Back to the Salt Mines
Painting the galley
After our whirlwind trip to Portland we settle back in to working on the boat. . . for 4 days.
The good news is that my cold is pretty much gone and my head is clearing up. I think that's the hardest I've ever been hit in the head. I've had a couple of concussions before, but nothing like this.
I still get head aches and when I'm tired I feel like my head is stuffed with cotton candy and my brain just isn't firing. But for the most part, I can function normally.
Or as normal as I get.
Monday January 28th 2013 through Thursday January 31st 2013– Ensenada
Play time is over and it’s time to get to work. We arrived at the boat this morning to find Jesus chipping away at the concrete. Finally, we’re making progress on repairing the hull.
I went back to work on the electrical system and Dawn grabbed a paintbrush and attacked the inside of the cabinets and drawers.
Why, she reasoned, should we put all of our stuff back in dirty drawers when every nook and cranny on the boat is empty? Why not paint them all and have them look clean and fresh?
Naturally, this differs from my logic of let’s get the darn thing back together and we’ll worry about prettying it up later.
But Dawn is a woman on a mission. She is bound and determined to decorate the boat to charter boat standards. She is working hard on her idea to host “destination weddings.” A clean, well maintained, decorated boat will go a long way towards convincing a wealthy (or her parents are wealthy) bride to fly down to Mexico and get married on an old sail boat.
The good news is that my cold is pretty much gone and my head is clearing up. I think that's the hardest I've ever been hit in the head. I've had a couple of concussions before, but nothing like this.
I still get head aches and when I'm tired I feel like my head is stuffed with cotton candy and my brain just isn't firing. But for the most part, I can function normally.
Or as normal as I get.
Monday January 28th 2013 through Thursday January 31st 2013– Ensenada
Play time is over and it’s time to get to work. We arrived at the boat this morning to find Jesus chipping away at the concrete. Finally, we’re making progress on repairing the hull.
I went back to work on the electrical system and Dawn grabbed a paintbrush and attacked the inside of the cabinets and drawers.
Why, she reasoned, should we put all of our stuff back in dirty drawers when every nook and cranny on the boat is empty? Why not paint them all and have them look clean and fresh?
Naturally, this differs from my logic of let’s get the darn thing back together and we’ll worry about prettying it up later.
But Dawn is a woman on a mission. She is bound and determined to decorate the boat to charter boat standards. She is working hard on her idea to host “destination weddings.” A clean, well maintained, decorated boat will go a long way towards convincing a wealthy (or her parents are wealthy) bride to fly down to Mexico and get married on an old sail boat.
The cleaned out hole
So she painted and I electricianed. While we were in Seattle, Sam suggested that I need to replace every switch and outlet that had been under water. Once again, I just wanted to get the job done, but logic prevailed and I made a trip to Home Depot for replacement receptacles.
Messing around with 110-volt electricity on a boat is not a laughing matter. There is always water in a boat somewhere and you don’t want to be standing in it when you plug in an appliance or one of your switches shorts out. Therefore, I bought outlets with little breakers in them. If an appliance shorts out, it will blow the breaker before you have a chance to electrocute yourself.
After all, the regular household kind of receptacle was $19 pesos (about $1.50 US) and the fancy-smanchy ones were $21.41 pesos. A lot of peace of mind for only $2 pesos . I got up to the check stand and they rang the fancy receptacles up at $214.11 pesos (about $17) each.
Hold on, what’s going on here? I challenged the price. They looked it up on the system. No, it’s right, $214.11.
“Let’s go back to the shelf,” I say (in Spanish). “The price on the shelf was $21.41 pesos.”
The manager and I walked back to the shelf and sure enough, the price was $21.41. Actually, it was $21.41.1. Kind of a strange way to price something, but hey, I was in a foreign country.
The manager laughed and bent over the price sign. He rubbed on the decimal point and it came off. A small glob of black goo had gotten smudged on the price tag between the 1 and the 4. When he wiped it off, the sign was clear as day, $214.11.
I struggled with this for several minutes. I was sure that the receptacles were less expensive in the US of A, but I needed them now. I didn’t want to make a trip back to San Diego to look for receptacles. Besides, the gas to San Diego and back would cost me $100. Not to mention a lost day.
I bought the darn things.
Back at the boat I began to replace electrical connections while Dawn took our laundry to a Laundromat. It sounds easy. What’s so hard about unhooking three or five wires, then attaching them to the new receptacle or switch?
