As I mentioned in a recent post, I had no desire to visit Papeete where I had been before, more than once, but sailing circumstances forced me to change my mind. The day after I left Nuku-Hiva I had a serious problem show up with my mainsail such that I could only raise it halfway.
My mainsail uses what’s called a ”bolt rope”, a rope sewed into the luff (leading edge) of the sail. The rope fits in narrow track that is attached to the mast with hinges so the track can rotate. It’s critical the bolt rope easily slide up and down the track as the sail is raised and lowered (reefed). Over time the sail cloth that wraps around the bolt rope has gotten worn, in some places split open. The first repair on this was done in the Canary Islands where the sailmaker used Kevlar film to patch over worn places along the bolt rope. That worked pretty well since the Kevlar doesn’t add much additional diameter to the bolt rope. Increasing the diameter of whatever is wrapped around the bolt rope, of course, would make it more difficult for it to slide in the narrow track.
The sailmaker in Puerto Montt also attempted to patch the bolt rope but didn’t have Kevlar film so he used conventional Dacron sail cloth, much thicker than the Kevlar film. This seemed to slide OK when we first nearput the sail back on in Puerto Montt, but the hoisting and reefing action on the sail during the passage to the Marquesas eventually caused the Dacron cloth to bunch up around the bolt rope making it difficult to move the sail up and down the track. I saw what was happening and tried to trim back the bunched-up Dacron but that really didn’t work. Finally the jam got so severe the bolt rope jumped out of the track and causing further damage to the bolt rope cloth covering, like shredding it. This happened at a third batten down from the top so I could only raise the main sail that far. It would have been crazy to try to continue my voyage as originally planned with such a major problem with the mainsail.
I decided I needed to pull the sail off, get rid of all the bolt rope patches, and have the bolt rope entirely re-sewn to the sail. The sail itself is in very good shape. The only sailmaker who I considered competent and equipped to do this work is in Papeete – Tahiti Sails. With that reality, I changed my routing and headed straight for Papeete where I am now. I don’t know how long this repair will take and to what extent it will affect my plans to get to Australia by November. I do know that people leave boats needing serious repairs to their hulls, etc. in Papeete for extended periods. Worst case is if Tahiti Sails can’t make the bolt rope replacement and I have to box up the sail and ship it back to the manufacturer in the US for repair. I’ll hand the sail over to Tahiti Sails on Tuesday and hopefully have their assessment soon thereafter.
Right now I’m anchored in a place call Pointe Venus, a calm anchorage,i just a few miles north of Papeete but with only one other boat here. This is unlike inside the reef around Papeete itself where there are hundreds of boats anchored or on mooring buoys, some derelict, and two large marinas which are perpetually full. The glut of boats in Papeete is another reason I didn’t want to come here. Since there’s no space in a marina for me, it’s likely I’ll have the boat hauled and put on the hard so we take down the sail so the repair can be done. I don’t want to anchor out with the other boats and try to remove the sail and manage the repair process by commuting in my dinghy.
Oh well, the good and bad come with the mission I set for myself. I’ve booked an ocean-view room at a nice hotel and a rental car so at least I intend to make the best of the time while i’m stuck in Papeete.
