Category Archives: Repairs

Starboard Side Stay

Compromised Rigging Part I

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It started out as a beautiful day at Arrow Bay, Gau.  Matt went to move the boom from port to starboard so our solar panels could capture more sunlight. And then we noticed a problem with our starboard side stay, standing rigging.

We have 16mm stainless 1×19 wire.  It is all supposed to be wrapped together as a unified family.  But this one stand decided it did not want to play with the others anymore.

Standing Rigging

What is our standing rigging?

A sailboat’s standing rigging refers to the set of fixed wires, rods, or lines that support the mast and other spars.  It is crucial for maintaining the boat’s stability and performance.

Unlike the running rigging, which is used to adjust the sails, standing rigging provides a stable framework to withstand wind and sail forces. And equally important, it holds up the mast. 

Our standing rigging was replaced in Sint Maarten in 2016 using 16mm stainless steel.  It has an average lifespan of 10-12 years.  Our current rigging is 9 years old.  Our last standing rigging lasted 14 years and had no damage or compromised areas when we replaced it. But the previous rig did not have nearly as many miles on it as our current rig.

We’ve managed to put over 50,000 miles on our current rig, which is a LOT of miles.

Several surveyors have commented on the quality and high standards of our rigging for the size of our boat.  Stating, in fact, that our rigging was “overbuilt for the boat.”  Always better to be over built than under built.

Discovery

I clean the stainless, which includes the stud (not the turnbuckle), and the first 2-3 meters of the side stays.  I cleaned the stainless 1 week prior to our discovery with nothing amiss.

We sailed from Ovalau to Gau on a starboard tack with (1) reef in the main.  True wind was around 12-15kts and apparent was about 17-18kts.  We were pinching pretty hard (close to the wind), but it was an unremarkable, non-stressful day on the rig.

While at anchor at Gau, Matt noticed the damage and we immediately went into action.

First thing we did was create a plan:

  • Assess the extent of the damage
  • Secure a safety line on both side stays
  • Collect specifics, dimensions, and data on replacement parts
  • Contact Westside Rigging (the only qualified rigger in Fiji)
  • Contact Vuda Marina (book slip to do the work)

Current Rigging Specifics

Our shrouds are CS16-Ix19, 16mm Ixi9 stainless steel (33 meters long).

The top pin is HYMEMI6 Swage eye l6mm wire I” pin inserted into a saddle that we can reuse.

The bottom is HYISEMI6RH Swage stud I6 mm wire 1″ UNF RH that will need to be swaged (standard).

We are hoping Westside Rigging can use the same or better stainless. The stainless for their side stay comes from Australia and their bits/pieces come from either NZ, Australia, or Korea.

Preventative Efforts

We replaced our running rigging in New Zealand.  We kept the previous lines that were still good including our lines that had dynema core.

The previously used topping lift is 14mm with a dynema core and a 4200kg safe working load. 

Our 16mm stainless shroud has a 2900kg safe working load. So, the topping lift is almost 60% stronger.

Matt takes the topping lift up to the attachment point on the mast.

Matt uses a 3:1 purchase to tighten the line and secure the starboard side stay.  It looks like a macramé mess, but it is strong and tight.

In addition, Matt also used one of our spinnaker halyards on each side stay.  The spinnaker halyards also have a dynema core and are very strong. The spin halyards  are attached at the top of the mast (just above the side stay attachment point).

He secured the red spin halyard on starboard and the green halyard on port.

Westside Rigging

Westside Rigging has been in business for almost 30 years in Fiji.  We had been in contact with Sammy to help us replace the bearings in our furler.  And since he was already coming out to the boat we thought we’d have him do a rigging inspection since our rig is about 9 years old.

Prior to the side stay issue, I scheduled the furler work and inspection for 25 August and booked Vuda Marina for 1 day.

We contacted Sammy immediately (7:45am on a Saturday) once we discovered the issue with our side stay.  I was not expecting a response until Monday.  Imagine my surprise when the phone rang 2 minutes later!

I sent him photos and gave him the specifics.  He assured us he has everything in stock and can easily replace both of our side stays.

The Plan

The easiest and safest way to get from Gao to Vuda are several short day passages.  We have one fairly long passage of 90+nm from Gao to Kadavu.  We can make short day passages from Kadavu back to Vuda (which is on the other side of the big island, Viti Levu).

