Monday morning, 6 am we called Papeete port control and got clearence for the pass, at 7 am we were ready for haul out in Technimarine’s travelift. It is less than 1 nm as the crow flyes, but we had to exit the pass in Papeete and go around a greater part of the reef surrounding the coast, and then enter through the next pass, and go back inside the reef, so it took us one hour to get in position.

Technimarine had estimated that we needed 5 days on the hard for the work – all too much as I saw it, and I was right. Eva and I moved into a nearby hotel, paid for two nights and hoped for the best. Next morning we went over to the yard, and to our surprise the work was finished, new rudder bearings in place, new antifouling and new zink anodes. (The bearings and the anodes had we carried from Norway.) We checked out of the hotel after one night, but the second was not refundable...

 

The boat was already hanging in the travelift, but I thought it was best to do a little inspections of the work. And better that I did! The propeller anode was not set properly – I do not understand how it was possible to get it wrong. Of coarse it was corrected as soon as I drew attention to it.

 

Then I called for a ladder and climbed into the cockpit. I tried to turn the wheel. I turned all right to one side, but to the other it was blocked! I do not like to think about what could have happened if I had not checked and it had been discovered when we tryed to leave the yard. This fault was also corrected, but this showed a total neglect of QA.

 

I have written to the manager of operations, not to complain, that would be for nothing, but to warn  him that the yard should not provide suchsloppy work. With the prices that they charge one should expect more.