First the good news !!!
We left the anchorage at Shotley Point (just opposite Harwich) at 0430 stopping outside the traffic separation scheme to swing the compass ( basically this involves turning round and round in large circles)
Set off up the coast in smooth seas averaging just over 7 knots at about 1000 rpm. allowing for time turning in circles trip time estimated at 7.5 hours.
Then things started getting a bit more complicated
When we were passing Southwold (about half way) the sea got up a bit and the steering started having to work harder, as it did, it started venting hydraulic oil out of the filler pipe.
I just had to keep adding fresh oil whenever it got too low. It made it much harder work steering than it should have been as quite a lot of play developed so you were never sure how many turns of the wheel were needed to correct, so the course became a bit ziggy zaggy.
Then things became more complicated.
Phoned up the Marina in Lowestoft to check that they still had a space for us (I had checked the day before and they did) ....... and they didn't !!! some boats that were expected to leave hadn't !!!
In our original plan, if the marina had been full we were going to continue to Wells next to Sea and anchor up in the drying moorings area.
This was no longer a good idea as that is another 50 miles and we were getting through the spare hydraulic oil at an alarming rate.
It would have certainly have been taking a risk to go further.
I then phoned the Lowestoft Harbour Master's office and explained the situation and asked if they could help. He was not expected in for half an hour and they promised to ring back.
As good as their word I got a phone call back in about 35 minutes from the H.M. who said he would find somewhere. He recommended we slowed down and didn't attempt the entry to the harbour until about 1300 as it was not easy normally and with steering difficulties........... !!!
We still got there too early, even at tick over, so we motored round and round in a huge circle (within easy striking distance of the entrance) for about 2 hours.
As the tide slackened a local tug went in so we followed about 3/4 mile behind him and copied his technique
(anything to help me look like a professional)
The harbour master has put us in the old Hamilton Dock in Lowestoft and was on the quayside himself to show us where to moor and take our ropes.
He was extremely helpful with where we might get help and also said that if we had any problems getting things to ring him and he would get his engineer to ring us and see if they could help !!! What a lovely attitude !!! and so different to what you often receive !!!
He also left us with a hand drawn sketch showing the nearby pubs and cafes, he could not have been more helpful.
The Hamilton dock in Lowestoft was the original marina area (and still shown as such in older guides) but it is being closed down to be renovated. it is only used by some local fishing boats at the moment (I will take some photos ...... when I can find wherever my camera ended up
I just hope it didn't end up like my favourite mug ...... in bits on the wheelhouse floor when we took a particularly sharp lunge
I have been checking all over the hydraulics this morning and there is no sign anywhere of oil leaking from a joint or such (apart from the best part of a gallon that has been blown out of the filler in the wheelhouse and has crept
everybloodywhere !!!
It is obviously air in the system which expands as it heats up. When there is very calm water the steering has enough force to hold the rudder in the correct angle but when it gets rough it has enough sponginess to give the big amounts of play as the pressures on it increase.
The system has two quite large double acting hydraulic rams, on each side of the steering head. Connected by four flexible hoses to the manifold which is then connected by two flexible hoses to a pair of through bulkhead deck fittings. In the engine room deckhead (the other side of the bulkhead fittings) there are two very long flexible hoses (each about 7.5 metres long) up to the steering head in the wheelhouse. There is no sign anywhere of leaks from the pipework or from the rams.
My logic says that if air can be sucked into the system then some oil must leak out of the same gap when the pressure is reversed (wheel turned the other way) so therefore it must be a quantity of air that is trapped in there somewhere.
The only bleed nipples in the system are on the steering head itself and I think the air must be trapped somewhere down the rudder end of the system.
I am wondering about making up a couple of through adaptors with nipples fitted in them and inserting them in the feeds to the manifold so that the system can be bled from that end as well. Whatever the answer, there is not much I can do until tomorrow, so today is going to be cleaning up and putting my hydraulic oil soaked clothes in the washing machine.