So, it can snow in 'paradise' and in April even!!... it is chilly.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Latest & Greatest-- Day 9
Day 4/5:
The good news for today is that the manufacturer of the water heater is still in business and the replacement tank has same dimensions/orientation as the original... so I'm told. the 'bad' news is that Raritan is a top of the line tank and has a top of the line price...but it is still less than one Boat Unit [ the Valiant Owner's site members talk in Boat Units, similar to using poker chips rather than real money... you have a bit of disconnect and it isn't so painful when they are gone] - one BU being $1000.
Tank will be here on or about April 20, so until then we need to boil for dishwashing hot water..... no different than being out at sea.
We did manage to get some items knocked off the list without adding too many new ones.
The diver is coming out thursday for zincs,etc and wednesday is the survey of the boat required for insurance.
Robin will paint/galvanize the anchor tomorrow, while I put a liner in the nav station storage cupboard [ to keep items away from hoses and wiring] and then try to tackle the Y-valve replacement in the head.
Robin has found the optimum placement of supports for the grate in the head that has all but eliminated the annoying squeaking -- this will be a big bonus during the late night bathroom parade for anyone in the V-berth or salon berth.
OTHER NEWS:
We are watching with interest the slow [ very slow!] framing of the floating house being built in the old dry dock area of the marina. It is being built on a concrete base that is built like an upside down box filled with foam.
Canoe Cove has paved over the boat work area and all wash water/surface wastes are now collected rather than being dumped into the water. Each boat area has thin plastic mats to keep crap off the pavement and make it easier to clean up boat debris.....
Not so good is that it appears that the Stonehouse pub is out of business; this means no option for a walk for burger/beer. At least no option for a short walk; now the nearest pub is the Blue Peter over at VanIsle Marina, which is about a 3 k walk.
Day 5 to Day 9!
The new dodger is in place and Coyote canvass has done a remarkable job; all trimmed in natural leather,etc. We are very pleased and will be ordering a bimini to protect us from the Gulf Island sun...what a joke!... as i write this beside the diesel heater, in a cabin that is at 13 degrees, it is snowing and blowing and about 5 outside....not typical April weather. We had to negotiate ice/snow on the deck this a.m. to make our way gingerly to the dock.
There are some major issues to be resolved soon:
▪ testing batteries shows they are due to die soon; these need to be replaced. Probably a good time to upgrade the charger also?
▪ while tightening the steering cables, I noticed a noise in the steering column that needs to be tracked down.
▪ Robin noticed that the steering quadrant interferes with tank vent line; this needs to be re-routed
▪ waiting for new pump for the diesel cabin heater
▪ still trying to resolve head Y-valve problem: my epoxy fix of handle didn't take, and we are still stubbornly trying to find a replacement handle rather than having to buy a whole new valve. It isn't the valve cost that is the issue, it is the thought of having to tear out the old valve ,etc. I may buy valve just to get handle and then keep valve body as a spare.
We re-mounted the anchor yesterday in the cold blow/rain that was the buildup to today's snow.
Update on the head: the squeak is back and I guess we just have to live with it.
The boat surveyor has come and gone [ boat needs to be officially surveyed periodically for insurance purposes]; this was same surveyor who we used when we purchased Tatoosh. He didn't find any problems which is good news.
Today is going to be used up doing email run, taking outboard to dealer for service and tracking down some parts...yes these are poor excuses to avoid working in the snow!!
The good news for today is that the manufacturer of the water heater is still in business and the replacement tank has same dimensions/orientation as the original... so I'm told. the 'bad' news is that Raritan is a top of the line tank and has a top of the line price...but it is still less than one Boat Unit [ the Valiant Owner's site members talk in Boat Units, similar to using poker chips rather than real money... you have a bit of disconnect and it isn't so painful when they are gone] - one BU being $1000.
Tank will be here on or about April 20, so until then we need to boil for dishwashing hot water..... no different than being out at sea.
We did manage to get some items knocked off the list without adding too many new ones.
The diver is coming out thursday for zincs,etc and wednesday is the survey of the boat required for insurance.
Robin will paint/galvanize the anchor tomorrow, while I put a liner in the nav station storage cupboard [ to keep items away from hoses and wiring] and then try to tackle the Y-valve replacement in the head.
