OUT-F**KING-STANDING!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 CONGRATULATIONS!🧨✨🎆🎊🎉🎉 I'm damn near amazed Volvo provided such quality and generous (in regards to what was replaced parts-wise) service. My view of Volvo has been improved. When I win the lottery, and if Snow Gum hasn't been sold, you have a buyer in me and I pay cash! Good Fortune to you and yours!😃👍🏻
HOORAY. Great to see you have had a good resolution. I'm sure all of your subscribers (including me) are smiling nearly as much as you are while watching this clip. Brilliant, so happy for you both.
Rick, Great news to a old situation that's fixed. That was the fix , alignment of the engine and the gear box. So happy , that Volvo Penta came thur with Garica. It Instilled my confidence back in both companies.
Hi Sean. Hi Kate. I don't know why your comment here wasn't flagged for my attention. Maybe YouToob knows you two and us two too well. The thumbnail for this video is big on screen above where I'm typing and it's a very nice boat. Sharp, purposeful, proud and strong. You should get one! Having the name on the bow in big letters is something we were very happy with. It's also required by the Australian shipping registry office, so no choice really, but it works. We had people saying hello quite often, which was fun. Regards from Rick and Carolyn.
Thank you for posting more videos! I have sent an email inquiry regarding the possible purchase yet I believe she has already been scooped up a very lucky person.
Thanks Paulo. The weather is slowly warming and fining up. Fewer freezing nights, gentler winds, shorter skirts. But we’ll be out of France soon. Our time is well and truly up.
What a coincidence… I am on my way to KMY in Makkum for their Open days and whilst chatting about marine engines Snow gum popped into my thoughts Great to see that Volvo have made good on the replacement and repairs. I have enjoyed following along with you time aboard Snow gum… all the best for whatever adventures that you are headed for 🍻
Hi Mike. It will be interesting for you to see what the effect of metal prices has on KMY’s build costs. Here in France I’m seeing across the board increases in aluminium boat costs. KMY make great boats and were in our top two.
Onya mate! Very happy that she's back in the water going "full steam" ahead! I would be very happy and confident with their repairs. Fortunately, these hiccups don't happen often, but good to see they finally came through! Just sorry it happened to such a lovely couple as yourselves. Fair winds amigo!
Thanks Andrew. The job was done thoroughly and I’m confident Snow Gum is set for a good run now. It’s a nice little engine actually, this Volvo. It’s fun and easy to work on. It would be good fun to do a rebuild of this engine. This could be a niche skill in a couple of decades. All the best to you and with your sailing plans.
Hello millicent. No, Yanmar was not an option. I've mentioned a few times that I believe that the Volvo Penta D2-75 is a good choice for this boat. It is a simple, economical engine. It's easy for an owner to service and repair, which is important for an engine in an exploration yacht. The problems we had with the coupling bolts failing were caused by an alignment problem between the gearbox and the propeller shaft. The second wave of Covid was rampant in Europe at the point where our engine was installed, before vaccinations, which would have been a distraction to the workers, no doubt. Volvo has switched to using high-tensile bolts for the coupling to flywheel connection, which will help. It took some doing to diagnose the full extent of the coupling and flywheel problems, but once all parts were replaced and the engine was properly aligned, it performed well. I'll say again - I like this engine. It's a good choice for a boat that will be far from major harbours. Yanmar engines have their own problems (ask owners) and are not as simple or as easy to repair as the Volvo Penta D2 engines. Thanks for asking. 🙂Regards, Rick.
I'm pleased its aIl sorted, but I've got mixed feelings about the issues with the boat. Particularly after watching your delivery video - where you planned to sail around the world for the next 10 years. It all seems rather a disappointment. I was seriously considering a G45 for my own retirement adventure. I will now reassess. Best of luck to you both.
