Boatyard blitz

Every year Nimrod gets a work-over, being lifted out, cleaned, anti-fouled, and serviced.

For a few years, this was done at the Gold Coast City Marina (GCCM). In the last few years, with Nimrod in North Queensland, it has been done in Mackay and at Shute Harbour, in the Whitsundays.

This year she has come south to the Gold Coast again, prior to our Pacific cruise.

Because we have had good experiences at the Gold Coast City Marina, we booked her in there again, and set up a small army of subbies to deal with her various different needs. Then the GCCM crane lift had some problem, with an uncertain delay, so we changed the lift-out to The Boat Works, a yard next door.

GCCM and The Boat Works are the two main yards which make up the Gold Coast Marine Precinct. There are some other businesses there as well, such as Riviera and Maritimo.

The Gold Coast Marine Precinct is quite a phenomenon. 

The two yards are each huge. Together, they are massive. They support a large number of competing specialist services. We have been very impressed with them.

A herd of cats

Nimrod got lifted out on 30th March, my birthday. A birthday treat!

Waterblasting

Friendly workers

Engineer discussing rudder bearings with Tim Sales

Tim Sales is a boat expert with immense experience. We met him through his work project managing George's brother Ken's preparation for the round-the-world ARC rally. Tim looked over Nimrod and spotted several important problems, including a reversed Spectra jib halyard (which might easily have broken), a dodgy connection between the autopilot linear drive and the tiller arm, and sloppy rudder bearings.

All fixed. The connection between the autopilot linear drive and the tiller beam was very sloppy.

There was a trickle of oil from the sail-drives. Probably caused by these worn shafts which run between the engines and the gearboxes at the top of the sail-drives.

The only bad experience was with a gas bloke who I found on the internet, but was not actually associated with the Marine Precinct. I wanted him to install this new SMEV stove to replace the old one, which had been repaired one time too many. He clearly didn't know what he was doing, so I sent him on his way. "I can do it myself". Actually, I couldn't. The new one had a different arrangement of gas pipe intake. Legalities apparently matter when it comes to gas.

Installing the new stove, imported from New Zealand. 

Fresh anti-fouling by Marine Antifoul Specialists. Note how she is resting on higher chocks than usual. This is so the rudders can be removed and replaced without needing a crane each time. 

New seal on the input shaft between the engine and the sail-drive

The other end of the input shaft.

Re-welded mixing elbow. It gets corroded by a mixture of hot exhaust and sea-water coolant.

Jarrad from Marine Mechanical Solutions showing how to remove a Gori propeller

Gori propeller

Black plastic back-stop

Back anode

Middle anode

Front anode

Preparing to put on 'Prop-speed' special anti-fouling for propellers.

The critical relationship between the gypsy and the stripper. If you don't get it right, the chain fails to drop into the anchor locker and gets jammed.

The regalvanized chain, the partition and the rope. The idea is to keep the 66 metres of chain away from the 60 metres of nylon rope that is spliced to it, for use in deep anchorages.

Chain all shiny and new

All finished; time to re-float.