Back to Baltimore
July 21 thru July 24
—Blogpost written by Bob
Reducing Onboard Weight
I have been on a quest to reduce onboard weight. I believe that less weight in this boat improves her performance, both under sail and power. The recent reduction I made to the starboard water tank capacity shaved off about 145 pounds (125 pounds of water plus about 20 pounds of plastic tank).
Another area where I've looked at weight reduction is in drinks. We usually carry five 12-packs of canned (carbonated) drinks. Each 12-pack weighs 10 pounds. By using powdered drink mixes instead of cans, we can save another 50 pounds. I have ordered some of the drink mixes (in singles packets) to try. They include the following:
 |
| The above ten flavors of Crystal Light drink mixes will add variety and save weight onboard. |
 |
| This margarita mix comes highly recommended and will save weight onboard. The company also makes a zero-sugar pina colada mix. |
We will also be trying to reduce our inventory of canned goods and changing to foil packets wherever possible. More on this later...
Sunday, July 21
Before I left Hartge's Yacht Yard, I rigged all the dock lines and spring lines for docking in our Baltimore slip. I also rigged the dinghy to ride alongside the boat at first but so that I could toss one line into the dinghy after I left the dock and the dinghy would trail the boat on two pre-tied painters.
I departed by boat and Maggie drove off in our car at 8:30 AM. Even though it was one of the hottest days of the year so far, there was a 5 to 10 knot breeze out of the west and it was sufficiently cool in the shade of the cockpit.
 |
| Lola accompanied me in the cockpit for most of the trip. |
 |
| Yes, we passed my favorite lighthouse again--Thomas Point Light |
 |
| This was one of about six ships anchored off Annapolis as we came by. |
We arrived at Anchorage Marina in Baltimore at about 1:30 PM--the trip too about an hour less time than I guessed. When I arrived in Baltimore it was extremely hot! The boat was 95 degrees inside as I turned on the air conditioner full blast. It took until 8 PM to get the inside temperature down to 74 degrees!
Monday, July 22
In the morning we cleaned the raw water strainers under the companionway floor. I was surprised that the strainers were relatively clean despite the fact that they haven't been cleaned in nearly three weeks.
Cleaning strainers is usually a weekly chore during the summer. Sometimes we even suck up a plastic bag from the harbor between weekly cleanings--this usually blocks water flow and shuts down the air conditioner.
 |
| An overhead view (upward is port) of the complicated plumbing beneath our companionway floor. |
One of my goals this week is to streamline the above plumbing in advance of installing the water maker. I hope to eliminate the smaller strainer (right side of image) and enlarge the inlet to the largest strainer (left side of image) and take 3 lines (refrigerator cooling pump, deck wash down pump, and air conditioner water pump) off the outlet of the largest strainer--these three lines will never be used at the same time.
I want to use the smallest strainer for the water maker and locate it closer to the water maker. It will also be great to get this area thoroughly cleaned up!
I started this process by sealing the lines that lead to the refrigerator cooling coil. Sometimes these connections leak and I lose prime to the pump. So, I sealed them with silicone and tightened the clamps. However, the pump didn't work--so, I have to replace it. I hope to rebuild the old one and keep it as spare.
 |
| I made the above sketch to determine what parts I need at Fawcetts tomorrow. |
The rain started this afternoon at 4 PM and continued off and on into the next morning. So, we started with Happy Hour at 4 PM by making watermelon margaritas using a new powdered mix (Baja Bob's Margarita Mix) I recently purchased. They tasted great!
 |
| The very last drops of my watermelon margarita. |
Tuesday, July 23
We were on our way to Annapolis before 9 AM this morning. One of our major stops was at Fawcetts for supplies to complete our plumbing under the companionway floor--we managed to find everything we needed. Of course, we had many more stops in Annapolis for various things (like cat food). While in Annapolis we ran across an interesting bumper sticker (shown below) and we later found them online at Amazon.com.
 |
| We ran across the above bumper sticker before lunch at Jack's Fortune in Annapolis. |
When we returned to the boat we started the plumbing project. I put together a manifold constructed from nylon pipe fittings and fastened it to the largest strainer. I removed the smallest strainer--it will be re-purposed for the water maker. I wouldn't say that things went smoothly--they seldom do on a boat project. First, it was difficult to get rid of the water that had accumulated under the companionway floor because one of the limber holes had plugged up with debris. Once we found and solved that problem, things went a lot smoother.
 |
| Simplified plumbing and cleaned up of area beneath the companionway floor. It may seem like there are a lot of connections to the strainer but they are never used simultaneously. |
In particular, applying the mixed Marine-Tex to the area beneath the wooden base for the raw water strainer was very messy. I had to apply this with my hands after I had connected all the hoses. I used a box full of hole saws to weight down the strainer while the Marine-Tex cured. (I added more Marine-Tex the next morning.)
It rained lightly most of the day and remained cool which was fortunate in that we didn't need the air conditioner because that was the plumbing that was interrupted. Later in the evening we tried some of the Crystal Light beverage mixes--the "Classic Orange" was particularly good with rum as a frozen drink!
Wednesday, July 24
We slept without air conditioning last night, as the outside temperature got down to 68 degrees. We were actually allowing the Marine-Tex (that was used to mount the primary raw water strainer) to cure overnight before using the air conditioner. I added some additional Marine-Tex first thing in the AM--this time I was prepared for the mess.
----------
We found something during our plumbing project yesterday that scared the hell out of me. One of the hoses that led to the smallest raw water strainer from the seacock under the galley sink was simply slipped over the hose barb fitting—the hose clamps were not tightened and there was salt water in the nearby cavity, indicating that it was leaking. This could have caused our boat to sink!
I don’t know how this could have happened because I am meticulous about plumbing below the waterline (for example, changing out hoses every 10 years) but I’m glad we found it before a possible catastrophic event. If we would not have undertaken the project to remove the smallest raw water strainer and it’s hoses, we probably would have never found the potential problem until it was too late.
----------
Today was bilge cleaning day--this is always fun! First, we thoroughly cleaned the area around the seacocks under the galley sink (where we found the loose hose yesterday) and cleaned the limber holes (holes in the boat structure to allow drainage of water) so that the area could drain better.
 |
| A very poor photo of way back under the galley sink before cleaning. (The hose is the drain hose from the fridge.) |
 |
| Maggie spraying the bilge compartments with a hose. (The big round white dot is the top of the bilge pump.) |
The worst part of cleaning the bilge is that your hands smell like bilge water for several days--it is a very distinct smell that only a sailor would recognize.
----------
Thanks for following our blog!
No comments:
Post a Comment