Replacing the Prop Shaft Seal

Replacing the Shaft Seal on our Prop shaft

While searching a the water leak ( turned out it was from the hot water tank ) I noticed that the PSS Shaft Seal was showing it's age. The boat was out of the water, we're delayed from splashing for a few days to the weather so I bit the bullet and ordered a replacement shaft seal.

 This is what the new one looks like ( currently shipping NDA from Defender ) $302 = $352.05 inc. Shipping & Tax.

The currently installed Packless Shaft Seal - PSS does not have the barbed water fitting which ensures that the inside of the fitting is water lubricated.

I looked up the size in the Catalina 34 Owners Manual. The shaft is 1" and the shaft log in 1 5/8" OD 

The PSS part number is 02-100-112

The total cost from Defender was about the same as just the pre-tax cost from WM. 

The Old Packless Shaft Seal 

That photo shows the Prop Shaft, the Packless Shaft Seal ( PSS ) and the flange that connects the Prop Shaft to the Gearbox. 

Note the black line on the below the PSS, it extends 360º around the inside of the hull and under the deck of the aft cabin. That's splatter from the old PSS! Basically the PSS is failing ( it's at least 8 years old). The sealing surface between the flat surfaces of the rotating stainless-steel rotor and the stationary carbon flange eventually wear and then the seal fails, it's not a sudden catastrophic failure, it just wears out.  PYI ( Manufacturers of the PSS ) state a 6 year maintenance schedule. Ours is at least 8 years old!

Step 1. Remove the hose clamps.

There are Four clamps, two hold the aft end of the bellows to the shaft log and two hold the bellows to the carbon 'Stator'  

The old clamps were of the perforated type, so they went straight into the garbage.

Next I removed the two set screws from the Shaft coupling, I figured that it would be easier to remove them before separating the flange from the gear box drive flange.  It was, but it was not easy! The set screws had Square ends rather than hexagonals, so the only tool I had that would grab them enough to allow unscrewing them was a 14" Pipe Wrench.  There's not that much room down there and access is for really small people! It took nearly and hour just to remove those two set screws.

Once they were out, the connection to the gear box was easy.

Getting the coupling off of the prop shaft was not pretty! There was not enough room for me to use my three leg puller between the end of the shaft and the gear box, so I had to resort to applying a Sudden High Impact Tool - Hammer! striking the aft end of the coupling. That took another half hour. It finally came off and I was able to remove the shaft Key.

I cut the bellows, removed the 4 set screws from the Stainless Steel Rotor of the PSS and was able to pull the rotor off of the front end of the shaft.

Time for a clean up. Basically I used Soap liquid to wash down the whole area and lots of shop paper towels. 

Preparing the shaft for the new PSS involved sanding it with wet-n-dry paper. I stared with 80 Grit to take off the edges of the key slot and the concave dimples where the two set screws grab the shaft and to ease off the dings caused by my heavy hammering getting the coupling off.  Then it was more sanding using 220, 600, 1500 and finally 2000 grit W&D paper.  

I tested the fit of the SS rotor by using the old one, a light film of dish liquid on the shaft and the O-rings of the old rotor and it slid nice and easy over the shaft, not catching anything.

Next I cleaned the outer surface of the shaft log, just a couple of minutes with 220 grit paper and a washdown with soapy water. 

Now everything was clean and smooth. I scrubbed my hands to ensure I didn't get any contaminates onto the shaft or the new PSS. 

Easing the two aft hose clamps on the new PSS Bellows, I slid the bellows onto the shaft log. PYI advise not to push the bellows to far onto the shaft log however, the build the shaft log does not allow for the bellows to go that far, so no issues there. 

I rotated the PSS bellows so that the hose barb on the forward edge of the bellows pointed upwards. Then I tightened the clamps around the bellows at the shaft log end.

Wiping down the face of the carbon Stator and the Stainless Rotor, and then applied soap liquid to the shaft and the inside of the new Rotor. The new rotor fit nicely over the smooth prop shaft and was slid down to the Stator end of the PSS.

I cleaned up the Shaft to Gearbox coupling and slid that over the end of the Prop shaft ensuring the key was correctly positioned.  

The old bolts from the coupling were showing signs of thread damage, I purchased four new nuts and bolts and spring washers. I used the new bolts to attach the coupling to the gearbox tightening them just enough to make a snug fit, I'll check the alignment when the installation is complete.

