Basseterre, St. Kitts

Basseterre, St. Kitts (June 25-August 28, 2013)

Well, we are finally about to set sail again... "WHAT?" you may ask yourself. YES, we have been stuck now for over 9 weeks in St. Kitts, with a broken boat.

Other than hitting a few major squalls, life was looking pretty good as we had a great passage from St. Martin and were in the Statia Channel. Rounding the north end of St. Kitts, we were pummelled by a huge squall with 36 knot winds and a driving rain. Not a big deal, but does make for an uncomfortable ride.

Squall approaching us off the coast of St. Kitts

After the squall, we made the lee side of the island, all the while taking in the beautiful countryside and the ever majestic Brimstone Hill Fortress.

Brimstone Hill
(Hard to see, but the Fortress at the top of the hill)

That's when we heard "BAM...THUMP...THUMP...THUMP!"  As I put it in neutral and looked over the stern, a float popped up.  UGH, we hit a fish pot!  Thinking we had cleared the line, I put it back in gear and heard yet another BAD sound...something was wrong. Jim frantically popped open the engine hatch only to find smoke billowing out and transmission fluid all over the place...this was NOT good! Lucky for us (or so we thought), this happened right in front of St. Kitts Marine Works, a boat haul out yard...couldn't have happened in a better place. Jim started calling them on the VHF...NOTHING. He called again and again...NOTHING.  So the plan was made to sail into the marina, in Basseterre.

Fish Pot Markers
(And then there is the one going under the boat as I take this picture)

Unfortunately, our destination was directly into the wind and another 8 hours had passed by the time we sailed to Nevis and tacked back so as to put us on course to sail into the bay. It was now midnight so Jim contacted the Coast Guard to advise of our situation. We thought they would tell us to sit tight until daylight, but thankfully they directed us to get within a mile of the island and call them so they could tow us into the anchorage as it was a mine field of large unmarked floating tanks and unlit cruise ship docking pylons.  We were finally anchored shortly after 1:00 a.m.

The anchorage was very rolly and I was seasick the entire time.  After two days, we hired a skiff to tow us to the Port Zante Marina.  Once secure in the Marina, Jim took a closer look at the engine and could feel transmission fluid leaking out the bottom. Thinking maybe just the seals were blown, it was time to begin searching for a mechanic to assess the problem.  Turns out, there were a few problems!

We were directed a young man named Alfi for engine repairs. After speaking with him, he said, "Of course, I can fix this, Mon!"  We were impressed when he arrived early the next morning, ready to go.  He and Jim started to do a thorough look through and agreed it seemed the seals were gone on the transmission. But then, Alfi wanted to split apart the transmission right there, without even trying to take it off the engine. That's when Jims said, "Whoa there big fellow!" and they decided it best to seek the advice of the only local boat builder on the island, David Saw of Indigo Yachts.

Transmission is a Hurth HBW-150V reverse drive

Alfi determining how to remove the flange

Jim convinced Alfi to remove the transmission before tearing it apart, which proved to be the only way to REALLY get a good idea of the condition.  After some strenuous work and finally locating a gear puller at an auto parts store (put this on your list of must have sailing tools), the transmission was finally out and on the way to the shop.

Engine with transmission removed

Transmission

Engine with transmission removed...reversed engine made for easy access

Engine compartment

One...two...three days go by with no word from David on the parts. Finally, on the 4th day, we received an email saying the parts were finally ordered but were going to cost $1,600 plus $900 for shipping... WHAT...for transmission seals??? Jim called David and said, "WTF, they shouldn't be more than $100!" Turns out, David ordered an entire rebuild kit, which included clutches and bearings.  The additional weight and expedited shipping caused the cost to skyrocket. After rejecting the shipment and another 2 days of butting heads about what needed to be ordered, the seals and a bearing were ordered.

A week later, the transmission was ready to go, but where was Alfi? He was in the country for a few days, so we waited for his return. Finally back, it took 2 days to get it reinstalled...all good we think. We went to Customs to check out of the country and provision for the next journey. But, upon testing the engine, we noticed water pouring into the bilge... UGH, something else was amiss.

