March 6, 2013
As the Navy stories of sea begin, "There I was, let me tell you, this is No Shit, Thought I Was Gonna Die!"
Renne' and I have, very diligently, been working on preparing for our departure date on or about March 11. I had a brilliant idea the night before last (Monday). We have a few days to play with, so I thought I would polish the fuel in our port tank; that is to say, I would run the fuel through the filters to clean the bacteria that routinely grows in diesel fuel. So I turned the fuel pump on, and selected the starboard (right) tank. Now, boat engines do not normally utilize all of the fuel pumped to it, and so there is a return line. So the excess fuel goes back to the tank. It also allows us to transfer fuel into any of the three fuel tanks on board. We filled our tanks last week, so the fuel should go back into the original tank. An hour or so later, Renne' begins to smell diesel fuel. I can't smell that well, and I said it was the varnish she had been working with earlier. Shortly after, I am smelling diesel. I shut the transfer pump off and began looking for the source of a serious diesel leak.
Much to mychagrin, I found fuel in the air conditioning closet. I mean it was all over the place; on the shelves, on the air ducts, dripping down the vents. It was on the floor of the closet. When I lifted the floor panel, it was below the floor panels-what a mess! The problem, was it was 10pm! We were headed for bed. Renne' had taken two antihistamines and was very sleepy. The problem with diesel is it is obnoxious to smell! So cleanup was NOT an option. I took down the 7" flexible ducting, and found 1/3 cup of diesel in the blower of the air conditioner. Now I was seeing $4,500 to replace the air conditioner, and frankly I could NOT comprehend how it got there! I pulled the unit out 70 lbs, and wrestled it to the dock. Bu that time, it is getting on about 11:15pm. The cleaning was just beginning. Some fuel was in the bilge, some had gone outside. I was so aggravated, I couldn't see the forest through the trees at that point!
By 12:30am, things were under control, the closet had been cleaned, the bilge had been washed out-several times, the deck outside had been cleaned, the air conditioner had been covered, and we finally drug ourselves to bed!
In the morning, when everything comes into perspective, I realized I was pulling fuel from the starboard tank and transferring it to the port tank. It already was full. So the excess fuel was sent up the vent hose. The problem with all vents to the outside is, it was plugged by a mud dobber. So the fuel could not vent to the outside-environmentally, a good thing. However, the fuel pressure built enough to send fuel out of the hose, and drained to the vents in the top of the closet, and the excess fuel drained down the ducting into the blower. NOT a good thing!
We are 5 days from leaving and I began calling the manufacturer of the air conditioning unit, the dealer, a second dealer, a repair guy. Etc! The response from a guy here in town was, dismantle the blower and motor, wash the interior of the blower with a heavy detergent, then flush it with copious amounts of fresh water. I thought that was dubious, but to replace the blower was $600, with shipping to arrive here by Friday. I washed the blower and ELECTRIC motor with soap and water! Holy Shiite Muslem! I let the unit sit over night to dry, covered by the outboard motor cover, called our cruising buddy, Ed, to come over and help, I replaced all of the vent ducting which had mold in it any way, re-mounted the blower, carried it down below (with Ed's assistance), re-connected the ducts (so this is what duct tape is really used for), looked up which 115volt wire was HOT (black) and which was NEUTRAL (white), and reconnected the unit and the water pump, triple-checked everything with a multimeter, and flipped the switch! 36 hours after this near disaster and $80, the unit is working fine!
So in the meantime, Renne' begins cleaning our woodwork below. Off come all of the doors to the closets, lockers, and cabinets. Soapy water is everywhere! Then she gets the brushes out and the varnish and re-conditions the cabin table, the woodwork around the galley, all of the doors to the closets, lockers, and cabinets. We are 5 days out, and by tomorrow, we will have a pretty decent looking-and smelling place to take to the Bahamas!
Other projects have included:
Cleaning the center fuel tank; repairing canvas; shopping; renewing the jib and staysails; repairing the shower drain and pump;shopping; painting the aft head; storing away winter clothes; shopping; new canvas covers for the fuel tanks, life raft, and winches; purchasing book inventory to sell in the Bahamas; shopping; lecturing at the local school on "Being an Author"; book signings; and MORE shopping to get ready for 2-3 months in the Bahamas!
Did I say we were retired? I want to know how we ever found time to work! We're pooped
See ya at sunset tonite for badly needed sundowners!
JonNe'
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