and yes there was a small electrical error that was fixed before we left for our month long trip after Tinker’s Birthday on the 2^nd of May to sail around Thailands islands. How exciting!!!!! It is so great to leave the marina which must be one of the hottest places on Earth- really.

It is also a working and fixing place for most boat owners. Everyone is busy either getting ready for a trip somewhere or fixing things and there are always things to fix on boats. Our first few days out were easy going and relaxing. Our first real destination was Kho (meaning island) Phi Phi Don and that is where the engine problem became a more serious matter and so we cut our month long trip plans and were towed in back to Phuket marina by our friends Chris and Barrie from Apsara. Firstly we were dropped of outside the marina as it was not possible to enter on tow. We had to wait for the right tide and a few dinghies to safely push Cognac into it’s spot at marina. A bit anxious and it all went well. It took a few days to get the mechanics to show up and give us some good news. Neither of us thought that things could turn up to be serious. They did! Unfortunately! There was water in the engine! BIG TROUBLE! all mechanics were busy on different projects and could not help us. We pumped out the mixture of oil and water and filled some parts of the engine with break fluid to stop corrosion until mechanical help would come…long wait when we knew that things could only get worse. There was also a question of salt versus fresh water in the engine. We tasted it and could not be sure. It turned out to be salty. The worst possible. Our moods deflated and really worried we still waited another 2 days until the whole team of Volvo mechanics had time. And than more bad news. They started to disassemble the parts and than more parts and more parts. It became apparent that the engine needed to be rebuilt. After more waiting even that proposition was put under question.

The wait is very draining and the whole situation was very upsetting for both of us. Days were very long and extremely hot. The inside of the boat disassembled with what was left of the engine suspended in the air. The engine is very large about 5 foot by 2 and about a ton in weight so it was all a huge operation. As the days went by we became mere and more anxious even deliberating new engines which would be a bigger operation than rebuilding the old one as all the other parts would have to fit and that is no easy matter not to mention the incredible cost probably 40k+.

And than finally a little piece of  good news. We could rebuild! Hooray! At this time we were offered to move out of the boat and stay with our friends at their Andara apartment until the work was finished. Thank you Chris and Barrie!!! It was going to take 3 weeks that turned out to be 6 weeks plus. Really with all the little fixes and sea trials 3 months.

The trials of taking the engine out of the boat and not damaging anything in the process – difficult and requiring incredible attention to detail and foresight. The trials of checking on the work in progress at the mechanics requiring patience forethought and more patience with lots of driving. The trials of transporting the engine back to the boat was nervous not to mention the hundreds of parts that came with it. Fortunately our mechanics were professional and rather meticulous. Thank you to every one and each of you for all the work that you have put into making sure that we could sail again.

Huge thank you to Leon and Volvo team!

Have a look at the picture story to tell more and hope that none of you would have to go trough such experience.

It might sound rather odd and a boat is almost like a “baby”. Ones happiness is totally connected to how the boat “feels” and performs. We rely on it to keep our life safe and when that is put into question something very deep gets “shaken”. The belief about personal safety questioned! Certainly not like a car!

PS In the end the fault that caused all the problems has been found after the “new” engine was installed. Great comfort as we now know what the problem was. The part was smaller than a car key and the hole that was punctured in the part just a little bigger than an end of a pin.

Not looking good at all and there was still hope.

A few days later parts are looking really bad.

Disaster

Almost clear now that the engine will need major repairs

More bad news and question re cylinders

Engine has to be pulled up and inspected below. The boat is dissasembled
 and temporary workshop set up

Had difficulties pulling the engine up

The engine has to be  rebuilt if possible.
Parts have to be tested first

What used to be the oil now looks like mud. The salt water has caused
a lot of corrossion by now.

Not the best time. Worried...and still a waiting game.
The news is all bad

The arrival of the re-built engine in parts all wrapped in gladwrap.
This was quite an operation and Robert waited for it for days
in the unbearable heat. 

Trolleys and trolleys of parts arriving to Cognac.

It took 6 men to bring the head on board.
A very careful operation not to damage anything in the process

Bit by bit at a time

With extreme care

And more parts. The job of putting it all together...enormous

Semi assembled





Phi - Phi Island

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First days in Phuket

Langkawi to Phuket in Thailand

Finally after what felt like many long weeks waiting and w a i t i n g
 for minor repairs to be done at Telaga marina
 We set off sailing again. What a great feeling.
The sunsets and sunrises the wind in the face.
We really enjoyed the first few days.



There was always something spectacular.
We hope that you can see the rainbow.



