Category Archives: Boat Details

Hauling out at Norsand Boatyard

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A return to New Zealand means a return to the boatyard.  We have a lot of upgrades, repairs, and general maintenance to do at Norsand Boatyard.

The slipway team with Kevin and Shane handle our haul out with expertise and professionalism!

We arrived in NZ with an exceptionally clean bottom (hull) when we arrived 18 days ago.  However, we spent those 18 days up river tied to a dock with warm, stagnant water.  These conditions are perfect for growing barnacles on our nice clean boat.

The good news: the yard pressure washed the boat immediately after haul out.  Matt and I (mostly Matt) spent days scraping the barnacle feet off the hulls so we could see where we needed to touch up the Coppercoat.   We do plan to burnish the bottom before we splash.

We have so many projects to accomplish in a short amount of time.  We have had to hire several different contractors in addition to the experts at Norsand.

Contractor Projects

  • Repair: Port fresh water tank needs to be repainted
  • Repair: Bottom of hull needs to be repaired due to reef scratches
  • Repair: Port rudder arm attachment needs to be replaced
  • Repair Canvas: Genoa bolt rope, aft shade, dinghy chaps, helm seat, 2-window shades, 3-back rests
  • Maintenance: Saildrives need to be serviced, gear oil changed, seals near props changed
  • Maintenance: Props need to be services, cleaned, and slightly adjusted
  • Maintenance: Paint crossbeam and martingale
  • Maintenance: Re-varnish (2) princess seats, (2) handrails, (4) swim steps
  • Maintenance: Burnish bottom of the boat
  • Maintenance: Paint saildrives and props with Prop Speed
  • Maintenance: Apply vinyl to rudder entry 
  • Upgrade: New window covers
  • Upgrade: New Solar Arch
  • Upgrade: New Solar Panels
  • Upgrade: New (2) Air Conditioning units
  • Upgrade: New Helm station extensions to fit new chart plotters
  • Upgrade: New Raymarine Mounts to fit gauge on helm
  • Upgrade: New rain flashing for the 4 large windows

Matt and Christine’s Projects

  • Paint (2) bow peak lockers (scrape, sand, clean, paint)
  • Clean stainless chain and re-mark 10m sections
  • Replace large zincs
  • Add freon to refrigerator and defrost freezer
  • Deep clean oven and stove
  • Paint security camera and cockpit clutch
  • Replace stickers on daggerboards
  • Sew: New helm covers, rail protectors, princess seat covers, cover for backrest
  • Polish all exterior and interior stainless
  • Clean and oil all exterior (hatch covers, sugar scoops) and interior (floors, walls, cabinets, tables) teak
  • Deep clean or re-organize entire boat
  • Prepare for insurance survey

The Plan

Our goal is to be out of the yard in 45 days but more likely it will be 90 days.  However, Norsand will close the yard for nearly 3 weeks during our haul out. 

Matt and I will focus on the contractor work for the first 5 weeks. We will work on our smaller projects in between our project management and overseeing of projects.

When Norsand closes we will focus on our larger projects.

We worked in the Norsand boatyard from 10 November 2025 – 12 January 2026.

Find Norsand Boatyard on No Foreign Land.

Check out the quirky things to do in Whangarei.

Reversing a Problem: Saildrive

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Our “reverse” on the starboard engine has always been a bit “finicky.”  The engine’s saildrive will go into reverse but it does not always engage immediately.  Sometimes it takes between 8-60 seconds to engage.  Which can be a problem as you approach a dock or berth.

We had Whangarei Marine service both sail drives in 2023.  However, they could not replicate the issue.

We have been able to just “deal” with the issue for the past few years with no problem as we were not staying at any marinas. 

However, it became a problem really fast when we tried to get fuel at Vuda Marina.

The starboard saildrive did not to engage just as we were approaching the fuel dock.  Lucky for us we were going slow and there were dock hands available.

What is a saildrive?

A saildrive is basically a transmission for a boat. 

It allows you to shift between forward, neutral, and reverse. 

The saildrive is attached to the engine and protrudes downward through the hull connecting to a horizontal propeller shaft mounted on a skeg outside the hull.

Plan B

We scheduled Whangarei Marine to work on the boat when we haul out in November (in 6 weeks). 

However, we need to get this repaired now before we get back to New Zealand.

We called Ritesh Kumar who works at Krishna Yacht Services in Fiji.  

He arrived next day he and a helper arrived at Sugar Shack’s berth in the marina. 

  • First, they moved the engine forward in order to access the saildrive.   
  • Next they had to disconnect the saildrive from the engine.
  • Now, they can access the gears and the sleeve (under the black “oil” top).