Hi Monkey Boy. Thanks for your well considered thoughts here. They’ve prompted Carolyn and me to talk once again about our overall experience and the advice that we could offer to folk in your position. We should probably make a video on this subject - a wrap up of sorts. More than one video I think, as it’s a multifaceted subject. A key point that will be relevant to you in particular is this. Our decision to sell Snow Gum did not come from it being a Garcia Exploration 45. On the contrary, the excellent design of this boat made coping with being caught in the pandemic of the century, along with equipment failures, so much more comfortable than it would have been in a less ‘liveable’ boat. The excellence of the design made it more difficult to decide to sell Snow Gum. However, it’s still a boat. And so, while we can say we did not decide to sell because of the boat, we did decide to sell because it is a boat. There’s different ways of being a boat owner. We observed many peoples’ situations including our own and saw in stark relief what we fully expected from our careful planning and preparation. The boat owners who have the most enjoyment and best overall experience are those who keep their boat in a marina that is convenient to their land based home. They visit their boat regularly during the off season when the weather is not conducive to comfortable or safe sailing. They don’t live on their boat through winter, when the cold and condensation is a problem. They do a bit of maintenance with each visit; unhurried, mostly good fun and quite a social experience in amongst the other boat owners. They chat with visiting cruiser/live-aboards and head off to home at the end of the day, quite glad they’re not living full-time on a tiny floating home. When the rotten weather of winter is fading away they gear up for a journey of limited duration, defined destination and a manageable level of adventure. The difficulties they experience with being on-board are temporary and are part of the fun. Another group of sailors we saw a lot of were those who were full time (or almost full-time) live-aboards. If they had a home on land, it was not close by. Almost all of these were struggling with significant problems with their boats and for the most part it was something to do with the engine/propulsion system. Many were waiting for professional help, or for parts or needed to send major components away for repair. Almost all were not comfortable with leaving harbour; they were not confident that their boats were fully prepared or would be reliable. We saw many who had to leave despite these problems, due to visa time limits or VAT time limits or for sailing schedule reasons, even though deliveries hadn’t arrived or their sails were not repaired, etc. Their boats were not fighting fit and their unease was palpable. Let me finish this thought without rattling on too much. The Garcia Exploration 45 is a great design. There are few other yachts that are as well suited for a grand adventure. It is built by humans and in accord with industry norms. It is fitted out by humans, with equipment and systems that are manufactured in line with industry norms. It is not mass produced or built by robots such as you’ll find in a German car factory. And so, if you are reassessing the suitability of a Garcia Exploration 45 as being the foundation piece of a plan to sail the world in your retirement, it would be wise to reassess the suitability of any boat for that. By their nature boats do not cooperate with our plans. The assessment I think you should make is how ready, comfortable and competent you are to cope with that. It’s much easier to cope with boats when it’s part-time fun. 🙂 Regards from Rick and Carolyn.
Interesting that the hose barb fitting on the carbon stator has been removed and sealed…. Why you went that way? Have to be really careful to purge the system when the boat goes back to the water or when a diver cleans the hull… BTW, the stator is resin impregnated carbon/graphite, no carbon fibers there…
It’s an interesting point that you make. Yes, it’s important to ensure that any air is purged from the seal between the carbon flange and the stainless steel rotor. I purge this before we start the motor, most times. Always after drying out or beaching. Your comment about drivers is a good one. Their air bubbles could go up the cutlass bearing and fill behind the seal with an air pocket. An issue with using the breather barb and a hose is that a failure in that plastic hose could sink the boat. Hmmm. What would be safer than a plastic hose? Metal pipe?
@@SailingSnowGum I’ll rather not use anything…. Metal pipe breach because of vibration…. Even if it is minimal…. BTW, that plexiglass cover for rotor spray seems to be working quite good. Never seen that before installed on a boat.. manufacturer does know what they are doing!
The plexiglass cover is handy, in that it collects the fine spray and allows me to confirm that the seal is lubricant itself with a tiny amount of seawater. It also stops the spray from going up and splattering things I’d rather stayed dry, such as fuel filters and electronics!