With the coupling installed, I gently tapped the end of the prop shaft from the outside to get it fully inserted into the coupling, mindful of the fact that it applies pressure to the gearbox.  With the shaft now correctly positioned, I installed the new set bolts. ( I had also purchased new bolts to replace the square ended screws) to secure the coupling to the shaft.

Now that the shaft was in it's correct position, I moved the Stainless Rotor aft to touch the Carbon Stator and measured from the front edge of the Stainless Rotor to the aft edge of the bellows = 7 1/16".

With the set screws inserted into the Stainless Rotor but not touching the shaft, I compress the bellows by pushing back on the rotor until the distance changed from 7 1/16" to 6 5/16" = a compression of 3/4" as prescribed. 

All done except for the ventilation hose. I stopped by ACE hardware and picked up about 12' of 3/8" ID reinforced hose. I have clamps on the boat. 

Hose installed at the PSS and ran back below the Aft water tank then up to the Stbd side under the combing. No loops in the hose in order to prevent syphon back down the hose.

The hose is zip tied to the existing hoses that run from the aft locker and tank area to the under sink area.  Getting into the aft locker is getting more difficult, I'll have to practice some more boat yoga.

I also checked the Alignment, less than 4 thou" pretty darned good.

The boat is ready to splash on Tuesday 19th of December.  

See you 'on top' of the water.

Paul

Replacing the Depth Transducer Thru Hull

 Replacing the Thru Hull for the Depth Transducer.

In February 2021, I replaced the old Airmar Depth, Speed, Temperature Transducer with the new NEMA 2000 DST 810, however I did not replace the Thru Hull as the boat was in the water.

Each time we return to the dock, I remove the DST 810 and replace it with a dummy plug. That dramatically reduces the amount of growth on the transducer - it actually stopped the 'S' part of the transducer working until I cleaned it off.

The reason for replacing the Thru Hull is simple! Water Water Everywhere and not what you want inside the boat. Pulling the Transducer out of it's Thru Hull would result in a massive ingress of water spewing up into the boat. I'm pretty good at getting the plug in as soon as the Transducer is removed, but it's still about a gallon of water and if I miss the spot, then it's a lot more.  The Thru Hull fitting that came with the new Transducer has a sprung valve inside that significantly diminishes the water ingress.

Step one - get the old Thru Hull out. The boat was on the hard for a bottom job so no water coming in :)

Getting the transducer out was not too difficult, I used my Vibro tool with the cutting attachment to cut into the plastic of the Thru Hull. 

The retaining ring nut didn't want to unscrew, did I see some 5200 in there?

I used a wrench to break off bits of the Thru Hull, had to be careful not to damage that hose, it's a bilge pump hose.

Making progress. I can see daylight.

Probably spent about 10 minutes getting this far.

Finally got it out.

peeled off the old sealant and sanded it down ( after this pic ) then cleaned the inside area.

I sanded the outside too and formed a countersink on the underside of the hole to ensure the new sealant formed a water tight seal.

Peggy was with me, so after cleaning the area with Acetone and applying 4200 to the outer flange of the new Thru Hull and on the area around the Thru Hull on the inside of the hull, Peggy held the fitting up from the outside and I slipped the rubber ring around the threaded portion of the Thru Hull protruding inside the hull. Then on went the retaining ring nut. As planned, 4200 squeezed out of the edges of the ring and, outside, the flange of the Thru Hull. That's not going to leak!

Before tightening it all down, we made sure the Arrow on the outside of the Thru Hull was still pointing forwards - not sure why - but it was perfect. Good Job Peggy.

New Thru Hull installed.

Yes, I know, it's crowded down there. 

The blanking plug can be seen laying on it's side at the bottom of the picture.

It has a yellow O-Ring, so does the Transducer but you cannot see it when installed into the Thru Hull.

The previous Thru Hull required black O-rings, slightly different in size.

Plan is to splash the boat on Tuesday 12/19 - I'll know if it seals correctly then 😉

Of course, I'll inspect it before they remove the Boat Lift Slings.  Check out my post about replacing the Packless Shaft Seal - I'll be checking that too!

See you on the water.

