Whitlock Cobra 4 Steering Pedestal

Strangely enough, the frustrations of separating the dissimilar metal parts of the pedestal did not eventuate, and all parted company with a minimum of abuse. With the assistance of a three inch 2 jaw puller, some quality Australian made 'Bolt Off' penetrant, an impact driver and some persistence, she stripped down without a hassle. Patience is the key....spend a few days giving every bolt, screw, shaft and nut a little spray every morning and afternoon before taking out the tools - you will be rewarded.

The frustrations came when the search for parts came on a Sat. Only one bearing mob open and they had all but one bearing.....the main lower bearing. Oh well, probably needed a week off the tools anyway. Parts should arrive mid week and I hope to have the pedestal back in the boat next Fri evening. Won't hold my breath given the tempo at work at the moment. Will post again when she is back on the water.

This is the solid bronze pinion and the front of the pedestal. Great condition for its age and so it is for the bronze quadrant rack gear - don't see this type of HD enginneering much anymore without paying through the nose.  By the time I shim it all up she should be nice and light on the helm. The shaft is supported on two R16 ball bearing races. Replacement items are: R16 1x2x3/8" (open type) at around $22ea.

This picture shows the shagged lower bearing 9R24 (QTY 1 fitted). Some balls had turned to powder! Replacement items are: Lower shaft bearing (QTY1) R24-2RS 1-1/2x 2-5/8x7/16 (sealed type $31)
Upper shaft bearing 6205DU (orig) replacement 6205VV (sealed type $16).

Knock Knock.....no sail this weekend

Just when you think all is well, Murphy lets loose with the old curve ball.
I heard a slight tap and had a bit of play creep into the steering pedestal somewhere off QLD early this year. As I made my way south so did the tap....which has finally turned into a loud knock! It is now a problem so the pedestal is off the boat to see if I can overhaul. A 28 year old pedestal with a mix of alloy and stainless should present some challenges on disassembly !
In the meantime I have fitted my emergency tiller until I can replace the worn components. The worst part is not having an autopilot which means no easy self tacking if solo. So apologies guys, this weekend is cancelled so I can get stuck into the repairs.

Rogue Wave off the Gold Coast QLD

Here's a short video of the final leg of my single-handed sail from Southport QLD to Port Stephens NSW that marked the end of 4 months long service leave and also the end of my Malaysia to Australia adventure. I departed Southport around 1600 h after several days port bound due to wild weather. The Gold Coast Seaway was pumping at around 4 metres and breaking right across. I have crossed that seaway hundreds of times and every crossing still gets the same respect as if it was my first. I left on the heels of the front to take advantage of the strong E to NE winds.

We punched our way out of the seaway at the top of the tide and bashed E through the 3 metre swell to get some sea room before I headed SE to round Point Danger off Tweed Heads. Great breeze on the beam provided swift passage all the way past Port Macquarie. After two nights at sea I motorsailed through the heads of Port Stephens at 0500 h to a great welcome home by family and friends.

RW on her first Social Chase.....er...Cruise

It was good to meet a couple of keen crew in Daz and Danielle on the weekend when they dropped by to check out RW and her skipper at the Soldiers Point Marina. Unfortunately they couldn't sail on the weekend but there will be many more opportunities over the coming year.

Only one crew this week as JJ joined me as first time crew and first time yachty, but he does own a ski boat so its not all foreign. After the mandatory safety and nautical jargon brief we headed off double handed to hoist sail and follow the fleet from PSYC as they set off on the opening social cruise for the Spring/summer season. We had a nice breeze of around 10-12 knots and set off for North Arm Cove.....the opposite direction to the start line! I had not officially entered the cruise so the plan was to give the fleet room so we could chase and have no pressure at the first congested turning mark. I don't plan to break my crew .....at least not on the first few outings ha ha ....you guys are precious in this time poor world!

Well all went to plan, beer in hand, except RW overtook about four back markers by the first mark! We then goose-winged our way west away from the main pack that were flying spinnakers and headed directly for the next mark. Commonsense kept my asymmetrical kite in its bag until crew can work up to launching without bursting a pucker valve.! So by the second mark we dropped back to second last, hung wide to let others past and then we were back onto the building breeze. JJ was doing a good job helming RW as Skip played decky. We sped along at 8.1 knots and made our way toward Shoal Bay on one long tight reach hitting 8.7 knots at times. A role change saw JJ on the winches and trying not to macrame' himself with the sheets as we approached Shoal Bay! After rounding the mark and heading back to Soldiers point we had a wind shift that had us tacking all the way back to Peppers Anchorage in the narrowest part of the channel against an ebb tide. As the breeze increased, the temperature decreased and JJ once again helmed. After many tacks and alot of winching I remembered why I now Skipper..... The breeze hit 18 gusting 22 knots at times so we whipped in the first reef and furled in a metre of genoa to reduce the workload......after all, we are supposed to be cruising!!
We cross tacked with a large cat and and dusted off a smaller yacht as we fought both an ebb tide and wind on the nose. By 1630 h and under a very threatening sky, I peeled off course as we passed Peppers to take up my mooring in Salamander. A quick call to Relle and we were picked up and back home, warm and dry before the torrential downpour and hail. As always, a great day on the water.