Hi Sandee. Yes, we lived on board throughout the repair process. This involved two sessions on land for a few weeks each time, which was a different kind of interesting. The second time we were right outside the marina office and yacht club, and a popular promenade, so now we know what it’s like to be exhibits in a zoo. Lots for us to see as well though. A passing parade of pretty French girls, for one thing. And a passing parade of boats in the boat lift. Never a dull moment. 🙂
I've never heard so much BS, a Volvo is the last engine you would take anywhere on the planet. Windora's stern tube bearing has never been replaced in nearly 50 years and hundreds of thousands of miles about the planet and still no signs of any wear. It's about getting it right in the first place. ⛵️🌏🌊🌏⛵️🙂. Cheers Phil
Hi Phil. So you’re not a fan then? You need to provide a bit more information when you make a sweeping statement like that. Reasons for having such strong views. Good technical reasons, investigating design faults and the like. I actually think they’re a good design for an exploration boat, being reasonably modern but still fairly simple. I’m in two minds about the turbo though. An engine needs to be simple to fix and the Volvo Penta D2-75 is. What engine do you have in Windora? What’s the biggest failure you’ve had? Regards, Rick.
@@SailingSnowGum HI Rick I got your attention, I'm very impressed with your reply and the thought that went into it. I wish we were anchored next to each other in Patagonia or Greenland be nice to be on board your yacht having a RUM together. What's a little hard for you is Lynda and I have owned Windora now for over 30 years, she was designed by Athol Burns a Naval Architec who in his lifetime designed over 700 vessel's. For some unknown reasons Windora is very unique. Engineered in wood, at 43 feet, non turbocharged 6B Cummings, 5 water tight bulkheads, easily sails 200 mile days, very very sea kindly, no Lee cloths, never worn a life jacket or harness on deck. It would be easier for me if you would put yachtwindora into TH-cam,Google and Instagram. My background, l trained as a marine engineer followed by a degree in mechanical engineering. Don't get me wrong I like your yacht and have two friends with them. Please tell me more about yourselves and backgrounds. You're always welcome at Wairangi. Cheers Phil
@@SailingSnowGum Hi Rick, got your attention, non turbocharged 6B Cummings. Thanks for you well thoughtful reply. Be nice to be anchored nearby and have a RUM together. Lynda and I have had 30+ years of sailing Windora about the planet, it had an impact. ⛵️🌏🌊🌏⛵️ Kind Regards Phil
@@philandlyndachristieson8808 I’ll totally agree on not having a turbo. A ticking time-bomb, those things, in a low speed diesel. I’ve watched your videos. Strong boat - Windora. But these days I question the wisdom of going to places where, if things go wrong, chances are there won’t be enough help. What’s the point, when there’s lots of interesting but still remote places to visit, where mutual assistance is possible? You did well in Sth Georgia. You were well prepared and had some good fortune. It can so easily tip over the edge into being catastrophic. A single injury could change everything. So I feel the wise approach is to eliminate the high risks up front and sail in company with others or within reach of others. Thoughts? It’s more fun too. 🙂
@@SailingSnowGum Morning Rick, as you've worked out I'm measuring your vessel against Windora, which isn't fear to you. What took place in South Georgia, in Lynda's words was only a minor incident because as she told people in on this occasion we were never going to die, not like the other 5 situations we had been in. Very sadly Lynda passed away 4 months ago, after being together since were 9 and 10. Most of the people who choose to sail in these latitudes are good friends, after thousands of miles we have all had to face death it comes with the territory. For Lynda sandy beaches and parm trees just didn't do it for her. Cheers Phil
OUT-F**KING-STANDING!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
CONGRATULATIONS!🧨✨🎆🎊🎉🎉
I'm damn near amazed Volvo provided such quality and generous (in regards to what was replaced parts-wise) service. My view of Volvo has been improved. When I win the lottery, and if Snow Gum hasn't been sold, you have a buyer in me and I pay cash!
Good Fortune to you and yours!😃👍🏻
HOORAY. Great to see you have had a good resolution. I'm sure all of your subscribers (including me) are smiling nearly as much as you are while watching this clip.
