Will it work, or will we have to hand-steer the next 250 miles? I’ve been working on the “tiller pilot – windvane” project for a few days. I’ll eventually have something fabricated out of stainless and make it pretty, but for now a 2×4, some paint, u-bolts, and a piece of plastic will have to do.
The important thing is that the tiller pilot is actuating the windvane in a fashion I believe will steer the boat. God only knows I’ve been wrong about things before, 
but we’ll see.
We are planning on Leaving Cartagena on Monday or Tuesday for the Rosairo Islands where we will wait for some wind. And as soon as possible we are off to the San Blas.
I finally found the serial number of my transmission and was able to take a picture of a mirror reflecting it because of the way it was positioned under the engine. I then had to flip it in photoshop before emailing it to PRM in England. I was pretty surprised to hear how old the transmission is. It is original (1973) and was fitted to Splendid’s first motor, a Westerbeake. Splendid was repowered twice since then with Perkins 4108s. I don’t think I will be able to get all the parts I need for the rebuild so I’m going to have to start thinking about alternatives, I don’t know so much about gear boxes. A buddy of mine has a new Hurth gearbox for a 4108. It was dropped before being installed on 
his boat and a piece is cracked, supposedly it is something easily replaced (about $100) and I could pick up the tranny for $400.00. In the mean time I’m going to have to go easy on the one I have. It isn’t making any grinding noises or anything, I just seem to have lost about a knot at cruising speed (2000 RPMS).
We have really enjoyed our time in Cartagena and will be back as soon as I have a few bucks to haul and paint the bottom and hull. Cartagena really is a good place to have work done on the boat. It beats anywhere in Panama and is cheaper as well.
Well that’s about it for today. Oh yeah, Sharne Andree won the Charter raffle, Congratulations, looking forward to having you visit for a week :)
Cheers everyone.
Sail Far and Live Slowly.
Alex
Wow, Sam actually wrote another log, go figure???
Alex,
I’ll bet what happened to your transmission is the tangle with the fishing net wore out the friction material in it’s clutch and it’s been slipping ever since. That would explain the loss of speed and the overheating. Somehow it’s probably related to the heat exchanger leaking water into it, or maybe that just happened by coincidence. Rebuilding or replacing it seems the right answer anyway – it’ll be interesting to read what you find if you strip it down (best way to learn a bit about transmissions!)
Cheers,
Chris
Alex, here in Mexico I found a stainless steel spiral wire specifically designed to be inserted into heater hoses that need to be bent stoping them from collapsing. They were in a local auto parts store and came in a few diferent sizes. Maybe with a bit of luck you’ll find something similar in Columbia. Also you might find a product for automatic transmissions that will improve the clutch plates for awhile, buying you sometime but be advised, a sliping friction plate’s days are numbered! And according to Murphy are gauranteed to fail at the most inoportune time.
I got the hose replaced and fixed with a proper, non-collapsing hose. Running around today getting fuel, water and getting ready to make way for Panama. Thanks for all the info guys.
alex if clutches are slipping, the transmission will heat up and burn out soon. the fluid will smell burnt after a few hours use. how long was water in trans? are you comparing speed when bottom was fresh with 6 months later? 1/2 knot sounds more like dirty prop, or bottom. does transmission vibrate or sudder when powering up? try calling me with skype…………g