Tautology and Lessons Learned
Post Inside Passage reflections
"Life is very long unless it is not."
“ Life is very long unless it is not.” - A tautology. I read a book that was playful with vernacular and the creativity that spilled out on each page was admirable. The story was rather simple but the verbiage made it quite remarkable and introspective beyond what one would imagine for the storyline.
Anywho, I did have to use the dictionary to look up tautology. I immediately like a book that has me using the dictionary to improve my vocabulary and this book offers that. I wondered if that was embarrassing to write and a reflection of my inadequate brain dictionary but this is the truth.
I picked that phrase to start this entry with because that sentence is why Stephen and I do the things we do or pursue the lifestyle we have created. In earlier blog entries, I have reflected on the motivation for our adventures. It is in part of our experiences as children that gave us this knowledge that life CAN be short, work and life experiences of untimely deaths, but also a LONGING to explore, create adventure, and continue to provide mystery in our lives.
These decisions and plans come with excitement and giddiness but also with the knowledge that things may not go according to plan. Sailboat trips are of a different variety than perhaps when you book a flight for your vacation destination and the logistics are followed until departure back home. You create conveniences in your booked holiday on purpose just as you do in your life.
Sailing holidays typically include compromises, inconveniences, inclement weather, and learning patience. Friends and family are always welcome aboard Soulstice but only if they can be flexible, on our schedule which is dynamic due to the logistics of sailing, and be accommodated only by a small space without any privacy. Our tropical sailing trips would involve more extreme heat and sweating. This trip involved many layers of clothing that are not shed until bedtime usually due to the warmth of a heavy comforter. One friend, Karen Florey, did join the endeavor and even got to experience our virgin tow via Coast Guard to Ketchikan.
The next quote for this reflective piece is: “ Experience is what you get right after you needed it.”
That quote is universal for application but for this summer’s passage that was fraught with mechanical and electrical gremlins, it seemed to be ever-present. Our journey started on May 13th and ended on September 13th. In my last blog entry, I mentioned the anti-climatic end of our trip due to my injured foot and desire for an X-ray. Ok, let us just say that an injured foot on ME, on a sailboat was a recipe for more disaster - hahaha, more emotionally for me but certainly physically too. More on that later.
So, when we tied up in Blaine I mentioned in the last blog confirmation of a fracture at the base of my 3rd metatarsal. Okie dokie, not great news but not terrible news since no surgical intervention was needed. We were not returning to work until the end of October so we had plenty of time to get Soulstice cleaned back up and ready for the winter in Blaine. We even had some time to enjoy our friends here and the local scene.
We got a surprise text a few days after arrival from Peter Bozek, a sailing buddy from our 1st season in Mexico, that he was looking for a visit with us. He was in the area, just having completed a bike ride up in the Ice Fields of Canada. He would be driving through in his outfitted Sprinter Van. Peter was a single-hander on a called Dawn Treader and we buddy-boated with him for several weeks.
He arrived late afternoon on September 15th and we took him out to the local oyster joint, only to find we were too late for the oysters ( all sold out) but we would fill our bellies with some deeply fried rockfish! Ok, that sounds good! Peter was reporting that you don’t really know a town until you have had their local fish and chippies! He stayed over and we again visited with coffee the next morning on Soulstice and thoughtful conversation. We always relish conversations with Peter because he is a deep thinker and an incredible listener. He engages in conversation with effort and attention. He is retired and his time is spent bike riding, creating artful woodworking pieces, and outfitting his van. It was his first big trip in his van so trying out his battery system and other associated electrical and mechanical installations were being tested.
Overall, he seemed pleased but admitted he still wanted to work on some things and aesthetically add some features. Our visit was short but quality and after he left, Stephen and I were reminded of the truly genuine friendships we have made while sailing. We have not seen Peter in years and rarely even speak on the phone but to see each other again and enjoy our time was effortless and rewarding. We are grateful for the ineffable quality of sailing relationships!
Stephen and I had been getting on projects since our return including me doing a thorough inside cleaning of Soulstice and Stephen working on the outside with some gel coat loving! She got a tan line around our hull, which we called the Alaska brown frown, from the tannins in the water. I emptied every nook and cranny and cleaned with white vinegar and mold prevention was applied. Everything was re-organized as well. Stephen’s wax/buffing job made Soulstice shiny again and protected. We felt accomplished and good. Ty, our boat cleaner, was scheduled on September 19th for a bottom clean and check of our zincs. Just plugging away on our to-do list and we felt good about it… UNTIL...