Brilliant, so happy for you both.
Thanks Dave. That’s lovely to hear. Regards from Rick and Carolyn.
Rick, Great news to a old situation that's fixed. That was the fix , alignment of the engine and the gear box. So happy , that Volvo Penta came thur with Garica. It Instilled my confidence back in both companies.
Hurrah! What a perfect ending to the engine repair story. Kate and I are delighted to see Snow Gum afloat and uneventfully under power.
Hi Sean. Hi Kate. I don't know why your comment here wasn't flagged for my attention. Maybe YouToob knows you two and us two too well. The thumbnail for this video is big on screen above where I'm typing and it's a very nice boat. Sharp, purposeful, proud and strong. You should get one! Having the name on the bow in big letters is something we were very happy with. It's also required by the Australian shipping registry office, so no choice really, but it works. We had people saying hello quite often, which was fun. Regards from Rick and Carolyn.
Thank you for posting more videos! I have sent an email inquiry regarding the possible purchase yet I believe she has already been scooped up a very lucky person.
I am happy for you that problem seems resolved. Enjoy spring!
Thanks Paulo. The weather is slowly warming and fining up. Fewer freezing nights, gentler winds, shorter skirts. But we’ll be out of France soon. Our time is well and truly up.
What a coincidence… I am on my way to KMY in Makkum for their Open days and whilst chatting about marine engines Snow gum popped into my thoughts
Great to see that Volvo have made good on the replacement and repairs.
I have enjoyed following along with you time aboard Snow gum… all the best for whatever adventures that you are headed for 🍻
Hi Mike. It will be interesting for you to see what the effect of metal prices has on KMY’s build costs. Here in France I’m seeing across the board increases in aluminium boat costs. KMY make great boats and were in our top two.
Glad to see it all worked out! She's a beautiful boat!
Onya mate! Very happy that she's back in the water going "full steam" ahead! I would be very happy and confident with their repairs. Fortunately, these hiccups don't happen often, but good to see they finally came through! Just sorry it happened to such a lovely couple as yourselves.
Fair winds amigo!
Thanks Andrew. The job was done thoroughly and I’m confident Snow Gum is set for a good run now. It’s a nice little engine actually, this Volvo. It’s fun and easy to work on. It would be good fun to do a rebuild of this engine. This could be a niche skill in a couple of decades. All the best to you and with your sailing plans.
Glad it all worked out well in the end.
Thanks Mike. It did work out well. Regards Rick
Was Yanmar an option for your Garcia?
Hello millicent. No, Yanmar was not an option. I've mentioned a few times that I believe that the Volvo Penta D2-75 is a good choice for this boat. It is a simple, economical engine. It's easy for an owner to service and repair, which is important for an engine in an exploration yacht. The problems we had with the coupling bolts failing were caused by an alignment problem between the gearbox and the propeller shaft. The second wave of Covid was rampant in Europe at the point where our engine was installed, before vaccinations, which would have been a distraction to the workers, no doubt. Volvo has switched to using high-tensile bolts for the coupling to flywheel connection, which will help. It took some doing to diagnose the full extent of the coupling and flywheel problems, but once all parts were replaced and the engine was properly aligned, it performed well. I'll say again - I like this engine. It's a good choice for a boat that will be far from major harbours. Yanmar engines have their own problems (ask owners) and are not as simple or as easy to repair as the Volvo Penta D2 engines.
Thanks for asking. 🙂Regards, Rick.
Was wondering if it is still for sale or has it been sold?
Hi Nick. Snow Gum was sold very soon after we published our For Sale video. These boats are in high demand and sell quickly. :-) Regards, Rick.
I'm pleased its aIl sorted, but I've got mixed feelings about the issues with the boat. Particularly after watching your delivery video - where you planned to sail around the world for the next 10 years. It all seems rather a disappointment. I was seriously considering a G45 for my own retirement adventure. I will now reassess. Best of luck to you both.
