Another year gone meant it was time to clean Makroro’s bottom again. This involved lots of stress watching her lifted out of the water and placed in a cradle. Kel got the messy job of scrubbing the bottom, while I tackled removing the old propeller and shaft. The old propeller shaft bearing took some getting out, but we managed to press it out with a home made contraption. The old stainless steel shaft was riddled with corrosion, so we were glad to get a new one in place, and it only cost one boat buck.

A new red coat of paint on the bottom and some grunt-work polishing the topsides and she was ready for the water again. Until next year… Continue reading

After our first two sails around Moreton, we decided to take a closer look at the condition of things before the serious trip to Newcastle. First stop was the engine, an original 1976 Perkins tractor diesel, marinised for boats. While it doesn’t look the best, it still seems to go strong and reliably. The coupling from gear box to propeller shaft however, was about to disintegrate! Of the four bolts holding it together, all were loose and worn, only two had nuts, and one was sheared off. If I hadn’t replaced the bolts, the coupling would have flown to bits and the propeller could have pulled the shaft out of the boat. This would leave a nice hole for water to flood in, and given us that sinking feeling. Continue reading