Jen using the dremel to cut an anchor link- we flip our anchor chain every year and put a new shackle on. ( Notice still LOTS of clothing for my summertime - ha!)
Ty arrived, and Stephen left shortly thereafter because he was trying to get our camper which was in a local storage area, back into service. Ty jumped in the water and after about 5 minutes jumped back onto the dock and immediately requested I unplug us from shore power!! He noted some serious electrolysis issues. This means corrosion from dissimilar metals /stray current. Usually this always secondary to direct current ( DC power) but being plugged into the shore power can be dangerous for divers if there is a stray current from the dock.
I unplugged it and called Stephen back immediately. Ty got back into the water and proceeded with his work. Stephen made a quick turn around back to our dock where we got a terrible report about Soulstice. Our bottom paint was failing, so we had extraordinary growth on Soulstice this season in COLD water - but we were suspicious and not surprised. But the next news was shocking to both of us. All of our zincs were gone except one! We had 70% of our zincs present in Ketchikan when Stephen dove the boat. That was the day after our tow on August 7th. So in just 4 1/2 weeks our zincs corroded and fell off!!!! Also, he noted pitting on our max prop and pink frothy activity, as well on the ground plate and thru hulls he reported. He takes photos as part of his work and so he was able to later email us photos of what he saw. He does before and after photos of his clean so that is really fantastic as well.
Another horrible sinking feeling, literally a “sinking boat ” feeling, and a stomach punch feeling
List of troublesome issues during this passage and afterward
1) Dead in the water in Deception Cove, jump start required from starter battery to starter. A new starter was installed in Juneau
2) Tow out of Misty Fjords due to a faulty heat exchanger
3) Our alternator was not putting in power
4) Return to both cars dead on arrival when got back to Blaine. Jump starts are required. Mine, on the Toyota 4 Runner easy. Stephen’s on the 7.3 power stroke diesel requires more than a jump from my Toyota. Luckily, Perry, our buddy from Meridian Towing, which is right next to our storage unit area, was able to bring over a more powerful jump starter to get Big Blue revving her engine again.
5) Camper lights on Big Blue not working- More electrickery!
Back to our bad news of electrolysis and corrosion and what that means. Electrochemical corrosion of metals occurs due to different influences. 1) is galvanic corrosion, where 2 or more metals with different galvanic voltages are electrically connected and wetted by water. The more active metal will give up electrical current to the less active. This can occur in fresh or salt water. This is why you have sacrificial zinc on boats. 2) Stray Current, when underwater metals are energized by an electrical current that has strayed from an electrical conductor or device powered by a battery, generator, or dock power. There is an electrical fault. There are 2 others but they are more related to wooden boats or aluminum boats.
For Soulstice, we suspected Stray current caused our zincs to disappear and the effects of corrosion to appear on the prop. When we were in Ketchikan we were towed (8/7/23) to a loading dock where we spent the week. It was raining hard every day and Soulstice was wet and cold inside and out. There was no 30 amp plug-in like a regular dock but there was a 110 outlet. We were warned it could be “bad” power but were desperate to dry out the boat. We felt like to keep our boat dry on the inside and to give us some warmth and comfort while awaiting our heat exchanger to arrive we would plug in. We purchased a 30-amp to 110 adaptor at the local marine shop. It really gives you just 15 amps but enough so we could plug in the little heater we bought in Petersburg.
We also did not know if our alternator could be putting out a stray current. We had seen a YouTube video with Nigel Caulder, and that this could happen while motoring. Rare but still a possibility but the result of that is usually a battery issue as well. We were only on the dock in Ketchikan for a week because then we moved over to a regular dock once we got our heat exchanger replaced and the engine was in good working order again and no further overheating. We honestly did not know for sure and my mind went down the rabbit hole of all our events… The ignition, starter, no power from alternator and heat exchanger- were they all related???