Hi Monkey Boy. Thanks for your well considered thoughts here. They’ve prompted Carolyn and me to talk once again about our overall experience and the advice that we could offer to folk in your position. We should probably make a video on this subject - a wrap up of sorts. More than one video I think, as it’s a multifaceted subject.
A key point that will be relevant to you in particular is this. Our decision to sell Snow Gum did not come from it being a Garcia Exploration 45. On the contrary, the excellent design of this boat made coping with being caught in the pandemic of the century, along with equipment failures, so much more comfortable than it would have been in a less ‘liveable’ boat. The excellence of the design made it more difficult to decide to sell Snow Gum. However, it’s still a boat. And so, while we can say we did not decide to sell because of the boat, we did decide to sell because it is a boat.
There’s different ways of being a boat owner. We observed many peoples’ situations including our own and saw in stark relief what we fully expected from our careful planning and preparation. The boat owners who have the most enjoyment and best overall experience are those who keep their boat in a marina that is convenient to their land based home. They visit their boat regularly during the off season when the weather is not conducive to comfortable or safe sailing. They don’t live on their boat through winter, when the cold and condensation is a problem. They do a bit of maintenance with each visit; unhurried, mostly good fun and quite a social experience in amongst the other boat owners. They chat with visiting cruiser/live-aboards and head off to home at the end of the day, quite glad they’re not living full-time on a tiny floating home. When the rotten weather of winter is fading away they gear up for a journey of limited duration, defined destination and a manageable level of adventure. The difficulties they experience with being on-board are temporary and are part of the fun.
Another group of sailors we saw a lot of were those who were full time (or almost full-time) live-aboards. If they had a home on land, it was not close by. Almost all of these were struggling with significant problems with their boats and for the most part it was something to do with the engine/propulsion system. Many were waiting for professional help, or for parts or needed to send major components away for repair. Almost all were not comfortable with leaving harbour; they were not confident that their boats were fully prepared or would be reliable. We saw many who had to leave despite these problems, due to visa time limits or VAT time limits or for sailing schedule reasons, even though deliveries hadn’t arrived or their sails were not repaired, etc. Their boats were not fighting fit and their unease was palpable.
Let me finish this thought without rattling on too much. The Garcia Exploration 45 is a great design. There are few other yachts that are as well suited for a grand adventure. It is built by humans and in accord with industry norms. It is fitted out by humans, with equipment and systems that are manufactured in line with industry norms. It is not mass produced or built by robots such as you’ll find in a German car factory. And so, if you are reassessing the suitability of a Garcia Exploration 45 as being the foundation piece of a plan to sail the world in your retirement, it would be wise to reassess the suitability of any boat for that.
By their nature boats do not cooperate with our plans. The assessment I think you should make is how ready, comfortable and competent you are to cope with that. It’s much easier to cope with boats when it’s part-time fun. 🙂 Regards from Rick and Carolyn.
Interesting that the hose barb fitting on the carbon stator has been removed and sealed…. Why you went that way? Have to be really careful to purge the system when the boat goes back to the water or when a diver cleans the hull… BTW, the stator is resin impregnated carbon/graphite, no carbon fibers there…
It’s an interesting point that you make. Yes, it’s important to ensure that any air is purged from the seal between the carbon flange and the stainless steel rotor. I purge this before we start the motor, most times. Always after drying out or beaching. Your comment about drivers is a good one. Their air bubbles could go up the cutlass bearing and fill behind the seal with an air pocket. An issue with using the breather barb and a hose is that a failure in that plastic hose could sink the boat. Hmmm. What would be safer than a plastic hose? Metal pipe?
@@SailingSnowGum I’ll rather not use anything…. Metal pipe breach because of vibration…. Even if it is minimal…. BTW, that plexiglass cover for rotor spray seems to be working quite good. Never seen that before installed on a boat.. manufacturer does know what they are doing!