Replacing the Topping Lift

Time to replace the Topping Lift

Actually getting the boat out under sail for the Palm Beach Regatta on May 6th, we found that our Topping Lift was too short! While screwing up the process of Reefing the Mainsail, the bitter end of the line slipped through the line clutch and I had to go up to the mast in order to secure the Boom by securing the line on a spare cleat on the mast ( lot's of sailor terms there  - sorry ) 

The "Topping Lift' is a line that hold up the boom when the sail is not under tension. It's important, without it the Boom can crash down onto the Top of the canvas over the cockpit cabin entrance or down to the deck on either side.

The Reefing process - method of reducing the amount of sail in anticipating heavy winds - is to Stop the Boom falling when the sail is lowered, lower the sail, haul in on the two reefing lines, put the sail back up till it's taut and then ease the Topping lift.

Our problem was the skipper ( me ) forgot and didn't take the weight of the Boom before lowering the sail, so it went 'Boom!' when it crashed down on the port side towards the deck.

Ok, so the correct method for us to Reef is:

• Take the weight of the Boom using the Topping Lift and and secure it in the Line Clutch
• Ease the Mainsail till the Reefing points are down at the boom.
• Tighten the two reefing lines 
• Haul up the Mainsail to it's new shortened height
• Ease the Topping Lift line and resecure it in it's Line Clutch.

Now, the Topping Lift line needs to be about 6' longer so that it never slips out of it's line clutch.

Original Topping Lift setup

The topping lift line runs from the cockpit line clutches, forwards to a multi line manager, over to the base of the mast and into a block where it turns up towards boom, then it runs along the outside of the boom to the aft end of the boom to another block then it turns up to a block that is secured to the wire line that goes to the top of the mast. From that block on the lower end of that wire, the topping lift line goes back down and attaches to an attachment on the end of the boom.  To lift the end of the boom we simply pull the end of the topping lift in the cockpit and that lifts the end of the boom, the line is then secured within a line clutch. To ease the boom down, we simply ease the topping lift. Got it? 

To change the line.

• Tighten up on the Lazy jacks
• Ease the Mainsheet ( so that's it's not trying to pull the boom down ) and the Vang ( ditto )
• Remove the old Topping Lift line
• Feed the new line along the path of the old one
• Feed the new line through the Line Clutch

It's that easy. I'll time it, should take about 20 mins ( Peggy says that I think everything takes about 20 mins. )

All done. Now the boom could drop all the way down to the deck and there would still be enough line in he cockpit to take control of the boom.  We're ready for the next regatta up to lake worth.

:)

See you on the water.

Broken boat bits

 Broke but didn't know my boat was in trouble.

We went down to the boat to clean up after a 100mile trip over the labor day weekend. Clean up included picking up the couple of things we left on the boat after the return to the dock on Tuesday, Scrubbing down the deck and resetting the Mainsail cradle cover. 

Resetting the cradle cover simply because the sail had flaked onto just the port side of the boom when we last lowered the sail. In order to sort that out, we had to raise the mainsail, it seemed it required a lot more effort, I thought that was due to the two reefing lines jamming on the boom. 

Nope! That's the first bit to break - the block at the base of the mast had broken! 

This was the new block I installed just a few years ago.

It was being used to turn the Main Halyard and the Main sheet at the base of the mast to the turning blocks on the cabin top and then to the cockpit under the Traveler & dodger.

This is how it looked when I realized the side of the block was broken. The broken piece was sitting on the deck beneath the Dingy.

Now this breakage is not a fault in production or design.

The problem was that when I installed it, I did not review how the lines lay when under full tension! 

With the Main halyard under tension, and the mainsheet tight, the block was turned at an angle that had the Main Halyard rubbing on the cheek of the block, and when at full tension ( Main hauled to the masthead ) the composite side of the block just couldn't take it and the line shredded itself on the broken edge.

Result: Replace the blocks and the  Main Halyard.

I was able to buy new 7/16" New Halyard at Sailorman in Fort Lauderdale and a pair of Seldon blocks from Nance & Underwood in Fort Lauderdale - they were about $55 each.

Back at the boat, I simply sewed the end of the new line to the end of the old main halyard and then pulled the line from out the top of the masthead and thus pulled the new line up inside the mast and back down to the deck. Removed the old line, heat treated the ends of the new line and threaded the new line through the new block, turning block and then through the line clutches on the cabin top under the dodger. It only took about 90 mins - that was because I played around with the direction that the lines went from the turning block to the new blocks so that there was no rubbing on the block sides even when the Halyard was under full tension.

