Category Archives: Boat Details

Boat Projects

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There is a never ending list of boat projects that need to get done.  And just as you finish one project, two more will appear.  Just like owning a house.  Matt tackled several projects while we hung out and waited in Majuro.

Anchor Shank

Our stainless steel anchor shank decided to wrap itself around some coral.  This could have happened a number of ways including strong winds, dragging, or raising the anchor.  Most likely the anchor was stuck and the swivel twisted causing too much pressure on the shank.  As you can see….it is really thick 316 Stainless Steel.  But the shank is hallow.

We have 4 shanks onboard for 2 anchors.  This shank is beyond repair and will be donated or trashed.  Comparison of good shaft to bent shaft.

We ordered an X140 from Sea Tech & Fun based out of Tunisia!  The shank comes with one hole drilled for the connecting point to the swivel as that is a universal size.  However, we had to drill the hole for the connecting point to the blade.  The shank itself is hallow. Matt drills through the top 1/4″ and then down to the bottom 1/4″ and hopes it lines up!  This requires a new, large drill bit!

Security Camera

We have had a security camera on the boat for a few years.  It’s been great and has captured some intruders who boarded our boat while we were on shore once.  But the paint on the outside has flaked off and it looks horrible.  It still works perfectly, but we need to give it some love at some point.

In the mean time, Matt purchased a higher end security camera.  This new camera illuminates the entire cockpit when it senses movement and then starts recording.  This camera captures intruders coming onboard from both port and starboard.  It also captures the entire cockpit.  The only thing missing is an audio portion with a barking dog or a menacing voice saying “intruder alert.”

Security Bars – escape Hatch

The boat has the best escape hatches!  They let in a tremendous amount of air that circulates throughout the cabin.  They are always open when we are on the boat.  Our concern was that these can pose a security risk.  It would be very easy for an adult to climb through the window.  So, Matt devised this super strong security bar made of carbon fiber.  It took some ingenuity to install it while still giving us access to open and close the hatch.  I would prefer to put a secondary bar perpendicular to the ocean but that would really obscure our view.

Bilge Pump – Float Switch

We have bilges which collect water to protect the boat.  The bilge will fill up first before it becomes a problem.  Inside each bilge is a bilge pump that is has a float switch.  When the bilge fills with water the switch activates the alarm and the pump to pump out the water.  Matt noticed that one of our float switches was broken.  He lifted it and it no longer activated the alarm or the pump.  That is not good!  Especially considering we are leaving the boat unattended for 2 weeks.  Luckily, Matt was able to repair it.  But we will get 4 new float switches back in the states as these are original to the boat (24 years young!)

Bow Speakers

Our amazing WetSounds Rev9 bow speakers take a beating while we are under passage.  They often get soaked with salt water.  Yet, they continue to produce great sounds.  Lately however we noticed the starboard bow speaker was not producing good sounds.  Matt took it apart and found them corroded and covered in salt (me being sheepish now).  So, we replaced some of the innards and now they sound just like new! Here are the old and new side by side.

VHF Replacement

Our B&G V90 (handset H50) had been giving us problems and was not transmitting properly.  In addition, the handset cable starting falling part (see arrows).  We finally replaced it with an ICOM 510BB (handset HM195 GB).  It took Matt several hours to pull out the old gear and install the new gear.  Now we seem to be transmitting well (both near and far).

Cover Photo:  Not really related to boat projects, but a great image of two locals using a canoe to transport (2) 50-gallong drums!

Our blog posts run 4-6 weeks behind actual live events.  Matt worked on these boat projects during the months of February and March while we were in Majuro.

In our last blog post we spend a day at the Alele Museum – check it out!

Drama on the high seas

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First and foremost everything is fine on board, we are continuing on toward Fiji as planned still with a stop in Tuvalu.

We left Majuro bound for Fiji with 2 stops along the way, Kiribati and Tuvalu.  Its the end of cyclone season, Yippie, except for the one that just popped up between Vanuatu and is heading toward New Zealand.  We are heading to “Bula” country, home of friendly people and kava ceremonies. 

When we left the Marshall Islands we had 2 steering helms, 2 rudders, 1 auto pilot and 2 souls capable of steering the boat with any of those.  And we have an emergency tiller too, in case everything goes pear shaped.  Let me say, we have had some “challenges” on this passage south. 

First arriving Kiribati, one of the steering boxes on the starboard side decided 24 years was enough, and demanded attention.   One its bearings on the inside the steering gears rusted through and burst into pieces.  One steering station down. Now we can no longer steer the boat from the starboard helm, and that is also where the gas pedal is.   So picture a clown car with the clowns carrying around the steering wheel, yet the car won’t turn. Turn as you might the steering wheel, helm, just spins indefinitely.   To actually turn, you have to run to the other side of the drivers end clown car to steer and run back to give it gas or slow down.  What can go wrong?  🙂  The clowns always make it work, right?   I actually removed the steering gear (red below) where the bearings disintegrated, so that the pieces and wobbly gear wouldn’t lock up the steering completely.  So whew,  order bearings to repair and head off to Tuvalu.  Not ideal but we have 2 of everything, part of being a catamaran.

Left Kiribati bound for Tuvalu.