Our goal is to be as gentle as possible on the rig.  Focusing on trips with light winds, small seas, and if possible port tacks.  Fingers crossed.

Stay tuned for Part II coming in a few weeks.

Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual live events.  We noticed the compromised side stay in early August 2025.

We share the beauty of Gau in our last blog post.

Labasa: In Search of a Machine Shop

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We were eager to find a machine shop to help with our repairs.  A friend told us about a local electrical mechanic named Ram Pillai who might have a machine press.  With sketchy directions in hand we started our hunt for his shop.

We found him, after a few wrong turns and many inquiries.  For those of you who made need his services: +679.921.9777, rampillai090@gmail.com. Location: 16°46.783S / 179°20.207E.   Unfortunately, his press was broken.  However, he referred us to Vanua Engineering in Labasa.  He even called the owner to confirm that he could help us before he gave us a hand drawn map and contact information.

Ram Pillai on the right with the blue shirt teaching his student.

Ram Pillai on the right with the blue shirt teaching his student.

Labasa Road Trip

The machine shop was locate in Labasa which is a 2.5 hour bus ride across the island.  A new adventure.  We arrived at the bus depot at 7:15am and the bus driver how we go about getting a ride.

A lady passed by us and heard our conversation. She said that we had to purchase a bus card but that the place that sells them doesn’t open until 8:00am.  We would miss our bus if we waited for the shop to open.  She did not hesitate.  She reached into her purse and handed me her bus card.  We exchanged numbers and thanked her profusely.  Next, we headed to the little pop-up shop to get some water and to top up the bus card.  It cost $9.72 per person each way. So, we loaded $60 Fijian ($24USD) thinking it will cover our fares and leave her with an extra $20 for her kindness.

The bus was super rickety and noisy but it made it up and down all of the hills and across the island. We had some gorgeous views as the students and locals filled the bus at each stop.

Reminder of What We Are Doing

Matt was able to remove 2 of the 4 bearings and seals, as you might remember from our last blog post.  However, the last two were below the large gear which required a large machine press which can only be found in a machine shop.

Vanua Engineering 

We showed the bus driver our map from Pillai and asked if he could drop us off near by.  Vanua Engineering is located a mile before the main town of Labasa (16°25.983S / 179°21.779E).  From the main street, we turned left, then an immediate right, and another immediate left.

The shop was a bit of a mess but it had an impressive array of equipment.  This is a really large machine shop.  They have multiple presses (manual and hydraulic), welding, mills, and lathes.

Matt explains what he needs done to the manager, Raul (+679.947.9270).

The first thing do is try to remove the gear.  Matt thought a “key” prevented the gear from turning.  However, the gear was welded to the shaft!  This sucks.

They had to grind down the weld on the bottom to push the gear off the shaft.  This gave them access to the two bearings below it.

Shoot! We realized the seals we bought were not the right size.  So, Vanua Engineering made us new seals.

Miss the Bus or Finish the Work?

We had waited all day with the hopes of them finishing the work.  However, Raul told us they wouldn’t be done in time.  We had to catch the last bus back to Savusavu at 4:00p.

The manager said he would put the steering gear box on the bus the next day. Sounds reasonable.  We paid for the work $250 Fijian ($111 USD).  

We decided it was best to return to Labasa the next day. The thought of him putting it on a bus and us not finding the right bus was too much for us to handle.

Finishing the Work

Raul inserted the new seals into the bearings.  Then both were placed inside the steering gear box.  Next they had to weld the gear back to the shaft.

Matt rode the bus all the way back to the machine shop in Labasa to get our steering gear box.  

I could not go with him as I was hosting the Island Cruising Pacific Rally Welcome Party.  We had 17 boats and over 50 people attending and I had to prepare.

The Results

Matt got back to the boat to discover a few things.  The most important thing is that it works and we can use it to get around Fiji and to New Zealand.

However, he noticed that the machine shop took out the seal from the small bearing that we brought.  It was a brand new seal fitted inside the bearing.  All they had to do was place it under the gear.  But for some reason, the removed the seal and filled it with grease.  Ugh!

