Team “Aleta Goes South”

Position: 54°18’37.8″N 9°40’58.6″E

The Story So Far…

The last time our plucky heroes were in Germany they were stuck halfway up the Kiel Canal without an engine. Never to back down in the face of a challenge, Carol and Mike abandoned Aleta at her dock and toured South Africa for a month. They then spent the next seven months swanning around the United States waiting for Germany’s winter to end. By mid-April they could wait no longer, and they boarded a flight for Hamburg. Piling all their worthy belongings into a rental car they drove as fast as their speed-limited electric VW would allow them back to Büdelsdorf. It is there we pick up the story…

Spring Cleaning

Roland, our saviour last summer, had sent us cheery monthly updates on Aleta’s condition along with local weather reports. The winter had been mild. A few storms had blown out of the North Sea across the region, but nothing serious. Less than a week of sub-zero weather resulted in only a day or so of thin ice in the harbour.

As a result, Aleta looked far better than we expected. Below decks, the canal’s cold water combined with the cool weather and kept condensation to a manageable minimum. Prior to leaving, we packed everything we could into vacuum bags which miraculously stayed intact. Mildew? There was a bit, but no more than we’ve dealt with over the years. Nothing a bit of vinegar and elbow grease couldn’t manage.

Of course everything was crowded hugger mugger below decks. Lines, sails, cushions, gear, books had all been removed from their cupboards to keep air circulating as much as possible. The dorade vents helped let in a little fresh air when the wind came out of the west. After three days of cleaning and reorganizing we managed to walk the length of the cabin unencumbered. Aleta still wasn’t repaired, but at least we could move around our home.

Engineering Help

Over the winter, we got in contact with another Büdelsdorfer Yacht-Club (BYC) member, Stephen. Stephen has been rebuilding his 45’ Aloa centre-cockpit ketch, Odile, for the past three years. A lifelong sailor, Stephen grew up sailing the Elbe River in 8.5m (28’) open Jugendwanderkutter. Odile is the boat he plans to sail over the horizon. After three years of steady work, Odile’s chain and wire steering is now hydraulic, her big Perkins four banger engine has been completely rebuilt, and she’s been (almost) fully rewired.

Now intimately familiar with all the major mechanical parts of his boat, I made pains to point out to Stephen that however frustrating the work is, he can now fix anything on the boat anywhere in the world. The ability to fix your (damn) boat in far flung places (like Büdelsdorf or Pulau Bintang), dear reader, is the mark of a true cruiser. I am, by comparison, a holidaymaker. When we first met IRL, we exchanged Signal contact information from which Stephen formed a group titled, ‘Team “Aleta goes south”’.

To his credit, Stephen had recklessly volunteered to help me replace Aleta’s busted damper plate. I have learned never to refuse an offer of help when it is sincerely given. Aside from a few posts to cruising forums and the Valiant owner’s Facebook group, I had only a theoretical understanding of the project we were about to undertake. “A good mechanic would take about 90 minutes”, I was assured by the blogosphere. Such estimates are unhelpful horse pucky! Pure unadulterated horse pucky! Besides, we wanted to undertake the repair with Aleta in the water. ‘Want’ is the wrong word. We HAD to make the repair in the water since there was nowhere around to haul Aleta out. Let me explain.

Tech Talk

This may get a little technical, but I promise I’ll try and keep it at a level a marketing manager (like me) can understand. The damper plate is the link between the engine’s crankshaft and the gearbox. The plate screws into the flywheel and spins with the motor. At its centre is a single cog that the gearbox’s spline fits into. A spline in this case is a tapered shaft with ridges that fit neatly into the damper plate cog. In addition, the damper plate has a series of springs to reduce vibration and the shock of engaging the gearbox. A lot like a clutch; though Aleta has only one forward gear and one reverse. Without a damper plate the flywheel spins uselessly because no energy is transferred to the gears. That means the propshaft and propellor won’t turn either. Aleta can still sail, of course, but only in an 18^th century kind of way.