You try it. First of all, most of the receptacles below the water line are in totally inaccessible places. At least for someone my size. I have no doubt that KC could worm his way in. Not to mention the arthritis that limits my flexibility.
Then the screws were all corroded. It was next to impossible to get them to turn. With a lot of patience and many cuss words, I slowly managed to change the receptacles out. Some receptacles took me an hour to change because I just couldn’t get to them.
Finally, all of the receptacles and switches were replaced. Before I turned on the electricity, I did a visual inspection on everything in the 110-volt system.
Messing around with 110-volt electricity on a boat is not a laughing matter. There is always water in a boat somewhere and you don’t want to be standing in it when you plug in an appliance or one of your switches shorts out. Therefore, I bought outlets with little breakers in them. If an appliance shorts out, it will blow the breaker before you have a chance to electrocute yourself.
After all, the regular household kind of receptacle was $19 pesos (about $1.50 US) and the fancy-smanchy ones were $21.41 pesos. A lot of peace of mind for only $2 pesos . I got up to the check stand and they rang the fancy receptacles up at $214.11 pesos (about $17) each.
Hold on, what’s going on here? I challenged the price. They looked it up on the system. No, it’s right, $214.11.
“Let’s go back to the shelf,” I say (in Spanish). “The price on the shelf was $21.41 pesos.”
The manager and I walked back to the shelf and sure enough, the price was $21.41. Actually, it was $21.41.1. Kind of a strange way to price something, but hey, I was in a foreign country.
The manager laughed and bent over the price sign. He rubbed on the decimal point and it came off. A small glob of black goo had gotten smudged on the price tag between the 1 and the 4. When he wiped it off, the sign was clear as day, $214.11.
I struggled with this for several minutes. I was sure that the receptacles were less expensive in the US of A, but I needed them now. I didn’t want to make a trip back to San Diego to look for receptacles. Besides, the gas to San Diego and back would cost me $100. Not to mention a lost day.
I bought the darn things.
Back at the boat I began to replace electrical connections while Dawn took our laundry to a Laundromat. It sounds easy. What’s so hard about unhooking three or five wires, then attaching them to the new receptacle or switch?
You try it. First of all, most of the receptacles below the water line are in totally inaccessible places. At least for someone my size. I have no doubt that KC could worm his way in. Not to mention the arthritis that limits my flexibility.
Then the screws were all corroded. It was next to impossible to get them to turn. With a lot of patience and many cuss words, I slowly managed to change the receptacles out. Some receptacles took me an hour to change because I just couldn’t get to them.
Finally, all of the receptacles and switches were replaced. Before I turned on the electricity, I did a visual inspection on everything in the 110-volt system.
Keel damage
Hold on there! The hot water heater wasn’t right. I removed the cover to find that the tank was rusted on the outside. The electrical fittings were all corroded. I didn’t want to have to replace the electrical parts, so I decided to turn on the juice and see what happened.
I turned off all 110 on the breaker panel, then hooked up the shore power cord. Nothing blew up, nothing caught on fire.
In the meantime, I had some yard workers come down and look at the stove for me. When I tried to light it, nothing happened. The pilot lights wouldn’t work and when I turned on the gas, I heard a gurgling sound.
They fiddled around with it for a couple of hours and pronounced the problem to be electrical. The batteries were so dead that they couldn’t work the solenoid.
We didn’t have 110 power yet, so I hooked up my portable charger with an extension cord to the outlets in the yard.
The batteries charged for a couple of minutes, then tripped the charger and wouldn’t take a charge. But the volt meter that’s built into the system said that the house batteries were dead. Oh crap. Did this mean I was going to have to buy new batteries? I spent over $1000 buying the best batteries I could find the first time. I didn’t have an extra $1000 to spend.
The built-in battery charger is wired directly to the batteries and doesn’t go through the breaker panel. As soon as I plugged in the juice, I heard the charger go on. I looked at the control panel on the charger and it was running full out charging the batteries. I checked the volt meter, the starter batteries were pegged all the way over at 14 volts.
When the charger is running, the batteries show full and the all of the 12-volt systems work, even if the batteries were dead when you plugged in.
However, with the charger plugged in, the house batteries were still dead. The volt meter showed 0 volts. The charger was not touching them.