Another problem has reared its ugly head...the exhaust dump pot had split and the exhaust cooling water was pouring into the boat...OUT it came. After some research, Jim called Centek (the maker of the dump pot) and spoke with the engineers.  He got all the information needed for a new and improved one, part numbers and prices. Off we trekked to David Saw to order the new one. Jim presented him with the part numbers and information needed to order the part.  David refused the part numbers and stated that Centek shouldn't have spoken with us as they don't know our situation. Three days later, we finally received an email that the part was ordered and eventually it arrived.  David showed up at the boat with the dump pot (a HUGE dump pot), the WRONG dump pot.  Jim decided to see if he could make it fit, but asked for the old one to be repaired as well.  No luck with the 10" pot fitting, it was too big. We took it back to David, who told us it's not really his issue, and literally spat at Sherry. Thus, the argument ensued. He told us he would exchange it, BUT not expedite it, so it would be at least another week or so to get it in. We were ready to leave St. Kitts and didn't want to wait another week. So, lesson learned not to do business with him and we were stuck with a useless $465 piece of equipment.  Jim reinstalled the repaired pot and we prepared to leave.

After four weeks and soured on dealing with Indigo Yachts, we left the dock happy to be heading back to sea. Well, that didn't exactly happen. We heard a loud BAM...THUMP...THUMP...THUMP!  The retention nut holding the output flange on the output shaft had backed off.

Back on the dock, Jim pulled out the manual and started reading, finding that the nut needed to be torqued to 66ft/lbs. Totally frustrated with Alfi's work, we sought the help of another local, named Brashun (short for Vibration). Upon looking at the nut and shaft, he determined the threads were messed up as well.  Refusing to have further dealings with Indigo Yachts, it was time to search the internet for a replacement and we found one at Gartside Marine, in British Columbia. The guys at Gartside Marine were excellent, they even had the special tool needed to torque the nut. In 2 days, we had the parts and were back in business, ready to leave.  Again, we checked out of the country.

We left the dock, again!!! Before getting out of the marina, we hear a BAM...THUMP...THUMP...THUMP. The transmission AGAIN, but a bigger immediate problem was that we were heading straight for a group of charter catamarans with no power to steer the boat! No forward, no reverse, no stopping! Jim ran to the bow and dropped the anchor... "PLEASE CATCH" he yelled!! Sherry was throwing fenders to cushion the blow with the other boats. Brashun and another boater jumped into action, and used their dinghy's to help us get back into a slip. Jim dove the prop and all looked good underneath the water line. Brashun, a GREAT mechanic, was dumbfounded. In looking at the shaft alignment, it seemed straight, but the engine was about 1/2" off.  Could this be causing pressure on the retention nut and forcing it off?

We were off to check back in with Customs, AGAIN.  Having already been in the country in excess of 30 days and not knowing how long it would take to get Dulcinea repaired, we needed to go through Homeland Security this time to obtain a 3 month extension to come back into the country.  Thankfully, everyone we dealt with at Customs and Homeland Security were the nicest of people.

We decided to take a day off to rethink the situation, when a trawler comes into the Marina. Jim hurried out to assist the crew in getting tied up...it's always nice to have extra hands when docking. Our boat issues came up in conversation with the trawler's captain/owner, Lance.  He asked to take a look at the transmission to see if he could help.  He and Jim got right to work...this guy was excellent, he really knew his way around the engine.  In a matter of minutes, he detected the problem.  On the aft side of the engine there is a reverse motor mount. The jolt of hitting the fish pot had dislodged the mount and was causing the misalignment of the engine. A few grunts and a few minutes of working it...BANG, the engine dropped back in place. The shaft lined up perfectly, the coupler lined up as well. The transmission was back in place and it was time to test it.  Fingers crossed... ALL LOOKED GOOD.

So, nine weeks after sailing into St. Kitts, we were once more preparing to leave the country.  We decided it best to take a short test run to one of the local bays (Whitehouse Bay) before checking out of the country AGAIN and attempting the journey back to St. Maarten for a haul out and further inspection.

Over all, the local St. Kitts people "Kittitians" are incredibly nice, hard working and most helpful. The issues we had were NOT actually with the locals, but with others, which is a good sign for this independent country that is actually making some progress in these difficult times.

In 9 weeks, we had fallen in love with St. Kitts and look forward to tracking this country's future, which looks bright.