The plexiglass cover is handy, in that it collects the fine spray and allows me to confirm that the seal is lubricant itself with a tiny amount of seawater. It also stops the spray from going up and splattering things I’d rather stayed dry, such as fuel filters and electronics!
Hey! Are you guys able to live on the boat while the repairs are underway?
Hi Sandee. Yes, we lived on board throughout the repair process. This involved two sessions on land for a few weeks each time, which was a different kind of interesting. The second time we were right outside the marina office and yacht club, and a popular promenade, so now we know what it’s like to be exhibits in a zoo. Lots for us to see as well though. A passing parade of pretty French girls, for one thing. And a passing parade of boats in the boat lift. Never a dull moment. 🙂
Lemon 🍋
With fish and chips?! Yes please!
@@SailingSnowGum and a can or two of Sapporo beer
I've never heard so much BS, a Volvo is the last engine you would take anywhere on the planet.
Windora's stern tube bearing has never been replaced in nearly 50 years and hundreds of thousands of miles about the planet and still no signs of any wear.
It's about getting it right in the first place. ⛵️🌏🌊🌏⛵️🙂. Cheers Phil
Hi Phil. So you’re not a fan then? You need to provide a bit more information when you make a sweeping statement like that. Reasons for having such strong views. Good technical reasons, investigating design faults and the like. I actually think they’re a good design for an exploration boat, being reasonably modern but still fairly simple. I’m in two minds about the turbo though. An engine needs to be simple to fix and the Volvo Penta D2-75 is. What engine do you have in Windora? What’s the biggest failure you’ve had? Regards, Rick.
@@SailingSnowGum HI Rick I got your attention, I'm very impressed with your reply and the thought that went into it.
I wish we were anchored next to each other in Patagonia or Greenland be nice to be on board your yacht having a RUM together.
What's a little hard for you is Lynda and I have owned Windora now for over 30 years, she was designed by Athol Burns a Naval Architec who in his lifetime designed over 700 vessel's. For some unknown reasons Windora is very unique.
Engineered in wood, at 43 feet, non turbocharged 6B Cummings, 5 water tight bulkheads, easily sails 200 mile days, very very sea kindly, no Lee cloths, never worn a life jacket or harness on deck.
It would be easier for me if you would put yachtwindora into TH-cam,Google and Instagram.
My background, l trained as a marine engineer followed by a degree in mechanical engineering.
Don't get me wrong I like your yacht and have two friends with them.
Please tell me more about yourselves and backgrounds. You're always welcome at Wairangi. Cheers Phil
@@SailingSnowGum Hi Rick, got your attention, non turbocharged 6B Cummings.
Thanks for you well thoughtful reply. Be nice to be anchored nearby and have a RUM together.
Lynda and I have had 30+ years of sailing Windora about the planet, it had an impact. ⛵️🌏🌊🌏⛵️ Kind Regards Phil
@@philandlyndachristieson8808 I’ll totally agree on not having a turbo. A ticking time-bomb, those things, in a low speed diesel.
I’ve watched your videos. Strong boat - Windora. But these days I question the wisdom of going to places where, if things go wrong, chances are there won’t be enough help. What’s the point, when there’s lots of interesting but still remote places to visit, where mutual assistance is possible? You did well in Sth Georgia. You were well prepared and had some good fortune. It can so easily tip over the edge into being catastrophic. A single injury could change everything. So I feel the wise approach is to eliminate the high risks up front and sail in company with others or within reach of others. Thoughts? It’s more fun too. 🙂
@@SailingSnowGum Morning Rick, as you've worked out I'm measuring your vessel against Windora, which isn't fear to you.
What took place in South Georgia, in Lynda's words was only a minor incident because as she told people in on this occasion we were never going to die, not like the other 5 situations we had been in.
Very sadly Lynda passed away 4 months ago, after being together since were 9 and 10.
Most of the people who choose to sail in these latitudes are good friends, after thousands of miles we have all had to face death it comes with the territory. For Lynda sandy beaches and parm trees just didn't do it for her. Cheers Phil