When we surveyed the boat one of the issues identified was a broken handle for a though haul that let the generator spit its hot exhaust water out under the boat. This is done to allow the air to come out an above water exhaust port allowing the generator to run really quietly presumably while in a full anchorage somewhere magical. For some reason this through haul was a ball valve which let one close the underwater route thus sending the exhaust water and air out the same port. I'm not really sure why one might close the valve but someone had tried and broken it somewhere along the way. It appears something may have been stuck in it when they tried this as the actual ball appeared damaged after I got it out. I asked the Xquisite folks to fix it when they hauled the boat in the Bahamas but it seemed they didn't have a replacement valve. I asked the yard the boat is currently in to address it this winter. Seems they never got to it so I decided to just do it myself last weekend when I was at the boat. My first trip was to the hardware store as of course I did not have a pipe wrench or anything large enough to get it off. Once I got back and got it off then it was off to West Marine for a new valve which they had but did not have any plumbers tape so then I got to make a trip to Lowes for that and an additional extra large adjustable wrench that would allow me to get the nipple off and reuse it. So in all this one project only took me six hours but I was happy to have it completed as its not something easily done while the boats in the water.
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| New name |
My next project was supposed to be putting the main sail on the boat but that seemed like a lot to take on before dark so I decided to tackle getting the boat renamed. Last time I was at the boat I got measurements for where I wanted the name and then got the decals printed back at home and luckily I even remembered to bring the new decals with me. So after a couple hours of pealing the old name off, a lot of cleaning, then a bunch of measuring in an attempt to get the words centered and hopefully not going off on a huge slant I ended up with this. It's not perfect but I don't think a casual observer will notice that it's not quite straight? So I'm now one more step closer to being fully legal. I still have to get the three Coast Guard placards up which I've purchased but not yet taken the time to stick in the expected locations. I also need to get the Coast Guard registration numbers made and permanently mounted somewhere. While it seems a previous owner did pay to have the boat imported it seems they never actually bothered with the numbers or placard's. So still a bit more to do before I can get a USCG inspection done.
The next day I had planned to put the main sail on. Well I got distracted from that by a dripping I heard that turned out to be our forward storage locker being full of water but unable to drain. It seems enough seeds from the trees had gotten in there to clog up the drain cover thus allowing the entire compartment to fill with water over the winter. This had happened in one of the anchor chain lockers as well which I cleaned out last time. Luckily this locker only housed our inflatable fenders and a foot pump so after draining it to get it somewhat cleaned up which is challenging without a nearby water supply. I inflated all the fenders, got them washed off, then tied down to the boat along with a couple lines that might hopefully dry out without incurring anymore mold. The entire thing was quite gross. Needless to say this process distracted me until about lunch time which is when I decided I was done and just wanted to head home as I had to be back for Trap practice the next day.
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| Previous name |
Now the best part. Once I got stuff turned off, packed up, and put away ready to head home it hit me that the new ball valve I bought may not have been a great idea. As you can see from the picture something had leaked on it and the original bronze valve was quite green and salty. I had decided I would spend the extra money when at West Marine to get the fancy composite valve that we have everywhere else on the boat that does not rust. Well once I sat down and started thinking about it I wondered how much heat that thing could deal with and after a quick google search I got the idea it might work but it was not the best idea should we overheat the generator at some point in the future and while spiffy to have something that does not turn green and nasty it was probably not a good idea to have a through haul that might melt and sink the boat. So I'm back to square one. The ball valve still needs to be replaced before going in the water. UGH, after 18hrs of driving, four days of time, not to mention the cost of gas and food, then 6hrs getting parts and doing the project, it was all wasted by a single bad decision! I guess it could have been worse should I have actually melted the new valve and sunk the boat but man that was a bit of a disappointing drive back home.
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