Manly Harbour. A small harbour with 3 marinas.
We left the dock at Manly, on Tuesday just after lunch, with our plan being to anchor in the northern part of Moreton Bay for an overnighter before heading to Maryborough the following morning.
Moreton Bay is delightful, a wide expanse of water which appears even bigger than Sydney Harbour due to its low mangrove coastline. Instead of Sydney’s 15-25M depths, Moreton Bay is very shallow, we experienced less than 1M in sections. Thankfully, Manatee is a shallow drafted spray.
Negotiating the Brisbane shipping channel was a tense period, so Margot, who was helming, kept the speed slow. We had to wait for a few massive container ships to pass so Manatee could continue her path behind them. We realised not long after the shipping channel, that if we were to make a calm anchorage before night fell, Manatee’s speed would need to be increased. As usual, we carefully monitored temps and pressures. As the light faded, we knew we could not reach Deception Bay before dark, so anchored off Redcliffe. As she turned the anchor power off, AK noticed that the engine temperature was extreme, much higher than the normal operating temperature. After quickly turning off the donk we settled in for an uncomfortable night, with Manatee pitching in the rough conditions. Margot set the alarm for watches throughout the night, but thankfully Manatee’s anchor held firm.
Wednesday morning brought calmer conditions, so a check of the oil and coolant (which we always check before starting the donk) revealed good levels of both. We cranked over Manatee’s usually reliable Perkins 4236 and let her reach operating temperature (about 85C) whilst still at anchor. Damn, the temperature went through the roof. We did a quick check whilst she was running to make sure she hadn’t sprung a hose and that the water pump was operating. AK noticed that the thermostat housing was too hot to touch. Oh no. Not again. We let the donk cool down and then pulled the thermostat housing. Checked the thermostat and it tested as working. Lesson learnt – don’t jump to conclusions too quickly! The next step was to remove the plate for the coolant header tank (the feeder tank which we check runs in to the header tank)…..empty. Damn – looks like the dreaded air bubble.
So….out with the gasket goo and seal the thermostat housing. Let it set and test – leaks. Remove and repeat – leaks. Two days later and on our last bit of gasket goo we thought more about plan B – a tow to a wharf with a mechanic close at hand. Reminiscing on our experiences with mechanics in Sydney, we realised that a tradesperson who understood the Perkins workhorse was required. After a check of the internet (what would Joshua Slocum think of that?) AK called the President of the Slocum Spray Society, Barry Moore for a recommendation. Barry then generously took the matter in hand and arranged the coast guard for a tow and a berth at the Moreton Bay Boat Club.
Moreton Bay is delightful, a wide expanse of water which appears even bigger than Sydney Harbour due to its low mangrove coastline. Instead of Sydney’s 15-25M depths, Moreton Bay is very shallow, we experienced less than 1M in sections. Thankfully, Manatee is a shallow drafted spray.
Negotiating the Brisbane shipping channel was a tense period, so Margot, who was helming, kept the speed slow. We had to wait for a few massive container ships to pass so Manatee could continue her path behind them. We realised not long after the shipping channel, that if we were to make a calm anchorage before night fell, Manatee’s speed would need to be increased. As usual, we carefully monitored temps and pressures. As the light faded, we knew we could not reach Deception Bay before dark, so anchored off Redcliffe. As she turned the anchor power off, AK noticed that the engine temperature was extreme, much higher than the normal operating temperature. After quickly turning off the donk we settled in for an uncomfortable night, with Manatee pitching in the rough conditions. Margot set the alarm for watches throughout the night, but thankfully Manatee’s anchor held firm.
Wednesday morning brought calmer conditions, so a check of the oil and coolant (which we always check before starting the donk) revealed good levels of both. We cranked over Manatee’s usually reliable Perkins 4236 and let her reach operating temperature (about 85C) whilst still at anchor. Damn, the temperature went through the roof. We did a quick check whilst she was running to make sure she hadn’t sprung a hose and that the water pump was operating. AK noticed that the thermostat housing was too hot to touch. Oh no. Not again. We let the donk cool down and then pulled the thermostat housing. Checked the thermostat and it tested as working. Lesson learnt – don’t jump to conclusions too quickly! The next step was to remove the plate for the coolant header tank (the feeder tank which we check runs in to the header tank)…..empty. Damn – looks like the dreaded air bubble.
So….out with the gasket goo and seal the thermostat housing. Let it set and test – leaks. Remove and repeat – leaks. Two days later and on our last bit of gasket goo we thought more about plan B – a tow to a wharf with a mechanic close at hand. Reminiscing on our experiences with mechanics in Sydney, we realised that a tradesperson who understood the Perkins workhorse was required. After a check of the internet (what would Joshua Slocum think of that?) AK called the President of the Slocum Spray Society, Barry Moore for a recommendation. Barry then generously took the matter in hand and arranged the coast guard for a tow and a berth at the Moreton Bay Boat Club.
Our tow to Scarborough Harbour by the Coast Guard
Thursday at dusk saw Manatee embarrassingly towed to the breakdown berth at the club with a visit later to the bistro for dinner with Barry and his wife Jacki. Barry was very pleased as it just so happened the annual spray regatta was on the following weekend! The lovely Jacki very kindly allowed Barry time off from preparing for their upcoming cruise preparations to assist us. Further discussions with Barry around the need to get the thermostat housing machined resulted in the very kind offer of his assistance in sorting out the problem. “They call me McIver”, he said.
Friday at 8am Barry presented himself, so he and AK further investigated the engine problem. Meanwhile Margot took the dogs for a long walk and dinghy ride. Barry suggested pulling a few more bits apart to rule out sea water problems after our recent groundings. Barry said, “my fee is $40” – which is the cost of membership of the association! Barry then drove Margot around the area sourcing parts and talking to machinists. So we joined the association and attended some of the regatta events ( Marg crewed on the beautiful Florrisant), saw some gorgeous sprays and met some lovely people. What an introduction – what a welcome!
We waited for a week for the ordered parts, meanwhile AK hired a cheap car and drove to Maryborough to pick up some urgent mail and then returned to pick up everyone (except Idge who stayed and looked after Manatee) for a trip to pick up our car at Pete at Michael's at Murwillumbah. After an overnighter where the girls got to meet their cousin Topsy (another jack russell) we returned to Manatee.
After putting the engine cooling system back together we left the breakdown berth and headed outside the harbour to anchor in Deception Bay.
2 comments:
Loved Idgi's column! Say, why dont you get a nice reliable Lycoming engine with a propellor out the front? JK
Gee, what a good idea JK. The girls could learn to wing walk!
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