It was a mystery that needed solving and also a higher pay grade! We have a multimeter and tried to arm ourselves with knowledge via the internet, YouTube, and Nigel Caulder’s book on boat mechanics and electronics but still, we felt like our algorithm of troubleshooting and evaluating our results needed assistance. We called several marine electricians and it was the same story as up in Ketchikan. They are overwhelmed with work and several weeks away from offering assistance but they listened to our stories and gave recommendations. Yes, replace the ignition switch and Yes, replace our alternator as planned. See what happens… Yes, the plug-in to the 110 outlet could have been a factor… but we still were going on possibilities…..
We got lucky and a marine electrician who was on the marina’s list of approved electricians called us back and said he could arrive the following week. We got our news on 9/19 and he could come on 9/26 - a week later. He listened to our story also and we forwarded him the pictures that Ty took underwater. He said the pictures were excellent and luckily he could come one day earlier on 9/25. I was excited we had secured a marine electrician but then also wondered why he was ready and available?? HA, was he any good? Would he charge us a ton but not really solve our issue? Well, beggars can’t be choosers and we needed help. He did have a profile and he looked legit online :)
In the meantime, Stephen and I focused on what other projects we could work on and did some troubleshooting of our own. James Rovang, the marine electrician, came out Monday 9/25 at 9 a.m. as scheduled. He encouraged us NOT to install any new electronics and that way we could look at the boat as is and not alter any evidence or clues to what happened. When he arrived he put a 1/2 cell in the water and hooked it up to an analog voltmeter and then another connection to our shaft as a ground. He immediately responded the new zincs that Ty placed for us were good by the voltage noted. Cool!! Without even getting into the water we knew we were protected. Additionally, after going through all our DC and AC systems, he said our dock was safe as well as Soulstice and we could plug back in. He did state that his findings were at that moment in time of note!
His theory was that our time on the Ketchikan dock was the problem. The bad 110 power and the transient commercial fishing boats. We got a stray current during that time. It can dissolve zincs in hours per Jim, the marine electrician. He also did confirm our alternator was not putting in power and our galvanic isolated did not seem to be working either.
After Jim left we were elated really because we moved off Soulstice to our camper the week prior. It was recommended by all electricians to unplug from shore power and turn off our solar and DC power until we were able to conclude what was going on. I was incredibly grateful for the camper we purchased last year and had kept up in Blaine. We had a place to move into temporarily and not spend a fortune on a hotel.
The camper was an entirely different story of electrickery that involved a mishap with wiring the camper to the truck but was eventually discovered and repaired. Additionally, a faulty multimeter and 2 faulty extension cords at our friend’s workshop caused some more confusion and concern but eventually declared themselves as well and peace of mind returned!!! Pheewww, the intense emotional rollercoaster was sometimes hourly but definitely daily for a while.
As the story continued to progress and yes, it was not quite over, we learned that our alternator and starter were NEVER bad!!! Both were taken to Whatcom Electric and bench-tested with great reports that they were in working order! Hmmmm…. We already installed the new starter in Juneau but did know we still had some occasional faulty starts. We had a new ignition on the way and when Stephen re-installed the alternator ( YEAH we did not have to buy another one! )
After the alternator was re-installed and we were informed it was working properly we still saw NO power input to the batteries??? What the heck??? Gerald, at Whatcom Electrics, is a talented and patient technician, who stayed on the phone with Stephen to help him figure out why a perfectly good alternator was not putting in power. An AH-HA moment came to Stephen again about the wiring. We have an external regular instead of an internal regular on our alternator. This gets complicated here folks if not familiar with this kind of thing, but basically, one wire that wired improperly was the GREMLIN. This is the ONE that gets the excitation notice from the ignition to put in some power to the battery and it connected wrong again due to a color scheme error. The Field wire was not connected properly and after this was recognized BOOM - we had power from the alternator!!!!
That incorrect wiring issue was not noted because of our amazing solar input and the discussion of when it occurred is still unclear but may have even been in Hawaii! No harm no foul except causing significant confusion and head swirling and a red herring effect with our electrolysis issue.
Stephen had already ordered a new galvanic isolated that was stuffed in our aft cabin and with us for our entire summer. He had plans to install but not due to the fact we thought it was not working, but due to the fact, it was recommended by our recent surveyor that every 4-5 years they should be replaced. So a new ignition was placed, a new galvanic isolator, our old alternator, and our old starter will be kept in case it would ever be needed again as we put a new one in Juneau!
