Change in Plans

Plans for the day were to pull the hook very early and head for Nadi from Suva – roughly 11 hours and a reef entry at Nandi so we wanted to reach there while it was still light. At first light, we started the John Deere and got a warning on the LCD display that we had a Can Bus failure. The only suggestion in the Deere manual was to contact a servicing dealer. We weren’t sure if the Can Bus was just part of the instrumentation system or actually also functioned as part of engine control. We immediately shut down the engine and put a call in to Todd Rickard (Sunday our time, Saturday his time). Todd was busy with Sarah Sarah (FPB64 – 2) at Trawlerfest, so it certainly wasn’t the best time for him to have to deal with our issue.

None the less, Todd dropped everything and ran down the way to talk to Wayne Gregg of Gregg Diesel. In short order, Todd had some trouble shooting suggestions for us and stated that Wayne was waiting for our call if we needed more help. Bottom line – we should try a hard reboot of the engine control system by shutting off the main battery disconnect. Wayne said that 90% of the time this fixes things. We tried that and no joy, so we called Wayne and after a bit of discussion, suggested that the issue was with the Murphy gauge controller on the Deere Main Engine panel. He suggested we try disconnecting and reconnecting the unit to see if that solved the problem. He also said that it was completely safe for us to proceed on our way – particularly since we had a completely separate engine warning system in addition to the analog Murphy gauges in the engine room. We tired the disconnect and reconnect and still no joy, so we called Todd back and he said he would get a replacement expressed to us in Nadi, Fiji (parts are real tough to come by out here).

Lessons learned:

1) When all else fails, reboot the ailing system and disconnect and reconnect the plugs – even if the ailing component is a toaster. Everything today is electronic.

2) Buy an FPB 64 – the back up systems that are standard left us in a position where we could proceed with a failed engine monitoring system because we had a stand alone back up system that covered us – how many other builder/designers go to those lengths?

3) Buy an FPB 64 – when you are cruising this part of the world you really are on your own. It’s awfully comforting to know that you can call the FPB team and get real answers, tech support and the odd part expressed to you that isn’t already part of onboard spares. Not in days or weeks, but often in less then an hour. How many other builder/designers would go to those kind of lengths for you?

Oh yes, the errant component came back to life on the way out of the harbor. Just another one of life’s great mysteries.

Now I know why they are called Murphy gauges – must have been made by the one and the same who wrote Murphy’s Law.

One note – the FPB team STRONGLY encourages all owner’s to tour New Zealand until they have 250 hours on the engine – that way help is close at hand when the inevitable issues arise (and they will even on a boat as well done as the FPB). Good advice and touring NZ is hardly tough duty. We are now at 370 hours.

Well, we lost the ability to go to Nadi today. Just out the front window is Beqa of Hindu fire walking fame. Great lagoon, nice resort, walks to waterfalls and traditional island feasts – we may just have to stay on a few days and get to Nadi later in the week. Oh well.