Lastly, I used the excess 7/16" halyard line to replace the worn out Vang line and ran that back to the cockpit too. Now I  should install a new cam cleat under the dodger on the cabin top so that I can remove the cam cleat that is part of the lower vang line block - that way it will be easier to adjust the vang from the cockpit.

Ok, first broken bit fixed.

Next fix was not because something broke - My favorite HISC hat took a swim when we were heading down the ICW last weekend! Normally I would simply have pulled a U-turn and recovered the hat, but it was probably the busiest day of the year on the ICW - Labor Day! and just too much boat traffic to risk that maneuver for a hat - I was due a new one anyway. Luckily, our sailing club had a general meeting this past Thursday and I was able to buy two new hats - you know, one for spare!

The only other thing that needed fixing was getting our Propane tank filled - we'll go to the boat in the morning and pull that out for a refill at the local store.

Our trip up the ICW from Port Everglades to Lake Worth and back was an awesome Labor Day cruise for our sailing club and if the only issue was a broken block then I'll take that.

See you on the water.

Paul

Soft Start Install on Dometic ECD 10K Air Conditioner

 We added a Soft Start to our Dometic AC System on board our Catalina 34 Sailboat

We have had our Dometic ECD 10K AC unit since 2016 and we would power it at Anchor with our Honda eu2000i Generator, they worked well together.

Then I upgraded the electrical system on our boat to a Victron System which is really clever, even too clever!  When we run the generator and turn on the AC, the Victron would detect that the generator output was insufficient during the AC Startup and it would then start powering the AC from our LiFePo4 Batteries. That's great, until the battery power is too low and then we're without DC power. But we could run the Multiplus in Charge only mode and recharge the batteries, but that process is a pain.

Researching pro electrician 'Google', it seemed that a Soft Start would solve the issue.

I contacted Dometic and they confirmed that a soft start would help but when I contacted a local dealer, I found that the recommended Soft Start device would cost $700 !!!!! Wow!  Searching the web, I found several vendors that sold similar devices at over $300 but then I found SpartanStart for $180, a significant difference from the local dealer $700 for the Dometic device. I called Spartan and they recommended the SpartanStart - Softstart and advised that if I had any issues with the install I could call them and they would walk me through the process.

Here's a link to the product: https://spartanpower.com/product/spartan-power-spartanstart/

Installation was easy! The AC unit is beneath our V-Berth, so we removed all of the bedding, mattress and locker covers from the V-Berth

Step 1: Connect Shore Power and turn on the AC - Just to make sure it's working normally.

Step 2: Disconnect Shore power

Step 3:  Remove the Cap on the top of the compressor that covers the electrical wiring that connects the electronics box to the AC unit. There's a single screw that also secures the Ground terminal to the Compressor. 

Underneath that cap are the connectors to the compressor, there's 3. Run, Start and Common. Colors are as shown in the pic below.

Now that I knew which color was what, I replaced the cap.

Step 4: The individual wires are inside a plastic, split, conduit. I separated the conduit about midway from the top of the Compressor and the Electronics unit, and pulled the three wires needed out of the conduit.

Step 5: I cut the wires one at a time and crimped them to the correct wire as shown in the diagram above.  That's 6 crimps. 

Step 6: Time to test;

First I reconnected shore power and turned on the AC unit, after it's typical delay it turned on and started to pump out cold air.  Looking good so far.

Next I disconnected shore power and connected it to our Honda eu2000i generator and switched it to, what I call is 'Turtle' mode - it's a power saving option. The generator runs at minimum power and adjusts the power on demand.  Time to test the AC on the Generator. 

Turning on the AC system, it had it's usual delay, not noticeably different from when the AC starts up on Shore power.  The AC ran and the generator barely changed it's output.

The AC unit pulls about 900Watts when running.

At this point, the AC was running and the Victron system was showing that all power was coming from the Generator ( shore power ) and that no power was coming from the Battery.

We left the AC running and tested it running on the inverter powered by the batteries. I simply switched off the master shore power switch. The AC didn't even blink, it continued running but now pulling the 900Watts from the Battery ( 12.8v x 100a *3 = 3840 Watts ) 

With the AC running off the batteries, I turned the master shore power switch back on and after the normal delay the Victron Multiplus turned on and started powering the AC system, there was plenty of  power available from the generator, so the Victron Multiplus started to recharge the batteries.

