Hi everyone,
We've now been in Linton Bay Marina for over a month. As mentioned previously our engine mounts were showing signs of deterioration as we cruised the eastern San Blas. We ordered a new set of polymer inserts from PolyFlex in Australia before arriving in Linton Bay. The primary goal of our stay in the marina here is to replace the mounts.
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| Engine Out! |
As soon as we arrived in Linton Bay we ordered a set of blocks from the US. They were to use in lifting the engine. Unfortunately one order turned into a set of parcels which was a nightmare. We spent a couple of days draining fluids and entirely disconnecting the engine. Oil, coolant, fuel, water, electrics, morse controls, vented loop, exhaust, shaft coupling etc.
While waiting for parcels we worked on other jobs. For ages we'd been wanting to remove the s/s mounts for our long-ago removed 'granny bars' each side of the mast. We'd also had water ingress into the forepeak which discoloured the adjacent bulkhead veneer. So we removed and rebedded all the potentially responsible foredeck fittings, and permanently removed the six granny bar mounts. And once we were confident we'd fixed the water ingress we cut away the bad veneer and varnished the underlying marine ply bulkhead.
Removing the granny bar mounts involved taking down part of the saloon headlining. We took the opportunity to revarnish the battens which help hold it up. With the mounts removed we cleaned the holes and filled them with epoxy putty - made up using flour as a thickener. Unconventional but it worked!
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| Granny Bar Mounts removed |
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| Holes plugged on deck |
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| Holes plugged below |
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| Varnishing the headliner battens |
The filled holes were sanded back and painted with epoxy primer. The hardener had the consistency of contact cement but happily worked just fine. It's hard to source marine gear here in Panama, except perhaps in Panama City which is a full day on a bus or US$150 for a taxi each way. So we made do with what we had, when possible! While awaiting the parcels we also removed the bolts holding down the engine mounts. That wasn't an easy task with very poor access under the engine beds.
The wait for the mount inserts and blocks was interminable, but Linton Bay is quite social. Many boats pass through and we enjoyed meeting quite a few of them. The cafe and bar is a nice meeting place. And there's a good fruit'n'veg guy here 6 days a week. And there's a small but very good supermarket a 15 minute walk away.
Three weeks after arrival we finally had the new mount inserts and sufficient blocks to lift the engine. Each parcel arrival required a 3 hour (each way) bus ride into Colon to collect it. We did this at least three times - I lost count!
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| On the bus to Colon |
With all the gear on hand, and help from Karl of Aussie sv Grainne Mhaol, we lifted the engine sufficiently to slide out the mounts and lowered the engine onto chocks.
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| Engine and Lifting Tackle |
Refurbishing the mounts was simple. The PolyFlex mounts disassemble and reassemble easily. All elements got a good clean. The old inserts were clearly u/s.
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| Refurbished Mounts |
We then lifted the engine back up, attached the mounts to the engine and lowered it into place. That's when we found the problem. The aft engine mounts were already at the bottom of their travel and the engine was now too high to align with the shaft.
We spent a week pondering and discussing approaches to fix the problem. All involved cutting down the engine beds in one way or another. I really didn't like the sound of that. With help from Richard of Kiwi sv La Vida we lifted the engine out of the engine bay. This showed the engine bed tops were too thin to route down. The only option seemed to be to cut the beds down. While pondering further we cleaned the engine bay.
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| Preparing to lift the engine out of its bay |
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| Cleaning the empty engine bay |
And then, almost by accident, we found an American metal fabricator with a business a few miles away. He visited and came up with a novel solution within minutes. But that's for a future exciting episode.
The busses we took to Colon to collect our parcels pass through Sabanitas. Sabanitas has an array of large supermarkets, general hardware stores and ATMs. We've been provisioning for the months ahead between other jobs.
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| Full Bilges! |
At least we can have a nice long shower every day here in the marina. And hopefully we're now well on the way towards fixing our engine mounts.
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| Zen Again in Linton Bay Marina |
Trust all's well where you are.