The sail started out as champagne sailing doing great speeds and making short work of 700 miles we were making toward Tuvalu. It devolved a bit into prosecco sailing when the speeds dropped a bit, but still great fun.   Day 3 the squalls of the ITCZ (convergence zone between north and south hemispheres), quick wind shifts and gusts made for some exciting times.  Nothing out of the normal for this part of the pacific crossing the equator and the convergence zones.   When the wind went too light and on the nose, it was time to check the engine fluids before starting and to spot any potential issues.  I found the port rudder “control arm” broke at some point, probably during one of those pesky 30kt squalls.  The ones that steel your perfect wind and force you off course.  Thinking back, the broken bit might explain why it took longer than normal to turn downwind to run in the storm.  So the port rudder is down till we find a stainless welder.  Its lashed to the central position now, its just not wobbling too and fro willy nilly, and getting a free ride.

So for those keeping count, we have 1 working steering helm station (port), 1 working rudder (starboard), 1 auto pilot(starboard), and 2 less than pleased souls on board.   And of course the emergency tiller when all else fails.    So now we still use the gas pedal on the starboard side, run to port side to steer, the steering rudder is actually on the starboard side.   Got it?  A bit complicated but we are still trucking along, albeit a bit more conservatively till we arrive Fiji and work on getting cold beer to tackle fixing the steering project.

Is it Fiji that doesn’t like our steering?  2 years ago, one of our rudders vanished on the way to Fiji.  This year, other steering components are making their voices heard. 

275nm to Tuvalu, then another 500ish to Fiji.. we will get there!

Maloelap’s WWII Remnants Part II

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In Part I of our Maloelap’s WWII Remnants we explore Japanese bunkers, anti-aircraft guns, coastal defense guns, the command center, two ammunition depots and more.  In this blog post we will share with you several airplanes including a zero and parts of a Betty Bomber.

Arry, our tour guide, first takes us to a field where the land owners literally tossed airplane remnants in a pile.  It is such a shame as it would have been nice to see them where they landed.  But then who would want that reminder of past relatives horrific demise?  You can see several props sticking out of the vegetation and the body of a Zero in the top left photo. 

Airplane Grave Yard

It was a little tricky walking in the airplane graveyard as there are iron and metal parts strewn all over, hidden under the tall grass and coconut shells.  We find the tail of a Betty Bomber (we think) in the top right photo, several props (top left with white arrows), and a few cockpits from different zero airplanes.

WWII Buildings

We are not 100% certain what this facility was used for but it is a huge long square building with immensely thick walls.  The door and wall had to be close to 1 meter thick!

Several buildings are now buried and or they were built below ground.  You never know if you are walking on solid ground or the roof of a dilapidated building (unnerving, yes). The laundry facilities (where they watched items for over 3,000 people) is partially underground.  Just outside are 3 large boilers.

Torishima Maru

The Torishima Maru (also spelled Terushima Maru) was built in the late 1920s and started its life as a transport freighter.  This ship was approximately 90 meters long, 10 meters wide and sits upright in about 12 meters of water off the shores of Taroa in Maloelap.  She was outfitted with anti-aircraft guns when she was converted for military action during WWII. 

Torishima Maru was the last supply ship to arrive in the Marshall Islands.  She was hit and was able to barely limp to Maloelap where she was bombed again and sank in the shallow waters in 1943.  The troops spent 1 ½ years without reinforcements or supplies, leading to disease & starvation.

One of her two masts stands tall to this day indicating where the shipwreck is in the lagoon.

The entire ship sits upright in the water with the stern being relatively intact.  However, the bow is a mangled mess of metal. On deck we find a few cool boat parts including a windlass, rope guide, and cleats. 

Matt dives down and finds the massive prop and rudder.  We also find a staircase the used to lead up to the pilot house.  The aft mast is still standing up, albeit crooked.  The aft mast fell a few decades ago and lies on the bottom of the sea bed.

Pretty amazing how the sea just takes over and provides homes for millions of fish and new sea life.

Random WWII Relics

Surely someone knows what these buildings are?  Maybe a WWII pillbox?  We found several along the coast.  They are round with 1 meter thick windows and flat rooves.  We went inside and there used to be a gun that popped up out of the roof. It had a 360 radius.  Below the gun was a locked, round room for the ammunition (bottom left two photos).  The pulleys that raised and lowered the steel plate that covered the windows were intact (bottom right photo).

On the southern end of Taroa were lots of these pillboxes.  A pillbox is a type of blockhouse or concrete guard post with small windows which defenders can fire weapons. Typically they are camouflaged and raised for better aim.  We assume these were much higher onshore but due to erosion they are now on the reef.

We found a random coastal defense gun off the beach covered in vegetation.  An old bomb shell and a pillbox on the shore.  In addition, we discover the crater remnants of the hospital (bottom right picture).

I found a really great blog post that help confirm the type of artifacts we were looking at and viewing.  It is a cruiser who visited awhile ago, visit Nothing Unknown.

Our blog posts run 8-10 weeks behind actual live events.  We did the WWII tour on Taroa, Maloelap in early November 2024.  Be sure to read WWII Part I where we find bunkers, ammunition depots, anti-aircraft gun, coastal defense gun, the command center and more.