Cleaning And Repair

There was no rest for us once we got Snow Dragon Settled into Vilamoura on Wednesday. The mechanic we had organized for the generator was ready to start work immediately and was on board to evaluate the job shortly after our dock lines were tied. Being without a generator since Terceira has been more of an inconvenience than a serious problem. In Terceira we were able to plug into shore power, which kept our batteries charged until we were ready to leave. During the crossing the main source of power drain was Angela our autopilot who needed to work over time in the rough conditions. To conserve power we used the sleep mode on the chart plotter, only turning on when we needed to evaluate our course or check for AIS targets. We also decided not to run our refrigerator-freezer and put bottles of frozen water in the refrigerator to keep its contents cold.

 Snow Dragon’s solar panels were only of minimal use during the overcast passage. When the batteries started to get low, we ran our engine in neutral with the RPMs slightly elevated to get the optimal charging rate from the alternator. Before we left Terceira Frances switched the engine cooling system hoses from the heating system to the hot water heater so that we could heat water without the generator. To get rid of the carbon caused by running the engine at low RPM, we took advantage of the calm water near the marina and ran the engine up to 3000 RPM to burn off the carbon before heading in.

 Disassembled Generator Head And Exhaust Elbow

On Thursday the mechanic returned to disassemble the generator for an overhaul, while we removed the staysail and mainsail to be sent to the local sail loft for repairs. After ordering the parts that the mechanic requested from the U.S., we turned our attention to cleaning the salt off of Snow Dragon other maintenance tasks. With the generator repair going smoothly without needing any prodding, we decided to make a quick trip to England on Monday to visit friends and family. It will also give us the opportunity to pick up boat supplies, which are difficult to find in the Algarve.  

On Friday we explained to the marina that we were leaving Snow Dragon for a brief period and requested that they assign us a more protected slip. Since the one we were in was directly in line with the opening in the breakwater. The wind was starting to pick up and the marina kindly sent two guys to help us change slips. We explained that we did not have bow thrusters and needed to make sure that Snow Dragon did not swing her bowsprit into the electrical box as we left the dock. To which they replied in true powerboat fashion, “why don’t you use your second engine?”. One of the things that we have never been able to get used to in Portugal is that the fingers on the docks are less than half the length of the boat and only reach the midship’s cleat. After safely relocating, Krystina chatted with the guys about our reasoning for moving and explained that Snow Dragon is 25 tons; more suited for pushing ice than sitting in a marina and with surge could easily break the finger. The new slip was of the same configuration but in a much more protected part of the marina and made us more comfortable about leaving her unattended. The new location also improved our view with a bit of greenery instead of the bars, restaurants and hotels that dominate most of the marina.