Now if was going from angry to depressed. The batteries were shot. Probably from being submerged. It was going to cost me a bundle that I hadn’t planned on spending. Oh God, why have you forsaken me? Job never had it so bad.
Now back to the ranch, or should I say hot water heater? I plugged in the electricity. No problems.
I flipped the breaker to on and waited. I dashed to the head to check if the hot water heater was shorting out. Nothing. OK, all clear so far.
I turned off all 110 on the breaker panel, then hooked up the shore power cord. Nothing blew up, nothing caught on fire.
In the meantime, I had some yard workers come down and look at the stove for me. When I tried to light it, nothing happened. The pilot lights wouldn’t work and when I turned on the gas, I heard a gurgling sound.
They fiddled around with it for a couple of hours and pronounced the problem to be electrical. The batteries were so dead that they couldn’t work the solenoid.
We didn’t have 110 power yet, so I hooked up my portable charger with an extension cord to the outlets in the yard.
The batteries charged for a couple of minutes, then tripped the charger and wouldn’t take a charge. But the volt meter that’s built into the system said that the house batteries were dead. Oh crap. Did this mean I was going to have to buy new batteries? I spent over $1000 buying the best batteries I could find the first time. I didn’t have an extra $1000 to spend.
The built-in battery charger is wired directly to the batteries and doesn’t go through the breaker panel. As soon as I plugged in the juice, I heard the charger go on. I looked at the control panel on the charger and it was running full out charging the batteries. I checked the volt meter, the starter batteries were pegged all the way over at 14 volts.
When the charger is running, the batteries show full and the all of the 12-volt systems work, even if the batteries were dead when you plugged in.
However, with the charger plugged in, the house batteries were still dead. The volt meter showed 0 volts. The charger was not touching them.
Now if was going from angry to depressed. The batteries were shot. Probably from being submerged. It was going to cost me a bundle that I hadn’t planned on spending. Oh God, why have you forsaken me? Job never had it so bad.
Now back to the ranch, or should I say hot water heater? I plugged in the electricity. No problems.
I flipped the breaker to on and waited. I dashed to the head to check if the hot water heater was shorting out. Nothing. OK, all clear so far.
Dawn painted all of the storage lockers
Next I flipped the on-off switch for the hot water heater on, nothing happened. The hot water heater didn’t go on.
I started tracing the electricity. We had juice at the switch, but nothing further down the line. I must have wired it incorrectly. I shut off the power and changed the wiring. Still nothing. I tried a third way to wire it. When I turned on the power, the breaker immediately tripped.
All right, now I know how not to wire it. Unfortunately, I didn’t know the correct way.
I couldn’t find the exact switch that I took out in Ensenada, so I bought the closest facsimile I could find. Maybe it was the switch?
But whether or not it’s the switch, I’m still worried about the hot water heater. Will it work? Can I just swap out the electrical components, or will I have to buy a new heater? I saw more dollar signs flying away. I do have enough money to get the boat floating again, but I don’t have an endless supply.
On Tuesday morning the stove guys were back to find out why it wouldn’t work. Then the refer guy showed up.
The compressor for the built in freezer and refrigerator won’t run. I found a bad connection and changed it out. It still wouldn’t work. The refer guy looked at it for a few minutes and told me “No es gud.”
There are several parts that were ruined by the water and need to be replaced. When he turned the pulley, oily water came out of the compressor. That means that there’s a leak somewhere in the unit and salt water got into it.
He said that he couldn’t get parts for the unit. It’s so old I think that Noah used it on the ark. At any rate, he can’t fix it and I will have to replace it. More mega bucks.
By this time, I was pretty well depressed. I had had so much bad news in a couple of days that I was losing my will to go on. Dawn, bless her heart, was not buying any of it. She wouldn’t let me give up or walk away.
After a stern lecture, we decided to knock off for the day and face it in the morning when we were fresh.
Wednesday came and we actually got some good news. Guillermo sent an electrician to look at the batteries. There was nothing wrong with them. The problem was the volt meter.
The electrician searched around for a few minutes and found the wire that goes to the volt meter hidden down between the batteries. Where the fuse is wired into the line, it was all corroded and the wire broke. He fixed the wire in a few minutes and the volt meter was showing 14 volts in the house batteries.
Halleluiah, I don’t have to buy new batteries.