To get to the damper plate, you unbolt a coupling that connects the propshaft to the gearbox, then remove said coupling from the propshaft. Futzing with the propshaft while in the water is always exciting. The opportunity to open an inch and a half hole in the bottom of your boat should give anyone pause for consideration.

Should the propshaft fall out, you’ll take on about 77 US gallons (219 litres) of water per minute until the pressure equalizes (i.e., when Aleta sinks). Thanks to her superior design, Aleta’s propshaft would hit the rudder skeg before it fell out completely, but the inrushing water would still be alarming. A couple of Valiant owners assured me that they had repaired their damper plate in the water and stayed afloat. I tested both of our 2000GPM electric bilge pumps anyway.

More Force, Scotty!

Removing the propshaft coupling took two days and two gear pullers. We asked the experts, what is the cure for a stuck coupling? “More force,” they replied. “You can try heat, but more force works best.” After nearly breaking Stephen’s mechanical screw-type gear puller, his connections in the engineering business got us a free upgrade to a hydraulic gear puller. Compact, bulbous and bright yellow, the surprisingly small and heavy device looked like the dogs bollix (metaphorically, surely – ed.). Stephen, against his better judgment, kept pumping the puller until, with a poomph and clang, the two parts separated without injuring anyone. The experts were right, ludicrous amounts of force was all she needed. Now the fun could begin.

Emotional Support Engineering

Removing the exhaust from the manifold elbow and taking off the fuel lift pump, solenoid, fuel filter, and heat exchanger hose gave me clear access to the bell housing bolts. The bell housing is how the gearbox is attached to the motor. Stephen returned with an engine hoist to hold the weight of the gearbox. It isn’t particularly heavy, about 60 pounds (27 kilos), but handling it is awkward, and the splines are delicate and easily dinged.

With the bell housing off, I set about clearing up the pieces of the broken damper plate and unscrewing its bolts from the flywheel. From his perch in the companionway, Stephen exuded a zen-like calm and encouraged me as I worked. The new plate fit perfectly. For reference, you need a Hurth Marine Alto DA-303 or Sachs 1866-061-001 for a Westerbeke 55D engine. The screw holes on the Alto DA-302 don’t align (ask me how I know). Reassembly is done in the reverse order. Before you know it, the propellor was turning and transiting the Nord-Ostsee-Kanal was once again feasible. For good measure, Roland kindly dived the prop and gave it a good clean.

Jetsam

Unpacking gave us a chance to inventory all our accumulated ‘stuff’ from the past three years. Living in tight quarters puts space at a premium. And, like every house I’ve owned, Aleta has a room that we don’t use except to store stuff. For her it is the ‘back forty’, aka the aft cabin. It seems whatever we do stuff builds up in there. Our goal is to empty it and return it to its purpose in life – a guest berth. But, for every set of dinghy seats we toss out, a dehumidifier fills the void. I envision a time in the future when all of Aleta’s tools and accessories are stored on shore, and we sail with much less ambition, and much more living room. We donated a bunch of stuff to Roland who will either put it to good use or pass it on to other sailors at BYC.

Vielen Dank!

We would like to say a huge thanks to everyone we met at BYC. Especially to Stephen for his technical and emotional support. And a special thanks to Roland for looking after Aleta through the dark of winter and keeping us updated. Thanks also to Lena (BYC’s co-harbour master) and her husband Marc and their daughter Femke. Two-year-old Femke learned my name and called out, “Mike”, whenever she saw me.

The Büdelsdorfer Yacht-Club has a bright future. Marc has learned to navigate the rocky shoals of the European Union’s grant-making process. That’s led to updated docks and more recently a solar conversion project. About 10 boats a year that break down in the canal are fortunate enough to end up at BYC. If you go, expect a warm welcome and say ‘Hi’ from Aleta.

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