Another week has passed and again nothing has happened in terms of spare parts. On Monday, I borrowed the straight edge from Sing Tun Hin Marine to check the cylinder head and the engine block. According to the manual, the flatness is 0.05 mm, but may deviate by up to 0.15 mm. I can still get the 0.13 mm feeler gauge underneath in a few places, but not the 0.15 mm. So for me, the engine block and the cylinder head are OK and I don't need to have the head ground flat. But that's it for the engine. I simply can't go any further without spare parts.
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| Temporary antenna mount |
But there's always something to do on our Katinka, so I'm busy with the Starlink antenna. Now that I've bought the equivalent of 70 euros - yes, there's no comma missing - for an onboard passage that lets the 16 mm plug through without having to be cut off, it's time to find the right position on deck. So I start using the app to carry out speed tests and set up the antenna in different places. In the latest version of the app, you can now also switch off the motor and the heating of the antenna, which of course saves a bit of power. As we don't need heating in the latitudes we are currently traveling in, this is the first switch I flip. I'm not so sure about the motor that tunes the antenna to the satellites. That's why I do the tests. There are two settings for the speed test in the app. The basic setting shows the speed of the entire system, i.e. device to router and router to internet. In the advanced setting, you can then see the speed broken down. For me, of course, the speed from the router to the Internet is interesting, both for uploading and downloading. At least when at anchor, the motor for tracking the antenna plays no role in the transmission speed. The download rate is between 106 and 76 MBit/s, while the upload rate is between 32 and 17 MBit/s. The values are not too bad, considering that Tahiti is in the middle of the Pacific. In the stern area of the yacht it is slightly higher, but the problem is that the cable routing is much more difficult. So I opt for the saloon roof and use an existing passageway. Underneath the cladding, which of course has to be removed - Gaby is once again delighted - I pull the antenna cable into my technical area, where all the cables and electronics are housed. Here I will convert the current 220 V solution to a 12 V solution, simply to save electricity and make better use of the Internet. As the base is still attached to the antenna and I don't want to saw it off, especially as the plug for the router connection is built in, I'm building a device to hold the antenna. That way we can stay informed even in remote places and follow what's happening in Europe. To be honest, we don't want to be too aware of what's going on and have already become very accustomed to the Polynesian way of life.
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| Antenna mount under construction |
Another technical highlight is our water supply. After I discovered a leak in the pre-filter, which was always drawing a little air into the system, the water pump went on strike anyway and failed to work when the water level in the tank was halfway up. The replacement pump also leaked at first and I had to remove it again and seal it. Now it works, the only question is how long it will last, as the replacement is also a used pump that we've been driving around with us since we bought the boat. Let's take a positive view and hope that the pump lasts until New Zealand, as spare parts are quite expensive here in Papeete.
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| Boiled down and preserved |
At least we were able to save some money on food this week. Our neighbors here in the Papeete Marina are going home on vacation and flying to LA. The evening before, there is a knock on our boat and a large bag full of food is handed to us. Obviously the freezer has been defrosted and so broccoli and cauliflower as well as tortellini and a lot more change hands. As we don't have a freezer, it's time to start preserving again. Gaby gets straight to work the next day and before our neighbors set foot on American soil, everything is canned in jars, as my grandma always put it so beautifully.
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| Always stay relaxed |
The menu for this week is changed without further ado and we have tortellini in a ham and cream sauce in the evening. I can't remember the last time we had such an Italian delicacy on the table. Now that I'm writing about it, my mouth is watering again. However, there was still a bottle of red wine in the bilge - a French one, but you don't always have to be so picky - and we had a lovely Italian evening in our cockpit. It's nice to have American neighbors who fly home from time to time. With this in mind, I wish you all fair winds and keep a stiff upper lip.
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