About Me

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Alaska, United States
I am owned by Pauline and Mark Blasky. My hull was built at the Duncan Marine Yard in Taiwan and launched in Dec of 1980. It is a William Garden design based on the Pixie Design and called by Duncan Marine a Freedom 45. They are the fourth owners and have owned me the longest. They have done extensive refitting to me including replacing my entire deck structure and rig. My masts are roughly 10% taller than original and now are made of aluminium as opposed to the original wood ones, which, though pretty, were always problematic. You can read more about me under "MORE ABOUT SARI TIMUR"

April 14, 2014

5h1+ Happens!

Position  20 d 35.5 m N 135 d 08.1 m E  Well yesterday started with the rope.  if you remember that entitled getting in the water and fighting for awhile.  It also warned us to watch the bilges because the packing gland had screwed up.  Well I no longer finished this blog post and Pauline sent a quick text to her family and I went down to try and get some sleep.  I smelled smoke.  Every sailors dread.  It smelt slight electrical but also like burning candles.  I quickly checked all of the amp gauges and nothing seemed bad.  Opened the engine room all is ok, then started ripping open everything I could think of to gain access to electrics or hot spots.  Finally I looked in the toilet.  Yes it was the toilet.  This should have registered earlier in the brain cells but I was a bit sleep deprived.  We installed a new composting toilet years ago (yes we are a bit green) and so far like the benefits over the drawbacks.  It is a simple device and other than one small little circulating fan is pretty low tech.  It has a deck vent that you are supposed to close in heavy seas.  (Remember Post of 2 and 3 days ago) anyway we didn't get to it quick enough and some salt water got down the vent line.  Probably while we were dead in the water tossing and rolling while I fixed the prop rope problem water got in and shorted out the fan. It also melted down the wire going to it.  There is supposed to be a 3 amp fuse in there for protection.  When I checked it the fuse said F3 fuse 35A.  Some idiot had read the 3 not the 35 (FINGER POINTS TO SELF!) anyway time to tear up the toilet rerun wires and replace the fan.  And while at it change the compost.  Three hours and we are back in business. Time for a very late lunch and back to the nap.  Wait I hear water in the bilge.  Packing gland seems dry!  Oh well drain it eat and skip nap and do my turn on the wheel.

I come down and find the bilges full again.  Not the packing gland.  I best get looking.  Rip up all of the floor boards and see the water is coming from under the galley sink.  Oh no our fresh water supply?  No, worse, the seacock for the drain is leaking badly.  This means we could sink!  Down again with the sails and over the side with the bung.  I pound the bung in which slows the leak to a manageable state.  Now I take off the seacock and realise it is not the seacock but the thru hull. The threads have worn through.  We carry some great stuff called Splash Zone which is a two part underwater epoxy  I mix up a glob and press into the thru hull from the inside and hold it in place with a plastic bag for 2 hours while it cures.  This stops the leak but I am worried about the bung popping out and sudden pressure might start the leak again.  So now over the side with another blob of epoxy, pull out the bung and insert some epoxy from the outside while Pauline holds and watches from the inside, wait another couple of hours, every thing is good.  Mix up some more epoxy for good measure wrap again and place a large hose over and clamp to hold everything in place and plug hose.  Another couple of hours, check everything and we are off motoring slowly and watching and praying.  Also asking the big guy what we did to deserve all of this!  Well it is Palm Sunday and we are out here instead of back in Hagatna listening to the bishop give his sermon.  Now we start to thank the big guy instead.  We are much happier out here doing this with each other than back there, even with all the problems it all ended well and that means a great day!  So thanks Big Guy, sorry we missed your service and sorrier still what our forefathers did to your kid this coming Friday so long ago you remember let his blood be on us and our children and children's children.  But thanks for letting us do this dream, come trough it with each other and having the resource and know how to fix what you throw at us.  And thanks for each other we wouldn't want to do this with anyone else.  And finally Big Guy can you reward those people that make Splash Zone!

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