With everything working correctly, time for a bit of wire management, and a few zip ties pulled it all together.

This was a major step towards our cruising plans. With the current heatwave that is being experienced all over the East coast of the USA, we believe we'll need the ability to run the AC from the Honda Generator.

See  you on the water and if we're running our generator at Anchor, then it'll probably be for the AC unit and it will probably be running in turtle mode.

Sailboat Sunshade

 Making a Sailboat Sunshade for our Catalina 34 Sailboat

We have a 10K AC unit on board and a Honda eu2000i generator to keep us cool in the boat, but the heat transfer through the deck into the Main Cabin and the V-Berth is incredible and really puts a strain on the AC unit. Solution: Make a Sunshade to cover the Deck from the Bow to the Cockpit ( The Cockpit has a Dodger and Bimini so that is typically well shaded.

The fabric that I have chosen is from Sailrite, $11 per yard, 150" wide - that's 12'6" or if cut in two, it's 6'3" or 5'7" when double hemmed.

It's not a solid fabric, so rain should pretty well pass through it and it will also not act too much like a sail.

The material is easily sewn and I plan to add grommets along the edges and use bungees or ties to secure the panels to the boat.

I plan on making 3 panels.

The Purple panel will cover most of the foredeck, I hope it will extend slopping down towards the bow so that the rain tends to run away from the mast. The Red, Port and Green Stbd panels will cover each side and extend from the mast, aft to the Dodger, the sail cover will slope down towards the lifelines.

By making it three panels, each panel will be more manageable, I'll make a sack for each of them.

The aft end of the port and stbd panels will connect to the front of the dodger at the grab rails. 

My purchase was 10 yards of the material, that should be plenty. I have purchased shade material from sailrite before but it was a lot less expensive, this is a very nice material. On the sailrite site, it is "Shade/Privacy Fence Fabric Blue 150"

From a scale drawing, I figure the sizes to be ( allowing for seams ):-

1. Purple: 
1. 11' wide aft edge -> Make that max width of the fabric to allow for slope and 3" hem each side for the grommets or 12'
2. 3'6" wide on forward edge -> make that 4'6" to allow for slope and hems
3. 10' 6" fore-n-aft - plus 6" for the hems or 11'
2. Red & Green
1. 5'4" wide  -> Make that 1/2 of the max fabric width or 6'6"
2. 8'9" fore-n-aft -> 9'3" with hems

That's one piece 12' x 4'6" x 11' Trapezoid

Two pieces  6'6" x 9'3"

The extra widths will allow the fabric to slope down towards the sides of the deck.

I'll add a second layer to reinforce the areas where the grommets will be installed. I'll use Brass or Stainless Steel Grommets

They will need slots for the shrouds, no need for zippers to close them I'll just put loops and toggles to close the slots. Again, reinforce the edges of the grommets.

Also, they will need cords to attach them to the mast and the lifelines, however, I might run a line horizontally from the shouds back to the dodger grab rails, that would possibly improve the deck access forwards, else it will either mean crawling to go forward or unhitching the shade panels on the side in order to walk along the deck.

I'll double check the measurements next time at the boat and establish the distance from the mast to the shrouds so that I know where the slots start, will also have to measure the distance from the front and back edges of the mast to each shroud.

Ok, the plan is made. Get the numbers and start to make them.

Foredeck cover - ready to fit.

The first piece is cut and sewn, only took a couple of hours. It has a 1.5" double hem all the way around. That's wide enough to install gromets in the long sides and the corners. We'll go down to the boat tomorrow to do a test fit. Install the gromets and it should be ready to go.

Oh! good news too. The Foredeck cover folds up to about 18" by 12" by 6" and that is the largest piece. 

I'll make stowage bags for each of the three pieces 

Port & Stbd Covers complete.

That's the last two pieces done. Bags and all. Fit great. I might put another grommet in the outboard edges but will wait till we have tried them out this weekend.

Where to store them when not in use?

I'm guessing that the fabric will not last long if left in the South Florida Sunshine 24/7, so the plan is to stow them below but where?

