Stay Over Days in Emerald Bay
—Blogpost written by Bob
Mar 28 thru Mar 31
As we continue our "sheltering in place" here in Emerald Bay Marina on Great Exuma Island in the Bahamas, I'm hoping that everyone back home is still successfully dealing with this awful pandemic. Experts believe the pandemic will get even worse before it gets better...
Late yesterday, we learned that the Bahamian restrictions on boat movements were extended to April 8--I think this was a smart move, even though we are stuck here. But Emerald Bay Marina on Great Exuma Island is not a bad place to be stuck, for sure!
There are still only 4 confirmed cases of the Coronavirus in the Bahamas, another 10 people are in quarantine. Further travel restrictions have been imposed (in addition to the extension to April 8) in that only one person in each household can go out for groceries. We placed our order today for groceries to be delivered to this marina on Thursday. (This island has been rigidly following the restrictions as far as we can tell.)
The wind was light this morning as big cumulus clouds slowly moved overhead and as the sun started its ascent into the sky. It was a beautiful morning! (We think the temperature will soon get hot here. I'm glad we have onboard A/C!)
We still had some leakage into the bilge yesterday, though it was somewhat reduced--we could tell by the rate of the bilge pump operation. In addition, last night we left the pressure water switch on by mistake and the fresh water pump operated at least twice during the night until I got out of bed and turned it off. The fresh water pump will maintain positive pressure on the system--so, its operation indicated that it was making up for some leakage but this narrows the problem down to the fresh water system.
I broke down the fresh water system into four zones for closer investigation:
Closely examining Zone 1 found no fresh water leaks. So, tomorrow it's onto Zone 2 where I think the leak is most likely to be found because we haven't investigated this area previously.
After lunch we put up our forepeak tent to keep the hot sun off the foredeck. (In the past using our forepeak tent reduced our A/C load significantly.)
The only tough part about our "waiting game" is that we are pretty far from home. We feel very safe here for now in terms of the coronavirus but we are one month from home at a minimum and we will need diesel fuel along the way to make it home. I am encouraged by members of my family (my sister and my brother and others) who advised us to stay where we are for now (not that we have a choice).
In terms of closer investigation for fresh water leaks, today's agenda was Zone 2. To get access to Zone 2 we had to remove everything in our quarter berth. Consequently, this zone was the most difficult to access.
I could see and feel the connections and hoses on the back of the cockpit shower--there were no leaks here but I tightened the hose clamps anyway. With respect to the fresh water pump (also located in this zone), since I couldn't see it nor take photos, I felt all long the intake and outlet hoses (and pump connections) and found no wetness to the touch. Therefore, Zone 2 was pronounced leak free. (While I was in this area, I also checked for any salt water leakage around the rudder shaft and the engine raw water strainer.)
We are simultaneously experiencing bilge pump actions and cycling on the fresh water pump. We have assumed that these two actions have been related. In other words, the fresh water pump runs to satisfy the pressure demand. The leak in the system lowers the pressure gradually and leaks into the bilge. Once the switch level in the bilge is reached, the bilge pump pumps the bilge water overboard. (It is possible that the frequent bilge pump operation and the fresh water pump operations are not related. Fortunately, we've had no rain--so there is no possibility of rainwater leaks.)
While I was engaged in the search for leaks, I decided to check the leak tightness of the handheld faucet in the head--the fresh water connection was loose. I added TEFLON tape and tightened the connection to eliminate the leak. This leak, however, would only have occurred while the hand held faucet was in use--so, I don't believe this was THE problem leak.
In our next blogpost, we continue to try and find THE leak in our fresh water system.
Thanks for following our blog!
Saturday, March 28
Lately we’ve noticed that our bilge pump was going off about every 15 minutes (4 times per hour). However, we haven’t yet run out of the 10 gallons of fresh water that we produce daily in our water maker. So, the leakage was either fresh water that was in excess of our daily use (leaking from a hose or a tank) OR it was salt water (from outside the boat) OR it was a combination of both.
To start our search for the leak, we took a TDS reading of our standing water in the bilge—the reading was ~1400 ppm. We scooped up some salt water from outside the boat in a bucket and measured it’s TDS with our gauge—it read ~1150 ppm. So, the bilge water had more total dissolved solids than the salt water outside the boat.
