Summer in Baltimore

August 3 thru August 7

—Blogpost written by Bob

Saturday, August 3

There is a type of peacefulness that one experiences nearing the end of a big project--this was how I felt at the beginning of the day.  (I've been working on the water maker installation for seven days now!)  I made a list of things that I need to get in order to wrap up the project or make it better.  One of the most important on the list was to add a valve in the seawater line so that I can shut off everything from inside the compartment--this way I can simply close the new valve to change pre-filter cartridges or to clean the raw water strainer without shutting off the seacock (which is located beneath the platform under galley sink).  All of our seacocks are located in somewhat difficult to reach areas, at least they are difficult to reach while we are living aboard.  

The fresh water discharge from the water maker 
(small clear hose) was tied into the vent line 
for the 15-gallon day tank about 10 
inches above the top of the tank.

In the morning, I made the tie in from the fresh water discharge of the water maker to the vent of the 15-gallon day tank.  The discharge was only a 1/4-inch hose and the vent was 1/2-inch hose.  This may sound strange but the tank's vent is only used when filling the tank from an outside source (air is expelled through the vent) and in the normal course of pumping water from the tank (air is drawn from outside).

I tried to make the tie in for the fresh water transfer pump (from the pump to the inlet hose of the forward 40-gallon tank) but I changed my mind on how to do the tie and I need a couple more hose fittings.

Lola lays in back of my laptop screen as I type.
Note that her head is resting on a spare
battery for my portable drill.

I did some planning for the electrical wiring, sizing of the cables and checking the ratings of the intended circuit breakers, for both the water maker's motor and the fresh water transfer pump.

I ordered an hour meter from Amazon for use with the water maker since most of the maintenance requirements are tied to hours of operation.  The hour meter is about the size of a business card and is about 1-inch deep.  The meter will start counting hours once the power is applied to the water maker and will temporarily stop when the circuit breaker is shut off.  The hour meter will be mounted in the compartment with the water maker.

This hour meter will be added to our water
maker system for ease of recording
maintenance actions.

It feels so good NOT to be working like a dog today!

Sunday, August 4

Sunday was a beautiful day with a cool 10-knot breeze from the west northwest.  Today is my day off from boat projects!  However I did clean the primary raw water strainer this morning--it has been 2 weeks since I last cleaned it.  I am surprised at how little marine growth and debris was in the strainer.  (The primary raw water strainer serves to remove debris from the harbor water before passing through our air conditioner.  Unlike a house where the air conditioner is air-cooled, our onboard air conditioner is water-cooled.)

I sent the boat's documentation renewal
today.  It costs $26 per year for
federal licensing.

Maggie brought me (sugar-free) salt water
taffy back from the beach!  (The
chocolate is almost all
gone already.)

I plan to tie on the brine discharge from the
water maker into the deck drain system
just above the white elbow in this
photo.  (I also need to clean
up some of the cables!)

The 3/8-inch brine line (as measured at the water maker) will tie into the 1-inch drain line just above the tee.  We pulled off the 1-inch drain line overnight until we get the needed fitting tomorrow.  I hope it doesn't rain tonight!

Monday, August 5

After sleeping in a bit in the morning (until 7:30), we got showers and prepared to leave for Annapolis.  We actually left the marina by car at 9:45 AM and got a late breakfast at Naval Bagels in Annapolis.

The selection of hose fittings at Fawcetts in Annapolis
is outstanding, even for very small hose sizes.
(We spent $174 today on things to complete
the water maker installation.)

We had a late lunch at one of our favorite restaurants in Annapolis, Carroll's Creek Cafe--as usual, it was absolutely delicious!  We returned to the boat and installed the tie-in for the line from the fresh water transfer pump to the forward tank.  This line is used to transfer fresh water from the 15-gallon day tank (located on the port side) to the forward (40-gallon) tank using the fresh water transfer pump.  By the time we were done it was time for Happy Hour and we couldn't miss that!

The tie-in from the fresh water transfer pump to the
forward water tank is shown on the upper left
corner of this image.  The existing fill
hose is shown on the lower left
corner of this image.

Tuesday, August 6

Since it is expected to rain on Wednesday, we decided to complete our outdoor tasks today. First, we routed the brine hose, starting from the tie in to the deck drain and worked our way toward the water maker compartment.  Routing the 3/8-inch reinforced vinyl hose went fairly easily because I prepared up a subassembly for the tie-in and there was sufficient holes to run the hose through.  Still, it involved climbing into the starboard cockpit locker and then working the hose through partitions in the boat until we reached the water maker compartment.  We connected the hose to the brine discharge on the water maker.  (So, the deck drain is back together in preparation for the rain tomorrow.)

Then we worked through the same holes and through the same areas backward with the two electrical cables--one for the water maker and the other for the fresh water transfer pump.  When we got to the navigation station and all the remaining work was inside work, we had lunch and then decided to pull the dinghy out of the water for cleaning.  We scrubbed the bottom and the inside (ducks were using it as a portable toilet).  (Over the next couple days I will paint the bottom before storing the dinghy on the foredeck.)

My last remaining goal for the day was to design a water maker maintenance log.  All I had to do was to design one page--I will have prints made and have them spirally bound in Annapolis on Thursday.

A thunderstorm blew through the marina in the
late afternoon.  This photo was taken
near the end of the storm as the
sun began to appear.

Wednesday, August 7

We took down the forepeak tent this morning because it suffered some damage from the violent thunderstorm yesterday afternoon.  Several of the attachments tore off.  We also wasted a lot of time in the morning chasing down a problem with our shore power.  I think the problem was caused by our sometimes faulty outlet in the head tripping the overly sensitive breaker on the pedestal.  At least, when I isolated that circuit containing the head outlet the problem went away.  (I will address the faulty outlet by the end of this week.)

I installed a seawater isolation valve in the water maker compartment today.  Of course, a trip to Annapolis to get a 3-1/2" long threaded brass pipe nipple was required--this knocked 2-1/2 hours out of the middle of my day.  I managed to get the valve installed and some electrical wiring done in the water maker compartment--I still have more to do.

At 4 PM today, we had more thunderstorms that rolled through the harbor but they weren't quite as violent as yesterday.

During the rain late this afternoon, I took this photo
of our jib sheet winch.  Even though it was
a thunderstorm, the rain was still
somewhat mellow.

Tomorrow we head to Annapolis again and we will continue with our water maker project when we return.  Will we complete it tomorrow?  Stay tuned...


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