Orca Damage update

The good news is that we have escaped quite lightly. It would appear that our damage is limited to items that can be repaired whilst we are still in the water.

Opening up the steering quadrant on the Monday revealed the reason for most of the steering issues. The Orca attack had bent the hydraulic steering ram ninety degrees and the steering wires had been forced off the quadrant. The wires were easily fixed and subsequently I removed the hydraulic ram.

The hydraulic ram should be linear so that the arm can fully extend and retract to steer the boat. The wires over the brass quadrant should not be cutting the corner.

Following my initial assessment and communication with our insurance company, Pantaenius, it was agreed that we would have a lift out and inspection at the earliest opportunity. A surveyor was also appointed by the insurance company and came round with us for the lift.

We managed to get a lift at the next door marina, Alcaidesa in La Linea, Spain on Wednesday, and other than needing to remove the backstay everything went smoothly. It transpired that the vibration noise we were hearing from the shaft area at lower revs was due to a combination of a broken rope cutter and some rope around the shaft. We cut the rope away and removed the offending part of the rope cutter. The rest of the underneath of the boat was good. No issue with the bearings or brackets, and as the surveyor put it, no teeth marks or bites on the rudder. Whilst we were lifted out, 4 other boats were pointed out to us on the hard, each one requiring a new rudder to be built following Orca attacks.

Brackets and bearings were checked. Offending bit of rope cut away and the loose part of the rope cutter removed.

After returning to our berth in Queensway Quay we set about fixing the issues. Dismantling the Hydrovane took some work and assistance as it turns out the top collar had been damaged by the force of the Orca attack. Once dismantled, we found that we still cannot separate the rudder from the shaft. The pin has been bent in 2 directions and is well and truly locking the shaft to the runner. Despite hammers, drifts, drills, angle grinder the 2 parts will not separate. Almost certainly academic as both parts need replacing.

The damaged Hydrovane – the black collar on the right should be smooth. The damage was caused by the locking pin being forced out and around by the Orcas.

So the good news is that repairs are very straightforward. The bad news is that we just have to sit here waiting for parts to arrive (Hydrovane) or be sourced/found (Hydraulic Ram). In the meantime we continue to explore Gibraltar. It would almost feel like home now we have found a M&S, a fully stocked Morrisons, Waitrose products stocked in the Eroski supermarket and the currency is Pounds Sterling – it’s just the 40 degree heat that is a little different, and the fact that we can walk over to Spain whenever we fancy a little tapas.