Social Cruise Soldiers Point to Shoal Bay return

This Saturday is the first social sail for the Port Stephens Yacht Club (PSYC) Spring/Summer race season and I have 5 crew spots available.
The cruise start is at 1300 h off Soldiers Point.
Rogue Wave will depart the dock at Soldiers Point Marina C Arm at 1200 h so we can do the meet n greets and become familiar with the boat. The sail is a cruise in company so we won't be racing......ok....there may be the odd overtaking manouvere and rare event of letting others past, but the idea is just to get out and sail!
Bring some lunch or snacks and a couple of beers if you like and some warm gear. Forecast is for scattered showers and 10-15 knts. If the rain stays away will be an excellent day on the water. Should be back by around 1600-1630 h. There is a get together at the PSYC at the end of the cruise so you are more than welcome to join in.
Send me a text or email if you are keen.

Port to Newcastle return

On Sat 27 Aug a mate and I double handed RW to Newcastle for her final bug inspection by AQIS. I am happy to report she has a clean bill of health and is now officially an Aussie - thanks AQIS, your service was excellent. It was great to sail with someone who has sailed and raced, as you can leave them to tweak and adjust for a change! Not much breeze however plenty of Humpbacks doing their thing breeching, flapping fins to attract males and generally have a 'whale of a time' pardon the pun! We left Port around 1000 h and finally managed to turn the green anchor off for a couple of hours. It was a very pleasant sail with Éric the autopilot' earning his keep as we watched the whales with coffees in hand. The afternoon seabreeze had us sailing into Newcastle Harbour around 1530 for a well deserved beer at the Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club (NCYC).

While RW was in the NCYC marina John from Doyle Sails (Sydney) measured her up for her new suite of 'Boat Show Special' whites. I have some work to do to install a detachable Solent Stay behind the forestay so I can fly a hanked on battened #3 or a high aspect storm jib. The theory being as the wind increases and the furling genoa is furled from 135% to 100% then furled away completely, I then hoist the #3 that I would have positioned on the Solent Stay in readiness for the stronger breeze - safe, more efficient and therefore easier to maintain the groove.

The following Sat 03 Sep I sailed RW back with a couple of workmates, one of whom brought his two young lads. They were all first timers - both in a yacht and offshore. Glorious day saw us complete the mandatory RW safety brief and famil tour, before motoring out of Newcastle in zero breeze. Offshore we picked up some breeze and a 2m ground swell. As we headed NE the forecast 5-10 knt wind backed and freshened from E to NNE and then N, so off we headed ENE. By the time a few hours had passed we had the 2nd reef in the main, #2 rolled genoa, two crew down for the count and two dads grinning from ear to ear as they steered RW headlong on the long beat! The Sigma is a great boat to windward. We saw only a few whales this time, but they were only about 200m abeam when they broached, so it was a great sight for all on board.

The set onto Stockton Beach is quite strong so we headed ENE for searoom and pointed as high as my steerers could maintain. Great effort by the guys to maintain a good speed in these conditions. We had a constant 22 with gusts to 26 on a NNE swell of 2m with 1-1.5 m seas. I had the guys fighting for top speeds. We started off around 4.5 knts, then 6....7 to windward and ended up on a beam reach at with a top speed of 10.1 under white sails, so they certainly got the hang of it!

RW is back on her mooring and awaiting her next outing late Sep.

Sailing Port Stephens

Its time to break out the beanie and come for a sail. Yesterday was absolutely fantastic on the water, plenty of sunshine and not much wind early on, but a nice 10-15 knot breeze late arvo saw Rogue Wave (RW) skipping across the bay into the sunset with wine in hand at 6.5 knots.

Our first crew familiarisation/safety sail is on next weekend Sat 13 Aug 11, so to those whom have showed interest and emailed me, RW will be at Soldiers Point Marina ready to cast off at 1100h and be back at the marina 1500h.