Summer in Baltimore
August 17 thru August 21
—Blogpost written by Bob
Saturday, August 17
Saturday mornings are always social here in the marina as we all have a light breakfast together in the boater's lounge. Everyone complains about their current or latest boat project but I think they actually love them. The Saturday morning breakfast usually breaks up between 10 AM and 11 AM.
Today was one of those days that I really didn't feel like working on boat projects, although I still have quite a long "to do" list remaining for the summer. In fact, nothing of value was accomplished today.
We went to Lee's birthday party here at the marina in the late afternoon. (Lee has worked here at the marina for a long time and puts on a big birthday bash and invites everyone!) Hard shell crabs, beer, and music were featured at his birthday bash.
Today was electrical wiring day on the boat. We removed some older cables that are no longer needed (like the Ethernet cable between chart plotters that didn't work out so well) and installed two new 12-volt cables to the main 12-volt electrical panel: one for the water maker and the other for the fresh water transfer pump).
Like most other electrical projects on the boat, this project involved crawling in the starboard cockpit locker and removing some companionway panels for access for cable runs.
While we were on a roll, we also hooked up the 110-volt cable between the new outlet in the companionway and the 110-volt electrical panel. A thunderstorm blew through the marina in the middle of the afternoon causing a temporary work stoppage on the 110-volt system. (I will make the final connection next week sometime).
I plan to install another 110-volt outlet soon--this one in the galley. While we are in a marina here in Baltimore we frequently use a toaster for breakfast and it would be nice not to have to hunt for an unused outlet somewhere on the boat remote from the galley. (This might be a project for next week.)
We got to work early on removing the port settee cushions and the platform beneath the cushions. (This was the last time we had such difficulty removing this platform since I am cutting it into two parts.)
We took the platform out on the dock and then removed the port water tank, moving that out on the dock as well. The fracture in the plastic vent fitting was worse than I had thought--the fitting was cracked about 3/4 of the way around the circumference.
I was able to make the split on the platform right at a mitered joint, at 45 degrees until about 1-1/2 inches inboard, then straight across. The cut I made is barely noticeable and it makes assembly and disassembly so much easier.
We loaded the water tank into our car so that we can take it to Maritime Plastics in Annapolis tomorrow morning for the repair.
i removed the vent line since I will be replacing it--it was made from the old gray hoses that were used throughout my boat by the original manufacturer. I thought I removed all of it but apparently I never replaced this vent line.
After applying the first coat of (thinned) varnish to the companionway stairs in the early morning, we drove to Annapolis. We took the port water tank to Maritime Plastics and they spun-weld a new vent fitting on the tank for us--they did this on the spot and it was pretty quick (about 10 to 15 minutes).
Then it was off to Fawcetts for some new fittings, vinyl hose, hose clamps, and several different types of screws for various purposes. All of this material was needed to keep our boat projects moving forward for the remainder of the week and into the coming weekend. (I'm planning on returning to Annapolis on Friday morning.)
We stopped for lunch and then completed a couple errands on our list before returning to our boat in Baltimore. After putting the groceries away on the boat, we pulled off the settee cushions on the port side and prepared to reinstall the port fresh water tank. (This task was so much easier now that the platform has been cut into two pieces! I don't know why I didn't do this before now.)
In only took about an hour to reinstall the tank and hook up the hoses, even though I had to make one of the holes in the bulkhead a little larger. We installed the new vent hose and fastened it to the fitting in the upper portion of the hull.
With an early start to the day, I turned the companionway stairs upside down and applied a coat of varnish to the underside of the steps and the inner sides of the stairs which were difficult to access yesterday.
Shortly thereafter I began work on making a new divider in the bin under the forward portion of the port settee. By about 10 in the morning, I had finished this project and temporarily installed the divider frame with dabs of thickened epoxy. (The divider is fastened to the divider frame with screws so that it can be removed but the frame will permanently stay in place.)
After lunch after the dabs of thickened epoxy had cured, I removed the divider and applied long fillets of thickened epoxy. While the divider was removed I painted it white, applying the second coat of paint later in the evening.
While I was installing the divider I noticed some water in the lowest area of the bin. So, the leak we thought we fixed yesterday (possibly) wasn't completely fixed!
We pulled apart the port settee to expose the tank and the connections but fortunately found no leaks around the connections or in the hoses. However, the inspection ports were both leaking. So, I unscrewed them and cleaned the seals and applied white silicone to the threads as I reinstalled them. (We're going to allow the silicone to set for 24 hours before we declare victory.) The water in the bottom of the bin must have been from changing the hose connections yesterday because there is no direct route from the tank fo the bin except via the bilge (and water doesn't run uphill).
We have to start wrapping up these boat projects since we will be leaving Baltimore in early to mid-October--about 7 or 8 weeks from now...
Thanks for following our blog!
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| Lola relaxing in a cardboard box I had been saving to making templates. This behavior (crawling into a box) is supposed to be instinctive. |
Today was one of those days that I really didn't feel like working on boat projects, although I still have quite a long "to do" list remaining for the summer. In fact, nothing of value was accomplished today.