On our 10 day long voyage to Thailand we visited this "Hole in the wall"
a natural park in Malaysia. The opening was almost that-a hole in a wall.

It was a very very narrow entry.
Suddenly the water was almost still in here. So protected from the winds.

This was really very special...there were about 20 or so eagles just circling.

Lots of tourist arrive here few times per day to see the eagles.
They have trined them to come for a feed ass soon as they hear the boats.

Taking a great eagle picture was not the easiest task.
This is the best I was able to get.

Our first stop in Thailand. So so different to sleepy Malaysia.
There was a great big party going on till 3 am in the morning.
This is also the time when the toilet broke
we noticed problem with dinghy
 and the very first sign of engine troulble.

The next day our plans were changed
and instead of taking the scenic route to Thailand we took the most direct one.
 Robert was not happy to take any chances with the engine
 that didn't want to start easily.

Arriving in Malaysia - delayed

Not a very interesting welcome.

Singapore to Port Dickson- that was the plan anyway.

Hmm…we got used to Singapore and enjoyed it tremendously and needed to continue on our journey now with our brand new Malaysian flag ready for hanging.

Our next stop Port Dickson was only a short distance away, past the shipping channels again. We made a booking at the very nice Port Dickson marina. That booking was made without electricity and water which they could not provide which was fine with us. We had plans to stay there for a few days and visit Melaca city which we all were really looking forward to since it is such an old city and apparently very interesting too.

Things don’t always work out as planned.

It was getting rather late in the afternoon with a storm building up rapidly. We were so glad to have a safe spot in the marina. This was not to be. Port Dickson could not find 2 bookings and simply turned us away. Apparently that happens a lot at that marina!!! We survived the storm in a small and only bay we found a few miles away. 

The sceenery of the Malaysian coast.Bit gloomy and very industrial.

Hmm just looking around and making sure that we are safe- always.

Our instruments showing us the way to Port Klang.
We felt tired at the end of that day.

Entering Port klang. A very busy and industrial port.
 This used to be Kuala Lumpur
until it burned out one day and
 KL got moved to it's present location about an hour on a train

We had no other option but to keep on going to Port Klang with Apsara the next day. Our previous plan was to separate in Port Dickson where we were going to catch up with Sail Malaysia (which had already taken off) and Apsara was taking part in The Raja Muda International Regatta. We were going to meet again in Langkawi. The way it all worked out we continued on to Port Klang together and took part in Raja Muda together. This was “way” better and fun than the previous alternative.

Batam to Singapore crossing - delayed

Visibility around 200m on leaving Batam marina.
A bit nervous...

21^st of October 2010

Ready to live Batam and Indonesia. We had our Singaporean flag ready.

This was going to be only 40 + mile day and we knew that it would require of us all that we had to offer that day.

We had to cross to Singapore over the major shipping lines. I guess I would compare it to “running across a freeway” on a Vespa.

The weather was bad…this was the day that Singapore and Malaysia launched a protest against forest burning in Indonesia as it left both countries with 100 meters visibility for days. So I guess crossing over the major shipping lines would really be like running across the freeway on a Vespa with one eye and sunglasses on…laugh if you want!!!

In retrospect we thought that it was better not to have been able to see the traffic on water.

The worst parts of crossing The Singapore Straits – low visibility, 476 big vessels” Big mama ones” within 5 mile radius, the emergency channel 16 was so busy that we could not understand a thing and switched it off in the end, the Russian guy who decided to sing long songs on channel 16 and answered to no one, the MEGA ships were REALLY MEGA!!!!!BIG super BIG PAPAS!!!!!!!! 

Hot of course it was hot, boats travelling at 20 nautical knots onwards just like your freeway traffic, little iny miny one person fishing boats in amongst all this traffic (they must have been on a suicide mission-not sure about fish there) we had to watch out for and one calculated close call and there was no other call to take.

The best parts of crossing the Singapore Straits: we did it!!! we laugh a lot because it was so incredibly chaotic and busy, we sounded OH …”S..T” is that a ship or just smoke or smog and the “bestest” part AND THE ENGINE KEPT ON GOING …considering our temporary electric fuel pump put together by our little Indonesian mechanic from Bali AND delicate state of the engine after our fuel was stolen fiasco. All was well.

The minute we arrived at Raffles Marina we felt totally and utterly exhausted and it didn’t matter. We MADE IT SAFELY. Apsara made it safely too the engine and the wire worked too.

The champagne we were going to drink once we arrived in Singapore had to stay on ice as we were too tired to drink it. The customs were awaiting us at the bay and were free to enjoy civilization again. 
Two days later we drank our champagne.