Breakages

Gearbox - Our engine is a Yanmar 4JH-TE with a KBW20 gear box. In the last two days we have learned a little more about this bad boy. Yanmar engines are well known for their quality, and with only 3000hrs on the clock, we hope we have at least another 5000hrs before we need to think about replacing this engine. That said we have just found out that even the best can be prone to failure. As it happens the gearbox needs new clutch plates now, so we need to address this, and we are pleased that we are still within range of some of the best Yanmar mechanics around. I managed to remove the old gearbox from the boat in just one hour, such in the beauty of the Hylas engine room access. Now the gearbox needs to be stripped & new clutch bearings put in. I will keep you posted on the progress.

So we had the choice of having the old gear box plates replaced which would have meant a 10 day wait and more money than a more powerful reconditioned one. So we have decided to go with the second option. Below you will see photos of Nicky & I refitting the new gear box in a matter of hours...

Re-glassing a leak in the exhaust muffler box - We have had a leak coming from the exhaust muffler box for a while but due to its in accessibility and the slow nature of the drip i have been putting this off. With our gear box issue & the removal of the gear box i finally decided now would be a good time to tackle this issue. With the aid of a West Marine glassing kit i set to work removing the putty the previous owner had put over the hole, to fashion a more lasting solution using glass fiber. 

Aerogen 6 - Changing the pivot bearings. When we bought our Aerogen 6 second hand on eBay for a song, we knew we would have to replace the pivot bearings in the not to distant future, so the winter in Sicily seemed the ideal time to do this & test it. First I had to get the Aerogen down from its mount and get it on the deck so I could get the blades & tail off, and start see how badly the bearings had gone.