The good news is they found the problem.  The bad news is we need to find a new part for our 25 year old engine/saildrive.

The saildrive is the silver mechanism in the 2 lower photos below.  

The forward gear can be seen in the lower left photo in the circle and the sliding sleeve is below that.

The sliding sleeve  was worn on one end (the reversing end) which is why the saildrive had issues engaging.  

In the photo below you can see the “gray” bottom. It is rough in texture which allows the mechanism to shift. 

The copper portion on the top is smooth which prevents the engagement of the part.

The culprit is the sliding sleeve Volvo Penta part 87308. 

It took me several hours, but we found two at Marine Direct Australia. They are an authorized Volvo dealer and they happened to have these parts in stock! 

We had them in our hands in 2 business days (yeah, DHL).

Install

Ritesh and his helper came back and had the cone clutch installed, saildrive connected, and engine put back in place within 2.5 hours.

We tested both forward and reverse which both worked! 

Of course we are tied 7-ways to Sunday so the “real test” will be once we leave the marina.  Then we can test reverse in full throttle but we are confident it will work.

Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual live events. 

We worked on the saildrive toward the end of September 2025.

Check out where we stayed while we worked on the saildrive -Blog post on Vuda Marina.

The Final Rigging Repair Part III

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Our rigging work is almost complete. The last part of our rigging work is the replacement of our furler and foils. 

Our furler is 24+ years old and has been limping along for awhile.  We’ve known we would need to replace it but we were hoping to do so in New Zealand (in 2 months).

We assumed we would have more resources available to us in NZ as opposed to Fiji.  But, we’ve been pleasantly surprised.

What does a Furler do?

A furler is a mechanical system on a sailboat that rolls a sail around a stay or into a hollow mast or boom. Furlers allow us to safely and easily deploy, release, and stow the genoa from the cockpit.  This eliminates the need to go onto the deck.

Sugar Shack has a forestay rod that has a multi purpose.  Part of the furler package is 18m of foils which will go on the solid rod we use as a forestay.  The leach of the genoa sail (front end) is threaded through the foils to attach it to the forestay.  The foils turn which allows the sail to be deployed or furled. 

The shaft on the furler has worn down over the years causing the bearing to not sit properly. 

So, the furler still had a little “give” or “wobble” even though we replaced the bearing.  

Ordering the Furler

Matt wanted the C430 x 18m Profurl Furler: included link plates 55mm + SS locks C430 and a threaded pin DIA 25mm (63/64).  

We placed the order with Wichard Pacific in Australia on Friday morning. Both parcels arrived and cleared customs on Tuesday afternoon. Pretty darn impressive!

Removing the Old Forestay, Foils, and Furler

Sammy from Westside Rigging first loosened both of side stays.  This action will release tension on the mast and forestay.

Next, Sammy removed the furler (at the bottom by the bow). 

His assistant held the bottom end of the forestay where the furler is located.

Matt then sent Sammy up to the top of the mast to remove the upper portion of the forestay.

The forestay is very long – about 18 meters long. 

We had 3 people in 2 different dinghies and 2 people on board.  

Sammy slowly lowered the top of the forestay as I guided it past the port bow and down  to the dinghy. 

We slowly get the entire forestay off the boat and stretched between the two dinghies to get it to shore.

It took all of us several hours to remove the old foils (which wrap around the forestay rod). 

Evidently, our NZ rigger used 5200 (heavy-duty glue) to lock in the set pins.  The 5200 prevented us from removing the set pins and forced us to cut 3 of the foils in order to get them off.

We donated 6 of our 9 foils and their connectors to another cruiser.

Installing the New Furler and Foils

We received (9) 2 meters foils (18 meters long), connection brackets and our new furler.

Our forestay (headstay) is 12.7mm stainless rod measuring at 17.5 meters long. It is HUGE. 

We laid the forestay out on the grass and tied off the ends to allow us to pull it straight as we worked.

First the foils go on.  This can be tricky as they have to align just right to get on the rod. And on top of that they fit very snugly over the pin that at the end of the rod.

Sammy installed the connectors which connect the foils to each other.

Loctite is placed on the set pins which are used to secure the foils to the connectors.

The top portion of the furler is inserted and then it is time to work on the furler drum. 

The drum is partially installed and will be completed back on the boat. 

Took a bit of fiddling and maneuvering, but  we installed the headstay and new furler!  Yeah!

Our blog posts run 8-10 weeks behind actual live events. 

We replaced our furler toward the end of September 2025 in Vuda Marina, Fiji.

In our last blog, we share the experience of replacing our standing rigging side stays in Fiji.