Even though the weld will hold the gear to the shaft it was not welded to Matt’s standards.

What does this mean?  It means we have to take it apart and fix it when we get to New Zealand.

All in all we are happy that we got our starboard steering working!  Now, we can go explore and play across the Fiji Islands.

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind live events.  We went to Labasa around May 22, 2025.

Massive Repairs in Savusavu

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I return to Savusavu after a quick trip to the states to pick up all of our boat parts (see blog “Life as a Pack Mule“).  Now, Matt is ready to begin working on the lengthy list of repairs.

He tackles the most important jobs first: Port Engine and Starboard Steering

Port Engine Timing Belt

An engine cannot run without its timing belt.  We lost the port engine timing belt in Tuvalu which rendered us short one engine.  See Failures Bring on Frustrating Times.

The new timing belt was a lot tighter than the original.  It took Matt a few tries to get it on.  Once it was on, Matt triple checked everything before attempting to start the engine.  And….it would not start.  He worked on it all day before he finally asked a fellow cruiser (Michael from sv Promises Kept) to take a look.  They bounced a lot of ideas off each other and worked on it for several hours.  Still nothing!  It would try to turn over and it sounded like it was almost there.

Finally, Matt took it apart again and triple checked everything again.  Hoping that all of the pieces were aligned and “in time.”  He moved one piece a few cm over and tried to start the engine.  It was the most beautiful sound to hear that engine fire up!  And we are back to being a two engine boat!

Starboard Steering Gear Box

This project is a little trickier as we require a machine shop to press the bearings out before Matt can finish this project.

Matt was able to get one of the small and one of the large bearings out using his new tool kit.  The Orion Motor Tech Blind Hole Collet Bearing and Seal Puller Extractor Kit.  This heavy tool kit was part of the reason my check in bag weighed 66lbs!

So we had two of the four bearings/seals out.  The other two required a machine shop.  

What we learned:

  1. The small bearing is completely missing its seal.  See old vs new bearings in the photo below.
  2. The large bearing and seal are workable but since we are taking it all apart we will replace them too.  

In the photo below, Matt uses the extractor tool to remove the bearing (green arrow). 

The red arrow shows the spot where the bearing came from out of the gear box.

We also noticed that there are a few teeth in the gear that are “worn.”  This wearing is at the center position (when the helm is centered) which is the most used position.

Finding a Machine Shop

We need to find a machine shop that has a large press to remove the gear. This would give us access to the two bottom bearings.

Stay tuned for a follow up blog post on our trip to Labasa to find a machine shop.

Wash Down Pump

The wash down pump is located at the front of the boat by the mast.  We use it to clean off the ground tackle and the boat.  We can use both fresh water and salt water through the same pump and 50′ of hose which makes it super convenient.

This poor pump is constantly exposed to salt water as it lives inside the anchor locker. 

It stopped working as we were lifting the anchor up to leave the Marshall Islands.  Which was a real bummer as the anchor chain was really dirty and needed a good scrub.

Matt thought he could repair the pump. 

However, when he took it apart he realized it was too rusted to repair. We ordered a new one which I brought back with me from the states.

Matt got it installed with little effort and ow it is working perfectly.

Leaks at the Bow

It is never good to have a leak on a boat and we had 2!  At least both leaks were contained to the bow peaks.  

We use our two forward bow peaks for storage. 

The port bow peak houses (5) A4 and (8) F4 fenders, a passerelle, SUP, and (8) PFD’s. 

Starboard houses (3) spinnakers, (2) large bean bags, (4) empty large water bottles, and some fun floats and noodles.

Both lockers were getting wet and it was a challenge to find their source. 

Matt discovered that the starboard leak was coming from the outside cleat. 

First, he had to remove everything from the locker and to clean it out. 

Then he took apart the cleat fittings, cleaned it, and sealed it up.  No more leaks! 

It does look like we need to repaint the interior of this locker at some point.

The port leak came from the outside rub strake. Matt removed the strake.  The water dripped in through some of the old holes were never filled in.

Matt fixed the leak by filled the holes and applying lots of 5200 (extra strength adhesive).

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual events.  Matt worked on these projects over the month of May 2025. 

How did we get all of these new parts to Fiji?  Check out my life as a Pack Mule.