Robin has found the optimum placement of supports for the grate in the head that has all but eliminated the annoying squeaking -- this will be a big bonus during the late night bathroom parade for anyone in the V-berth or salon berth.
OTHER NEWS:
We are watching with interest the slow [ very slow!] framing of the floating house being built in the old dry dock area of the marina. It is being built on a concrete base that is built like an upside down box filled with foam.
Canoe Cove has paved over the boat work area and all wash water/surface wastes are now collected rather than being dumped into the water. Each boat area has thin plastic mats to keep crap off the pavement and make it easier to clean up boat debris.....
Not so good is that it appears that the Stonehouse pub is out of business; this means no option for a walk for burger/beer. At least no option for a short walk; now the nearest pub is the Blue Peter over at VanIsle Marina, which is about a 3 k walk.
Day 5 to Day 9!
The new dodger is in place and Coyote canvass has done a remarkable job; all trimmed in natural leather,etc. We are very pleased and will be ordering a bimini to protect us from the Gulf Island sun...what a joke!... as i write this beside the diesel heater, in a cabin that is at 13 degrees, it is snowing and blowing and about 5 outside....not typical April weather. We had to negotiate ice/snow on the deck this a.m. to make our way gingerly to the dock.
There are some major issues to be resolved soon:
▪ testing batteries shows they are due to die soon; these need to be replaced. Probably a good time to upgrade the charger also?
▪ while tightening the steering cables, I noticed a noise in the steering column that needs to be tracked down.
▪ Robin noticed that the steering quadrant interferes with tank vent line; this needs to be re-routed
▪ waiting for new pump for the diesel cabin heater
▪ still trying to resolve head Y-valve problem: my epoxy fix of handle didn't take, and we are still stubbornly trying to find a replacement handle rather than having to buy a whole new valve. It isn't the valve cost that is the issue, it is the thought of having to tear out the old valve ,etc. I may buy valve just to get handle and then keep valve body as a spare.
We re-mounted the anchor yesterday in the cold blow/rain that was the buildup to today's snow.
Update on the head: the squeak is back and I guess we just have to live with it.
The boat surveyor has come and gone [ boat needs to be officially surveyed periodically for insurance purposes]; this was same surveyor who we used when we purchased Tatoosh. He didn't find any problems which is good news.
Today is going to be used up doing email run, taking outboard to dealer for service and tracking down some parts...yes these are poor excuses to avoid working in the snow!!
Monday, April 14, 2008
Day 3 - saga continues
Day 3 - Chores Continue and more discoveries
We tackled tasks today that would maximize the presence of the shop vac: this included cleaning out spots of the boat that had not seen the light of day for some time as well as doing some dremel/plastic cutting projects.[ cutting down pamphlet-book boxes to fit the shelves and re-sizing plastic dividers from the head cupboard to be used in the storage over the stove.]
While Robing did a town-run, I replaced the pressure switch on the water pump; that fixed the pump chatter problem of yesterday. However, as I was getting the cabin put back to normal, the pump kicked in; since I was not running any water this could only mean a leak; sure enough it was NOT the repair I made in the fall but hot water leaking out of the water tank.
So, we knocked off a few items off the list but now have to ADD : buy new water tank, disconnect old tank without spilling engine glycol over the bilge/berth, and lift old tank out of the hold without putting out our backs. Oh yes; need to make sure that the replacement tank has plumbing connections in same orientation or else it will be major plumbing effort.
No, I didn't get to replacing the Y-valve in the head as planned!; that will be later in the week....Ensh'alla [god willing] as they say in Saudi.
Day 2: Update
April 12 - Day 2
We arrived at E Dock on April 10 in the afternoon after overnighting in Hope enroute from Calgary. Appears we were fortunate to not have delayed leaving Calgary, otherwise we would have been delayed by the record April snowfall.
After off-loading the car and getting Tatoosh habitable, we went through the master work list (MWL) to extract a 'reasonable ' list of chores for Day 1. I'm sure you are all anticipating what happened next and you are correct: best laid plans and all that.