The stove guys told me that the problem is that the salt water got into the gas lines in the stove. I could either buy a replacement for the stove top or buy a new stove. As I thought about it, I would need a new burner for the oven and the broiler. Then I would have to dismantle the stove, thoroughly clean it and reassemble it with the new parts.
I don’t know how long this would take, but it would seem like forever. Then I’d put something together wrong and it wouldn’t work. I’d have to call the professionals in to fix my mistake.
I’m going to just buy a new stove. Besides, the old one looked so bad from the corrosion of the salt water, I don’t think I wanted to cook on it anyway. There goes another $1500 bucks.
We’re going to San Diego tomorrow anyway. I’ll try to pick up a new switch for the hot water heater there and start over.
In the meantime, Dawn had finished painting all of the drawers and lockers. She is covered with white paint, but the lockers look and smell fresh and clean. I will be honored to put my old rusty tools in them.
Tomorrow we head north. I have a list of to dos that will probably take two days, but Dawn doesn’t want to stay overnight there. She isn't feeling well. We’ll get as much done as possible, then come home. We’re taking the dinghy up to be repaired, so we’ll have to go pick it up in a week or so anyway. The boat is not ready to float again anyway so I can put off some of the chores on my list.
I started tracing the electricity. We had juice at the switch, but nothing further down the line. I must have wired it incorrectly. I shut off the power and changed the wiring. Still nothing. I tried a third way to wire it. When I turned on the power, the breaker immediately tripped.
All right, now I know how not to wire it. Unfortunately, I didn’t know the correct way.
I couldn’t find the exact switch that I took out in Ensenada, so I bought the closest facsimile I could find. Maybe it was the switch?
But whether or not it’s the switch, I’m still worried about the hot water heater. Will it work? Can I just swap out the electrical components, or will I have to buy a new heater? I saw more dollar signs flying away. I do have enough money to get the boat floating again, but I don’t have an endless supply.
On Tuesday morning the stove guys were back to find out why it wouldn’t work. Then the refer guy showed up.
The compressor for the built in freezer and refrigerator won’t run. I found a bad connection and changed it out. It still wouldn’t work. The refer guy looked at it for a few minutes and told me “No es gud.”
There are several parts that were ruined by the water and need to be replaced. When he turned the pulley, oily water came out of the compressor. That means that there’s a leak somewhere in the unit and salt water got into it.
He said that he couldn’t get parts for the unit. It’s so old I think that Noah used it on the ark. At any rate, he can’t fix it and I will have to replace it. More mega bucks.
By this time, I was pretty well depressed. I had had so much bad news in a couple of days that I was losing my will to go on. Dawn, bless her heart, was not buying any of it. She wouldn’t let me give up or walk away.
After a stern lecture, we decided to knock off for the day and face it in the morning when we were fresh.
Wednesday came and we actually got some good news. Guillermo sent an electrician to look at the batteries. There was nothing wrong with them. The problem was the volt meter.
The electrician searched around for a few minutes and found the wire that goes to the volt meter hidden down between the batteries. Where the fuse is wired into the line, it was all corroded and the wire broke. He fixed the wire in a few minutes and the volt meter was showing 14 volts in the house batteries.
Halleluiah, I don’t have to buy new batteries.
The stove guys told me that the problem is that the salt water got into the gas lines in the stove. I could either buy a replacement for the stove top or buy a new stove. As I thought about it, I would need a new burner for the oven and the broiler. Then I would have to dismantle the stove, thoroughly clean it and reassemble it with the new parts.
I don’t know how long this would take, but it would seem like forever. Then I’d put something together wrong and it wouldn’t work. I’d have to call the professionals in to fix my mistake.
I’m going to just buy a new stove. Besides, the old one looked so bad from the corrosion of the salt water, I don’t think I wanted to cook on it anyway. There goes another $1500 bucks.
We’re going to San Diego tomorrow anyway. I’ll try to pick up a new switch for the hot water heater there and start over.
In the meantime, Dawn had finished painting all of the drawers and lockers. She is covered with white paint, but the lockers look and smell fresh and clean. I will be honored to put my old rusty tools in them.
Tomorrow we head north. I have a list of to dos that will probably take two days, but Dawn doesn’t want to stay overnight there. She isn't feeling well. We’ll get as much done as possible, then come home. We’re taking the dinghy up to be repaired, so we’ll have to go pick it up in a week or so anyway. The boat is not ready to float again anyway so I can put off some of the chores on my list.