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| We measured the total dissolved solids of salt water we scooped up from outside the boat. (It measured 1148 ppm TDS.) |
Because of the high TDS reading in the bilge we checked the brine discharge connections from the water maker first since that line would have very high TDS—there were no leaks near the discharge from the boat. The brine discharge line connecting to the water maker under the starboard settee was somewhat loose and showed some signs of minor leakage but no where near enough to cause the bilge to go off every 15 minutes. We tightened the hose clamp on the brine discharge connections on the water maker.
Next we checked all the fresh water connections to the water heater and found no leaks in the area. We also looked for salt water leaks from the shaft seal and there were none. The lack of wet engine diaper also indicated that the leak was not coming from the fresh water pump which is located to the port aft of the engine.
We checked beneath both the galley and head sinks for leaks and they were both completely dry. We then checked under the floorboard between the two sinks where a lot of fresh water lines interconnect. There, we found two (hot and cold) fresh water connections that were nearly spraying leaks (very fast drips). We found one other fresh water hose connection in this area that had a broken hose clamp and it couldn’t be tightened—we replaced the faulty hose clamp. We believed we fixed all the leaks at that point.
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| The area under the floorboard between the galley and head sinks. |
Apparently, the earlier TDS readings of the bilge water did nothing to help us isolate the leaks into the bilge. It seemed like a clever idea but it just didn’t work. (I’m still surprised that the TDS of our bilge water was so high.)
The leak finding/fixing took us all morning (and then some). In a way, this exercise gave us some purpose—we were not just waiting in place like we have been for months.
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The original restriction to boat movement here in the Bahamas was through Tuesday, March 31. We believe this Bahamian restriction will be extended for another week or so, not because new cases of the coronavirus were found here but because it is based on the science of this disease. (In fact on March 29 it was extended to April 8.) Our biggest concern in going home is the patchwork of restrictions undertaken in the U.S. (sometimes by states and sometimes by counties) because of the complete lack of federal control. When will we know it is really safe to return?
Sunday, March 29
This morning Maggie and I talked about the fact that we’ll probably be stuck here on Great Exuma much longer than we ever imagined, mostly because efforts in the U.S. haven’t yet “bent the curve downward.” As of yesterday, the number of Coronavirus cases in the U.S. was up to 123,781 and deaths were up to 2,229 (1.8% of cases on a running basis), deaths more than doubling yesterday. Meanwhile, the federal government still has not enacted any type of lockdown across the country. Governors in 27 states have issued “stay at home” orders but our federal government still had its head in the sand.
In Florida, the situation is even worse in that the Governor has not been proactive at all and the individual counties have taken their own actions. It’s a very sad situation, resulting in a patchwork of travel restrictions.
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After all our efforts yesterday trying to find/fix leaks, our bilge pump went on twice this morning, twenty minutes apart. We only observed it twice though. Then, it went on about an hour later. However, the bilge pump seemed to go on only when someone was moving around on the boat. Boat motion causes the residual level of bilge water to slosh around (from side to side) and activates the bilge switch. The discharge line from the bilge pump is very long and after the bilge pumps stops, the water in that line drains back into the bilge. The condensate that collects from our A/C unit (which we've been running a lot lately) drains into the bilge too--so, this condensate is adding to whatever leak we still have. In the morning, I noticed that our fresh water pump runs longer than usual to fill the accumulator tank. (The accumulator tank maintains pressure on the fresh water system when the pump is not turned on.) So, there probably is still some leakage from our fresh water system somewhere. (Over the next couple days I will continue with a systematic search for more fresh water leaks.)
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Sometimes the “pandemic stories” from back home provide some assurance to us that this pandemic is being taken seriously. My brother-in-law (Aldo) who lives in southeastern Pennsylvania goes out for groceries (for himself and his wife) at 3 AM (wearing a surgical mask) when hardly anyone else is in the grocery store. The remainder of their time has been spent in their home. I wish all the stories we heard from back home were this cautious.
Monday, March 30
Late yesterday, we learned that the Bahamian restrictions on boat movements were extended to April 8--I think this was a smart move, even though we are stuck here. But Emerald Bay Marina on Great Exuma Island is not a bad place to be stuck, for sure!
There are still only 4 confirmed cases of the Coronavirus in the Bahamas, another 10 people are in quarantine. Further travel restrictions have been imposed (in addition to the extension to April 8) in that only one person in each household can go out for groceries. We placed our order today for groceries to be delivered to this marina on Thursday. (This island has been rigidly following the restrictions as far as we can tell.)
----------
The wind was light this morning as big cumulus clouds slowly moved overhead and as the sun started its ascent into the sky. It was a beautiful morning! (We think the temperature will soon get hot here. I'm glad we have onboard A/C!)