There were 15 items on the list for Day 1, mostly minor and one major item to " install new bolt track"; this is the extruded alumunium track that the new dodger will be secured to the boat with. At the end of Day 1, we had crossed off 2 1/3 items ( one of them was a multi-task!) and while reviewing the list we added 10 more items: net gain for the day was negative 7.66!! I had estimated before coming that putting on the new track would have taken 1/2 day, but it is going to be the better part of 2 days. Removing the old track and installing the new track translatted to:
- rent drill since my cordless didn't have torque to drill out old pop rivets
- buy a pop-riviter
- return to hardware and replace 2 broken drill bits
- use dremal tool to remove stubs,etc
- buy hammer to use with cold chisel [ where did original hammer go??]
- fill old holes in gel coat
- buy more drill bits
- replace rivets that were purchased yesterday.... not correct size
- rent shop vac to clean up mess from drilling,etc
As we sit here at end of day 2, new track is now in place and the enlarged day 1 list is now "down" to 14 items; longer than original Day 1 list but less than 23.66 that were there at start of the day! We are now ready for Hank to show up next week and install the new dodger which will be a big improvement.
One would think that an engineer who has spent a lot of his career managing projects or managing project managers, would have a better clue!
While I was farting around with this, making 3 trips to town/hardware/rental place, Robin was beavering away at cleaning up the joint; making better progress than I was.
On the plus side, the weather today was fantastic, it was sunny and forecast to be 19. We took a short break to take back the drill/get shop vacuum and incidently get a latte; drank it on a bench at the Sidney waterfront and watched the local sail club racing for a bit. There wasnt much wind and we could see one boat having rounded a mark near Sidney Spit park was flying his spinnaker, but was moving backwards against the island , being pushed by the ebb current!
Tomorrow we will try to finish off yesterday's list and I will start the potentially ugly job of replacing the Y-valve in the head. I had thought of leaving this nasty task for Stewart when he comes out but decided that would not be very fair.
Stay tuned for further updates!
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Spring Clean up - when!?!
We are now planning to leave Calgary on Monday; the holdup has been cleaning out the greenhouse since it is sold and will be [hopefully] dismantled by the new owner while we are away. For that to happen, we needed to clear out our stuff [done] and have a garage sale [ actually a greenhouse sale!] to get rid of the residual stuff. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate last weekend so it is this weekend.
I've got the plastic to line the dry locker from Industrial Paint & Plastics (plus some other stuff....great shop if you have a plastic fetish); the replacement mast head unit for the wind speed/direction has arrived, the rain gutter material to install over the ports has arrived. No word from sail loft re repairs to sails, but communication is not their strong point - so I assume all is well. Hank from Coyote Canvas called to confirm that the new dodger is ready; he is waiting for me to install the new bolt rope on the coach roof. This will be great new addition -- it has re-inforced Sunbrella material plus upgraded quality plastic windows,etc. Photo's will be posted once it is in place.
All we need now is for spring weather to hit the coast so that we can actually do some outside work!
The trip out should not be as tiring as previous trips; we will be giving our new Subaru Legacy a road trip test drive. I can even play my iPOD so we don't have to listen to fading CBC stations.
Will a satellite radio be next on the geeky technology purchase list?
I've got the plastic to line the dry locker from Industrial Paint & Plastics (plus some other stuff....great shop if you have a plastic fetish); the replacement mast head unit for the wind speed/direction has arrived, the rain gutter material to install over the ports has arrived. No word from sail loft re repairs to sails, but communication is not their strong point - so I assume all is well. Hank from Coyote Canvas called to confirm that the new dodger is ready; he is waiting for me to install the new bolt rope on the coach roof. This will be great new addition -- it has re-inforced Sunbrella material plus upgraded quality plastic windows,etc. Photo's will be posted once it is in place.
All we need now is for spring weather to hit the coast so that we can actually do some outside work!
The trip out should not be as tiring as previous trips; we will be giving our new Subaru Legacy a road trip test drive. I can even play my iPOD so we don't have to listen to fading CBC stations.
Will a satellite radio be next on the geeky technology purchase list?
Thursday, April 3, 2008
VIA Blog on PDF
When I was in Saudi last year, I used some of my 'spare' time to extract the blog text from the VIA blog [ see "links" on this blog], re-arrange it into chronological order and put it into a PDF file. If anyone is interested in getting a copy of it, please let me know by email to cbrucewarren@gmail.com and I'll send along a copy.
--
Regards,
C. Bruce Warren P.Eng
--
Regards,
C. Bruce Warren P.Eng
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