We arrived in Europe in the fall of 2017 and the Schengen shuffle began. We have written about the Schengen shuffle before, but to remind those who are not familiar with this phrase it means that we can only stay in the Schengen area for 90 days in each 180 days. The Schengen area covers most of the European countries that we have visited so our boat maintenance to-do list has been badly neglected. We would rather be sailing than working on Curare during our precious 90 days so for the past few years we have been doing the bare minimum (and let's not talk about leaving Curare for 22 months during Covid - that probably caused maintenance issues that did not even make it on the list). Lack of routine, preventative maintenance means that things break and then they need to be fixed and we have been fixing things far more than we are used to.
When we returned to Curare this July 2022 GG completed a number of small maintenance tasks while LE prepared for our summer of sailing. One task was to repack the rudder post bearing so that the rudder wouldn't fall off, as well as reduce any water intake around the gland. While doing this GG was reminded once again of the rusty condition of the steering bracket connection to the rudder post. This has been on the maintenance list since we arrived in Europe and it's been a difficult item to cross off because it would use up a lot of our 90 days. GG would have to empty the aft lockers to remove the rusty, seized bracket and find a machine shop to fabricate a new one, then reinstall it, next he would have to reconnect all of the plumbing and bilge hoses and then re-stow the amazing accumulation of bits and pieces previously removed for access. And of course all of this work has to be done while he is hanging upside down and squeezed into a locker.
So the reward for his laziness and negligence was that the weld on the steering wheel bracket failed with a bang at 0300 while on passage from Sardinia to Isla Cabrera. To add a little extra drama we were in the middle of a squall and lightening event while LE was on watch. After rousing GG from his off watch slumber we managed to get the sails down quickly, the emergency tiller installed and back on course in quick time. Once the tiller was lashed in place our Hydrovane was able to hold our course for the remaining 250 miles to our destination.
Curare has a beautiful laminated teak wooden tiller that has always sat in a specific location in the port pilot berth. We've pulled it out occasionally to wipe off the dust and remind ourselves how it works but it takes up a majority of usable space in the forward cockpit so we never leave it out. Until now. In a way it's enjoyable to steer again with a tiller but it does require some effort with a moderate wind blowing.
Our to-do list is ever expanding. We need to find the time to address our maintenance issues.
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