We went to Lee's birthday party here at the marina in the late afternoon. (Lee has worked here at the marina for a long time and puts on a big birthday bash and invites everyone!) Hard shell crabs, beer, and music were featured at his birthday bash.
Sunday, August 18
Today was electrical wiring day on the boat. We removed some older cables that are no longer needed (like the Ethernet cable between chart plotters that didn't work out so well) and installed two new 12-volt cables to the main 12-volt electrical panel: one for the water maker and the other for the fresh water transfer pump).
 |
| Above, the 12-volt electrical panel door is open for access. |
Like most other electrical projects on the boat, this project involved crawling in the starboard cockpit locker and removing some companionway panels for access for cable runs.
While we were on a roll, we also hooked up the 110-volt cable between the new outlet in the companionway and the 110-volt electrical panel. A thunderstorm blew through the marina in the middle of the afternoon causing a temporary work stoppage on the 110-volt system. (I will make the final connection next week sometime).
I plan to install another 110-volt outlet soon--this one in the galley. While we are in a marina here in Baltimore we frequently use a toaster for breakfast and it would be nice not to have to hunt for an unused outlet somewhere on the boat remote from the galley. (This might be a project for next week.)
Monday, August 19
We got to work early on removing the port settee cushions and the platform beneath the cushions. (This was the last time we had such difficulty removing this platform since I am cutting it into two parts.)
We took the platform out on the dock and then removed the port water tank, moving that out on the dock as well. The fracture in the plastic vent fitting was worse than I had thought--the fitting was cracked about 3/4 of the way around the circumference.
I was able to make the split on the platform right at a mitered joint, at 45 degrees until about 1-1/2 inches inboard, then straight across. The cut I made is barely noticeable and it makes assembly and disassembly so much easier.
 |
| The split in the platform is shown above (about center of image). At this point the tank is still out. |
We loaded the water tank into our car so that we can take it to Maritime Plastics in Annapolis tomorrow morning for the repair.
i removed the vent line since I will be replacing it--it was made from the old gray hoses that were used throughout my boat by the original manufacturer. I thought I removed all of it but apparently I never replaced this vent line.
 |
| The end of the vent line that was connected to the outside vent hood. I'm hoping that the threads are 1/2" NPT. |
Tuesday, August 20
After applying the first coat of (thinned) varnish to the companionway stairs in the early morning, we drove to Annapolis. We took the port water tank to Maritime Plastics and they spun-weld a new vent fitting on the tank for us--they did this on the spot and it was pretty quick (about 10 to 15 minutes).
Then it was off to Fawcetts for some new fittings, vinyl hose, hose clamps, and several different types of screws for various purposes. All of this material was needed to keep our boat projects moving forward for the remainder of the week and into the coming weekend. (I'm planning on returning to Annapolis on Friday morning.)
We stopped for lunch and then completed a couple errands on our list before returning to our boat in Baltimore. After putting the groceries away on the boat, we pulled off the settee cushions on the port side and prepared to reinstall the port fresh water tank. (This task was so much easier now that the platform has been cut into two pieces! I don't know why I didn't do this before now.)
In only took about an hour to reinstall the tank and hook up the hoses, even though I had to make one of the holes in the bulkhead a little larger. We installed the new vent hose and fastened it to the fitting in the upper portion of the hull.
 |
| The new vent hose is the white reinforced vinyl hose shown in the upper portion of this image. (The larger hose with the black spiral is the existing fill hose for the port tank.) |
Wednesday, August 21
With an early start to the day, I turned the companionway stairs upside down and applied a coat of varnish to the underside of the steps and the inner sides of the stairs which were difficult to access yesterday.
Shortly thereafter I began work on making a new divider in the bin under the forward portion of the port settee. By about 10 in the morning, I had finished this project and temporarily installed the divider frame with dabs of thickened epoxy. (The divider is fastened to the divider frame with screws so that it can be removed but the frame will permanently stay in place.)
 |
| This may not look like much but it is amazing how simple dividers make for improved space utilization. (The blue tape was used like a guideline for the divider placement.) |
After lunch after the dabs of thickened epoxy had cured, I removed the divider and applied long fillets of thickened epoxy. While the divider was removed I painted it white, applying the second coat of paint later in the evening.
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While I was installing the divider I noticed some water in the lowest area of the bin. So, the leak we thought we fixed yesterday (possibly) wasn't completely fixed!
 |
| A small amount of water in the bottom of the bin under the port settee after filling the port tank this morning could indicate that we still have a leak. |
We pulled apart the port settee to expose the tank and the connections but fortunately found no leaks around the connections or in the hoses. However, the inspection ports were both leaking. So, I unscrewed them and cleaned the seals and applied white silicone to the threads as I reinstalled them. (We're going to allow the silicone to set for 24 hours before we declare victory.) The water in the bottom of the bin must have been from changing the hose connections yesterday because there is no direct route from the tank fo the bin except via the bilge (and water doesn't run uphill).
We have to start wrapping up these boat projects since we will be leaving Baltimore in early to mid-October--about 7 or 8 weeks from now...
Thanks for following our blog!
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