Water-maker Part 2

After much deliberation and research and a couple of false starts, we have settled on purchasing an AquaMaax water-maker.  We will be doing a step-by-step on the install as soon as we are able

Bimini Side Curtains

Spent the last weekend working away in the office on side curtains for our bimini with our trusty Sailrite Ultrafeed.

One Section of the Curtain Completed

Our Table Set Up and Ultrafeed 

Sewing Machine

Another Panel Almost Finished

Sewing Along the Rough Edge

Sewing Along the Hemmed Edge

Know Your Boat

We have been aboard this boat for over five years yet we are still learning how all the systems interact.  Last Wednesday, I came home to find that the battery monitor reading 11.7 volts and the batteries showing significantly drained.  We had no idea what was wrong.  The charger was working (we checked both AC input and CD output with the multi-meter.

Well as it turns out, we looked t the DC panel and noticed a switch on the battery panel.

Island Packet's Main Battery Panel

Notice the switch to the right that has guards above and below it - this one:

Charger Output Switch 

I had noticed this and then again NOT noticed it until I took a good look and found it was OFF.  Turn it on, and all is well again.  The battery monitor again reading as it should when on shore power:

Xantrex Battery Monitor Reading As It Should 

I have seen that switch a thousand times and yet when I had a problem, it never occurred to me to check it.  Lesson learned:  KNOW YOUR BOAT'S SYSTEMS!

Bimini Enclosure Curtains

We've started the process of making the Bimini enclosure curtains.  We added the zippers and patterned the side curtain.

Port Side Zipper Added to the Length

Aft End of the Port Zipper

The Aft Zipper Can Be Seen as the Second Black Line

Aft Portion of the Starboard Zipper

We will have more pictures of the pattern and subsequent work on the enclosure.  

Boat Maintenance

I arrived back to the boat after work earlier this week and my wife greeted mw with the news that there was water in the engine room and that there was no pressure at the galley sink faucet.  I checked out the water pressure elsewhere in the boat (faucets at the sinks in both heads) to find all was fine, so it was not the pressure pump.

We had some difficulty once before with the sprayer on the faucet.  The rubber hose was protected by the spiral wind of a metal cover and I found a split in the rubber hose and water leaking down to the engine room beneath.

This time around, it turned out to be the OTHER end of the hose and that was much more difficult.  Nothing in the documentation of the boat gave me any hint of how to get to the water and drain connections to the sink.  As it turns out, there is a plywood cover box that houses the entire sink and drain area and that box is covered with acoustic protection.   This was deduced after a lot of investigation.

So here is the chaos:

Faucet Sprayer Removed and Top of Faucet

A Bit Fuzzy, This is the View in the Engine Room.  

Bottom of the Sinks on the Upper Left,

the "Box" that Encloses the Sink and Fittings

from the Rest of the Engine Room

New Faucet in Place

A Month Gone By

A whole month flashes by.  I had promised myself I'd be more diligent in posting and tracking our life aboard our yacht.  We have been really busy with some interesting projects in the office.  We were relatively slow for 2015, but things have become very busy lately.  (And we certainly hope it stays that way for a while).

Portage College Proposed Heavy Equipment Trades Building

Farewell John. We'll Miss You

When we first came to this marina, we met Dr. John Faulkner.  He had the boat in front of ours.  He had lived in this marina for 25 years on his boat Tjaldur.  In 2011, he lost his son Chris.  It was a sad and sobering reality to face.  In 2013, he moved to Bowen Island.  The marina there had services close by and was much more convenient for him.

We heard today that John passed away a few days ago on his boat.  Dear John, we will miss you.  May the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace.  Farewell.

  

Dr. John Faulkner Aboard Tjaldur

John and Crew Preparing to Depart for Bowen Island