No room in the anchor locker. I don't want them ( the 3 cover bags ) loafing around in either the main cabin or the aft cabin and the V-berth is pretty well reserved for our belongings.

That leaves either the Port Cockpit locker or the stern lazarette. There's room in both but the least used is the lazarette. I'll put some hooks on the port side in there and hang the bags.  I'll also put colored tags on the bags to match the covers - Red for port side, Green for stbd and Red & Green for the bow cover.   

Ok, we're into prep of the boat for this weekends trip up to Lake Boca. As always, I have a long list of things that I need  get done.

We used them in earnest for the first time over the Oktoberfest weekend. What a difference! Ok, so the weather was perfect and had dropped a few degrees, still in the high 80's low 90's, Fahrenheit but the cabin stayed so much cooler that we didn't even need to run the Generator while at anchor on Lake Boca.

I'll add a few extra pics when I get the chance ( ie, when I'm on someone else's boat and can see them from a distance.

See you on the water - if we're at anchor then we'll probably have our 'tarps' on. ( they are not tarps, but the material is a similar color to blue tarps 😂

 

 

 

 

Fuel Gauge Failure

 Our Fuel Gauge Failed 

On the last couple of trips, our Fuel Gauge became erratic. I would drop from showing 3/4 full to Empty or some other significant change in reading. I would normally put that down to a bad wiring connection however, I rebuilt the entire engine control panel in 2016 and I know I did a really good job ensuring all of the connections were solid. ( Crimped ! ) But still worth checking out the wiring.

The engine instruments are all on a common power supply and a common earth and the wires are connected to the instruments via ring terminals and nut and bolt attachments. All were secure. The other earth on the fuel gauge system is at the fuel tank itself, but that was solid too and using a Multimeter the resistance was less than 1Ω.

Next suspect was the Sender.

It's a pretty simple unit. The float opens/closes a series of reed switches as it moves up or down the shaft of the sender.

That changes the resistance of the sender and the gauge displays the fuel level dependent upon the resistance.

The tank is located on the Port side aft, Access is by removing the plywood bulkhead on the port side of the Aft Berth. 

I removed the sender from the tank and we tested it by moving the float up and down, ah ha! it would intermittently operate correctly, so I have to consider that one or more of the read switches is faulty.

Disconnecting the sender from the system and testing with a multimeter confirmed it was the sender.

I had ordered a replacement Sender and Gauge so that I was prepared if it turned out to be either of them.

The new sender did not work with the old gauge but the new gauge was the same size so it was a reasonably easy swap out.

The Gauge is not just a simple voltage meter!

When the power is applied, the gauge lights up to the selected background color choice then the needle moves from E to F, back to E and then it moves to indicate the current fuel level. It does this very smoothly. I found this a really nice feature, the needle moving in that way indicates that the system is working.

Once the system was wired in, all that remained was to replace the engine control panel, sealing the edges with Butyl tape - that makes it easy to remove if needed. Then secure the wiring at the tank end and replace the wooden bulkhead.

Most of the time taken was in testing the various components and wiring.

Kit details: 100TECH Boat Fuel Sending Unit with Gauge 11"(280mm) 

SUS316 Stainless Steel Marine Fuel Level Sender Sensor 240-33ohm

I opted for the 11" sender rather than the 12" that would still fit, if the gauge reads empty, then we have at least 1.5" of fuel in the tank. Consider it a reserve.

I purchased the kit from Amazon $69.

The only near hiccup was that the float on the new sender is slightly wider ( Dia. ) than the old unit but it fit snuggly. The kit included a new gasket, screws and butt connectors.

Just an FYI, we never fill the tank to Full - I really do not want to risk fuel overflow so when the gauge reads over 3/4 full we stop filling! We always carry at least 2 x 6 gallon fuel cans. So our normal capacity is 23 gallons in the tank plus up to 24 gallons in cans on deck. That gives us about 45 gallons and at 1 gallon per hour, we're good for 45 hours of motoring. 

One last thing: When we are motoring, we have a routine of 'checking the heartbeat'. About every 15 minutes, we'll check the engine status:- Look over the stern to ensure water is pumping out the exhaust, Check the engine Temperature and Fuel level.  If I'm in the cabin and Peggy at the helm, all I need do is tap my wrist with two fingers and Pegs gets the message then checks the Heartbeat.  

See you on the water.