What I found most interesting of the last days discussion was Phil's comments
on spares. and failures.  I guess one of my criticisms of the "Nordhavn"
philosophy is the dependance on specific parts and the company as a back up.
I understand the situations which Phil and others have encountered--and I
first saw it crop up on the Nordhavn 40 ARW expedition, where an oil line
split and almost side tracked the trip.
Please don't miss-understand, I think that the Nordhavn's are great passage
makers, and If I was making power passages today I probably would own one.

I installed all of the major systems in the boats I voyaged in.  That way I
had a very basic understanding of how they worked, and what would fail. This
also allowed me to look at the weak spots. I also carried a lot of raw
material with me.  Hundreds of fittings, adaptors, bushings etc.  I also
carried rolls of copper tubing, injector lines, injectors, spare pumps and
back up parts (seals, plates, bearings, and impellers) for those pumps, plus
electric pumps which would back up the engine driven pumps until those could
be repaired.  I also had a drill press, a good stock of power tools and hand
tools, plus hunks of aluminum, steel, threaded rod, etc, which I could
fabricate pieces out of (for example alternator brackets which broke).  I also
designed and built my own refrigration systems, and carried the freon and
parts to rebuild the system if there were problems--basically this equates
with acquiring knowledge about systems which you know little about.

I also found that in most counties there was a machine shop or at least some
mechanic near buy who was in the business of keeping old machinery running,
and if I could not fix it, they could.  I remember a greek "machinest" in a
small villeage building a part for me with hand tools--I had power tools on
the boat which would have done it faster, but he cut the metal with a hack saw
and filed it extactly to fit.  Same with electrical problems--motors and
generators, were re-wound, bearings found, regulators repaired etc--all by
locals.  Part of this is keep it simple, and make sure it works, or be able
to do without it.

Another thing is using your inguinity to solve a problem.  For example,the
automatic diverter valve on one of the water makers failed.  So I just put in
a 3 way valve I had aboard (it was for fuel lines, but I adapted it to the
water system)--ran the product water into a cup until there was no taste of
salt, and then manually turned the valve.  The next time people flew in to
visit us, they brought a new automatic valve (the old was a defective
manufacture).

I think that the spares, and how to solve break down problems is one of the
most underestimated aspects of long distance cruising. The more complex the
system, the more likely it is to fail, and the less likely you are to be able
to repair it.

Bob Austin

It was my impression that all the talk of unique parts applied to Lugger
engines and Northern Lights generators made by the same company - Alaska
Diesel and not Nordhavn. At the time, it was believed that they did a better
job of marinization than did John Deere. I would think that a major
consideration of world cruisers would be parts availability. That would
suggest John Deere. I know that one Nordhavn buyer specified Cummins based
upon the same premise. Detroit Diesel might also be a brand with worldwide
availability. When Nordhavn used to list their complete specs online, I
missed any unusual components.

Having said that, there are few people who have Bob Austin's knowledge,
experience, training or who knew John Wayne; so everything he says is worth
remembering.

Ron Rogers