----------
We still had some leakage into the bilge yesterday, though it was somewhat reduced--we could tell by the rate of the bilge pump operation. In addition, last night we left the pressure water switch on by mistake and the fresh water pump operated at least twice during the night until I got out of bed and turned it off. The fresh water pump will maintain positive pressure on the system--so, its operation indicated that it was making up for some leakage but this narrows the problem down to the fresh water system.
I broke down the fresh water system into four zones for closer investigation:
Zone 1: Inside the cabin (forward):
(a) fresh water lines under head sink (again)
(b) fresh water lines under galley sink (again)
Zone 2: Under the cockpit (aft):
(a) connections to fresh water pump
(b) connections to outside shower
Zone 3: Midship:
(a) connections on water heater (again)
(b) interconnections under between-sinks floorboard (again)
Zone 4: Fresh Water Tank Connections:
(a) connections on 12-gallon day tank
(b) connection on 40-gallon forward tank
(c) connections on 32-gallon port tank
Zone 4: Fresh Water Tank Connections:
(a) connections on 12-gallon day tank
(b) connection on 40-gallon forward tank
(c) connections on 32-gallon port tank
Since I have lots of time on my hands, I will carefully examine one zone per day, taking pictures along the way. Zone 1 was today's objective.
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| The fresh water lines under the head sink were simple and leak tight. (The entire area was so dry that there was a layer of dust on everything.) |
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| Beneath the galley sink all the fresh water lines and connections were completely dry. (As I look at this photo. I see wetness on the sink drain crossover.) |
Closely examining Zone 1 found no fresh water leaks. So, tomorrow it's onto Zone 2 where I think the leak is most likely to be found because we haven't investigated this area previously.
----------
After lunch we put up our forepeak tent to keep the hot sun off the foredeck. (In the past using our forepeak tent reduced our A/C load significantly.)
 |
| Our forepeak tent is in place to prevent the hot sun from beating onto the foredeck. |
Tuesday, March 31
Judging by the lack of motion in the palm trees I can see through the companionway, the wind is almost nonexistent this morning. This typically means that the day will be warmer than usual (but only up to 80 degrees F according to the weather forecast). Maggie quickly came back inside the boat after Lola’s abbreviated outside time this morning because of the “no-see-ums.”
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The only tough part about our "waiting game" is that we are pretty far from home. We feel very safe here for now in terms of the coronavirus but we are one month from home at a minimum and we will need diesel fuel along the way to make it home. I am encouraged by members of my family (my sister and my brother and others) who advised us to stay where we are for now (not that we have a choice).
----------
In terms of closer investigation for fresh water leaks, today's agenda was Zone 2. To get access to Zone 2 we had to remove everything in our quarter berth. Consequently, this zone was the most difficult to access.
 |
| The connections on the back of the cockpit shower had no leaks. |
I could see and feel the connections and hoses on the back of the cockpit shower--there were no leaks here but I tightened the hose clamps anyway. With respect to the fresh water pump (also located in this zone), since I couldn't see it nor take photos, I felt all long the intake and outlet hoses (and pump connections) and found no wetness to the touch. Therefore, Zone 2 was pronounced leak free. (While I was in this area, I also checked for any salt water leakage around the rudder shaft and the engine raw water strainer.)
We are simultaneously experiencing bilge pump actions and cycling on the fresh water pump. We have assumed that these two actions have been related. In other words, the fresh water pump runs to satisfy the pressure demand. The leak in the system lowers the pressure gradually and leaks into the bilge. Once the switch level in the bilge is reached, the bilge pump pumps the bilge water overboard. (It is possible that the frequent bilge pump operation and the fresh water pump operations are not related. Fortunately, we've had no rain--so there is no possibility of rainwater leaks.)
While I was engaged in the search for leaks, I decided to check the leak tightness of the handheld faucet in the head--the fresh water connection was loose. I added TEFLON tape and tightened the connection to eliminate the leak. This leak, however, would only have occurred while the hand held faucet was in use--so, I don't believe this was THE problem leak.
----------
During this pandemic, it has become customary for us to sit in the marina lounge and watch YouTube videos and get caught up on our email and our blogs. (The WiFi signal is great in the lounge!) We seldom even see another person and, even if we did, the lounge is so large that it’s easy for us to practice social distancing there. I hope everyone can find peace in a similar place during this awful time...
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In our next blogpost, we continue to try and find THE leak in our fresh water system.
Thanks for following our blog!
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