I am getting the end of the story soon:) Stephen dove the boat 2 more times to get a better look at our hull, shaft, prop, thru hulls, and ground plate. We still wanted to make sure even though the new zincs were good that we had no other issues that would command a haul out sooner than in Spring of 2024 when we were planning. He noted our Max prop was dry and did grease it as advised. After this evaluation, Stephen is suspicious that the dry prop may have caused vibration and helped the corroded zincs to fall off. Just a thought…
But the good news is: Soustice is safe now! We are back on her but our week in the camper was enjoyable too! We did not have to buy a new alternator; the new ignition switch and galvanic isolator are installed and working! We do not have a “HOT” dock either. We can wait on a Spring haul out! Our max prop has some pitting but a new prop is not necessary, the shaft looked good, thru hulls looked good, and the grounding plate will need some attention and probably replacement but can wait until the Spring haul out.
And... more great news- I got a follow-up on my fractured 3rd metatarsal and got transitioned to a carbon fiber insole. YAHOO!
Lessons Learned:
1. When leaving the vehicles, take the negative wire off the terminal of the batteries to avoid having to jump-start
2. Camper lights - make sure to check the wires, colors do change from boats to vehicles to houses. In this case, the black really was the negative.
3. Alternator - again the wires can be confusing due to the color change, make sure positive to positive, negative to negative, blue to field ( in this case ours was yellow … and brown to ignition.
4. Have an extra starter and ignition switch. A remote ignition switch is a great alternate solution.
5. Get an isolation transformer if you have the space on your boat which eliminates all issues of dirty power OR get a 1/2 cell and voltage meter to test otherwise. Other solutions are electroguard which is a cathodic protection monitoring system.
6. Galvanic isolators are great but do not give you 100% protection.
7. Having more zincs is not protective. Just more will disintegrate and cost you more $
8. ECLI ( Equipment Leakage Circuit Interrupter) is something all docks will need to have eventually per the American Boat and Yacht Council ( ABYC) section E-11.1 to address AC power leakage from boats in surrounding waters does not endanger people. Make sure your boat is ECLI compliant or it may be an issue down the road plugging into a dock. Https: waggonerguide.com/elci-protected-shore-power/
The Marine Electrician said we checked out OK :)
9. An Insulated Hull is ideal in PNW to avoid boat sweating/condensation.
This is not a lesson learned but a multimeter is an essential tool! We have had one since we bought the boat.
I forgot to mention that we were actually looking at a bigger boat just prior to the news from Ty! We will table this idea for now. We do have a great boat and again we just learn more and more about her and feel like we have made great efforts to keep her in good working order. Another boat will surely have some issues.
The adversity faced on this trip was handled expeditiously and judiciously. The emotional energy spent was the hardest part and it isn’t it always? You feel like you are on a fast-running river and want to get to an eddy to be able to stop, recollect your thoughts, and scout a bit before the next section of wave trains, holes, and keepers. Sometimes the eddies are good but the swirl of emotions and backpedaling thoughts can derail your trip as well.
I continued to remind us that we have our health ( minus a simple toe fx:) food, shelter, money, 2 arms, and 2 legs. It is very basic on the list of what we should be grateful for but truly the essentials are all you need. More importantly, we share respect for one another and our relationship holds true and steady throughout this summer of sailing. Our knowledge levels of mechanical and electrical improved and we met some really inspiring sailors. Our dock mates in Blaine have proven to be the salt of the earth people willing to help out if they can and this makes our hearts full!
Growth only comes from adversity, change, and leaving your comfort zone. It is not always easy but we do not want to stagnate and welcome the ability to learn about this big blue ball of wonder, our fellow humans, and ourselves!
Soulstice OUT!
One more note. I went to a celebration of life for my cousin Mark O'May in Texas. I noted this in a blog entry earlier on and also on the tracker. It was at the same time, an amazing nurse friend from Montana had died early on due to complications of Parkinsons. And later in the passage, I was also notified of another untimely death of a friend in Montana as well. She had a long battle with addiction. Again, Life is very long unless it is not!
Let us all try to navigate our lives with love, compassion, and adventure!
