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Date:Thu, 29 Sep 2022 02:20:00 GMT
Hydraulic lines
Hydraulic lines and Hurricanes
Yesterday we finished bleeding the hydraulic steering system after replacing
a hose. We found that the hydraulic hoses on this boat are single wall
un-reinforced and old. After one ozzing a while ago we have been weeping
fluid into the bildge. It might have failed initially as long as last year
but it finally got enough oil to get our attention. Sam and I attempted to
repair the line by putting self vulcanizing tape around it, then whipping
it with stainless braided wire super super tight, and finally putting
another layer of self vulcanizing tape on it. Result? Our repair held!...
till the hose failed about 2 inches below our repair. So, a new hose. This
time with steel re-inforced lines up to 5000 psi. However, we now need to
replace all the lines. It took forever to bleed the bubbles out of the
lines but we did it. I wanted to make sure that if we had to move the boat
due to the storm that we would actually have proper helm control! After
removing the line and inspecting it, we found that the line
was very nearly broken through and would have failed completely at any
moment.
Today Hurricane IAN made landfall just south of Tampa and the weather is
supposed to get bad here in about 24-36 hours. We are finishing putting
everything away and cleaning up the deck for bad weather. Today we went to
Tristan's boat and made sure she was well tied up and added rope to
re-inforce her head and backstays that were completely rotten/gone. I also
climbed up Char's mast to fix her wind direction and the pully for her inner
forstay halyard.
We went to see a 1929 93 foot long wooden. It's being repaired nearby. New
ribs, new planking etc. Sam and I are going to volunteer to work on her and
learn a little bit about wooden boat building/repair. I think it's going to
be fun!!! She's amazing!