Submerged Yanmars fire back to life in remote north pacific  

10 August 2010

Two years ago the Barrie family were much like any other family on a camping holiday, dreaming of cruising the world, hopping from island to island. They became hooked on the concept, and when they discovered their dream boat “Windrider”, they put it through a thorough refurbishment, and then set sail with mum, dad and two kids on board.

Along the way to preparing their boat for the voyage, Andrew and Jenny Barrie removed their trusty Yanmar 2GM20 engines that had served them and the previous owner well.  The idea was to repower with the latest Yanmar 3YM30 Saildrives.

The Barries did their research, and while they wanted more power, they also wanted to install a brand that would not only deliver reliability, but also be supported the world over.  Who knows where they would be when a part or assistance might be needed.

To say that the best laid plans ….  Mogmog Island proved to be the place where it all went wrong for the Barrie family with their two daughters on board.

Mogmog Island is roughly midway between Palau and Guam in the North Pacific Ocean.  The idyllic trip was shattered when a typhoon passed through the area.  Even though the Barrie’s boat Windrider was sheltering from the storm, the ferocity of the weather saw two anchors lost as the winds gusted to 90 knots.

As the boat was ripped from the safe anchorage, it was pushed towards Mogmog Island where Windrider was smashed alongside a disused World War 2 jetty, the rusted steel posts opening up the side of the hull like a sardine can.

The hull eventually came to rest on the coral beach near the jetty.  With the hull ripped open, water had flooded through the boat with the new Yanmar engines totally submerged.  Due to the weather, salvage was not possible for two days, meaning that the Yanmar’s ended up spending two days under water.

With nothing more than man power available on Mogmog Island, Andrew Barrie realized that if the voyage was to continue, the boat and engines had to be repaired through his own resources.  This island is a spec in the vast ocean, no currency, no police and no running water.

With the help of the locals, Andrew lifted both engines out of the hull and on the coral beach even the local diesel whiz turned up to lend a hand.

Upon a closer assessment it was revealed that the Saildrive legs and props had escaped the battering unscathed.   Then the Yanmar engines were examined. An amazed Andrew explains “The port engine had no water in the block at all, despite being fully submerged for two days”.

“We received an email from the Barrie family and then a call via satellite phone. They explained the situation and we soon got an inventory of parts that they required,” said Jeff Fraser of Power Equipment, the Australian distributor of Yanmar diesel engines.  “The parts were quickly organised and shipped off to Mogmog via Yap, which is by no means an easy feat.”

“The Barrie’s plight while rare is not unheard of.   Power Equipment Pty Ltd together with the extensive support network that Yanmar is renowned for have excellent systems in place to support Yanmar customers the world over, so we were able to assist professionally and promptly.” Jeff Fraser explained.

The starboard engine which had a little water inside was the first to be stripped down and repaired.  This included starters, alternators and so on.  There was obviously a little corrosion, but once cleaned up it looked and worked as good as new.

After changing the oil and with a full day spent cleaning and rebuilding, the acid test came when it was time to hit the start button.  Surrounded by locals, the Yanmar immediately fired and ran.

“We couldn’t believe it,” Andrew Barrie said.  “We ran it for two hours on the hardstand and she just purred away.”

The port engine was quicker to get back running, just a half a day for this one.  Again the villagers congregated around the engine when it was time to start.  She coughed and spluttered a bit, but on the second try the Yanmar 3YM30 burst into life and also ran for two hours without missing a beat.

It was about this time that Jenny Barrie said to her husband “this was where we found out that Yanmar was the right choice.”

With the Yanmar engines repaired and running, the Barrie family were left to concentrate their repair effort of the hull of Windrider, a task expected to take several months.

Pictured: Pictured: The Barrie family on board their dream boat ‘Windrider’

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