So on Sunday we sailed (most of the way) back from Palairos to Nidri for a Monday morning visit from Fortis, the IBA engineer to realign the engine mounts, now that they had settled in a bit. Unfortunately we still had a vibration at certain revs. So we’d now had a new cutless bearing, new engine mounts, the only thing that could now be causing the vibration was the prop.
On board we actually had what was probably the original fixed blade prop from when the boat was built together with a new locking washer, nut and anode. We debated the possibility of swapping the props, and in the end we decided to go for it, so on Tuesday we managed to get hauled out with Aris’s boat lifter at his Nidri yard for €250 cash and 30mins later the fixed bladed prop had replaced the max prop and a couple of hours later we were back in the water testing it out.
Brilliant, virtually all the vibration had gone! At last and at a considerable cost we were back cruising. But not before we rafted up against a boat by the yard and used the yard’s hose to top up the water supplies with Aris’ blessing.
So Wednesday after reporting to IBA that things were now good and Via giving us discount on Fortis’s labour charges, (also Angie giving us a few bags of assorted nuts and dried fruit, we’d paid for them many many times over), we stocked up with provisions at the Market In and had a good sail for most of the way to Kastos. I say most of the way, as despite having a good wind behind us as we sailed down the Meganissi channel, half way down it switched to 20 knots on the bow, so we motored the mile out to the channel and sailed the remaining 15 miles to Kastos.
At Kastos we stopped outside the harbour enjoying 4 nights at anchor. On Friday Rob and Lizzie, friends we met 4 years ago in the French canals, turned up having just returned from sailing almost to Turkey over the summer, and we hadn’t seen for a year, so after a walk with them in the morning, we invited them on board in the evening for a few drinks….. including cocktails.
Saturday was a recovery day!
