Using Our MCA Survey Enhance the Reliability of An Explorer Yacht?

Vanguard has been specified to UK MCA Category (0), meaning she can extend voyages up to 80 degrees north in summer months and an unrestricted distance offshore. The Yard focussed on compliance for the major items but left all the small stuff unattended. Not much passes an MCA surveyor, and our first survey listed some 60 exceptions; by the time of the second one, this had reduced to 30. It can be more than a bland tick-box exercise, let's look at some examples of how it improved our vessel.

Enclosed is the first page of the MCA survey exception report. Items in RED have been addressed and are awaiting approval. Items in black have yet to be addressed, or we have decided not to complete them as Vanguard will not enter commercial service, so the requirement is beyond our immediate needs. Let's discuss item 29 - electrical housekeeping.

Example 1

Cabinet X3 is our 24VDC distribution cabinet. Its heart is a 1000amp DC Bus bar from MG Systems. We first noticed that the cover had been secured with self-tapping screws (someone had lost the originals), and the heads had been stripped, preventing removal. That's not great. So, we cut around the heads and removed the cover, resulting in a blackout when the breaker trip switch was inadvertently contacted. Bringing systems back online showed that:

• We had a single point of failure: no spare was available. (It is now, and we have refurbished the existing one.)

• The isolator would not engage if loads remained connected to the output bars. DC Power was directed to our inverters via fused connections, so we installed an additional isolator to allow for disconnection.

• The control circuit needed a 10amp slow-burn fuse, but we had none on board; we do now.

• Wiring uses ferrules to strengthen the conductor when clamped in a terminal. These had been poorly constructed, including exposed conductors and trapped insulation. Now, all are checked and replaced as needed.

Then we vacuumed out this and the remaining cabinets, removing all the conductive debris!

Example 2

My skill set here fails me beyond deciding it won't do, so we brought a team from Hartnell Marine Electrical in the UK. Two by one-week visits to Vanguard, and the wiring is now in fine form, and we have an English-speaking support backup in the event of future issues. Other cabinets did not display the same problems so we won't be playing the blame game here. I'll put this down to training or supervision rather than something more significant. It still requires fixing and should have been identified earlier by the Yard, though no one can fix the past.

• Cables extended with poorly made multiple crimp connectors.

• A rat's nest of intertwined cable runs, making tracing signal lines, at best, difficult.

• 12 VDC supply cables linked up with temporary Wago clips in Daisey chains.

• 0 VDC negative wires treated similarly

• Some I/O wired incorrectly, explaining at least two of our tank sensor issues. There was also contention between software and hardware settings, each providing an independent 0 VDC feed.

• Random use of cable numbers and no specific labeling

• Insufficient ventilation allows internal heat buildup. (Crossing to Menorca, some electronic components reached 56 deg.C, too high! We added large vents to assist in natural convective ventilation and will monitor using a small "Ruuvi" Bluetooth-connected temp probe.)

• Again, we checked the Ferrules (see photo's below) and vacuumed the cabinets internally.

  
  

Maybe it's OCD, but work remains on this cabinet. Specifically we will terminate incoming signal cables at a Wago connection strip and then use jumpers to the I/O panels. The relays and line fuses will be moved to the same location, and some remaining I/O will be installed. It's a lot better, but not there yet!

Example 3

Armed with the knowledge of what we had found in the cabinets, we opened the pantograph door at the main helm, as this had been unreliable from the get-go and contained a lot of wiring and water damage. The hidden rat's nest was irredeemable this time. The easiest solution was to scrap it all except for the actuators. Hartnell fitted their design (used by Sunseeker, center and right photo). Then, we added panel gaskets to prevent water ingress when it rains on an open door, it happens.  

Finally -

It's not all work; the proportion of "Play" is now increasing. The family joined us in Palma and decided to run out to Magaluf, a short hop across the bay and a chance for a few new hands at the helm. We opened her up on the return trip, 10.5/11.0 kN, outrunning an incoming squall. No one wants to get soaked just before dinner!

Chris Leigh-Jones