Boating with Sunset Delight: Check valves and signal boosters

2/10/2017 – 2/11/2017

The past two days have been focused on yet more boat work. We took a break each of these two days to attend docktails at 5:00 p.m.; otherwise, we spent time on maintenance and repair. My list is much shorter than Clark’s and nowhere near as interesting.

Somewhat unexpectedly, because we thought to receive it later in the week, the Island Time WiFi booster was delivered to our boat on Friday. Clark had not yet ordered the installation accessories, such as antenna extension, and here we had the booster! As a temporary solution, until we get the installation parts, Clark set up the booster in the pilot house. Since we had designed the layout earlier in the week, Clark quickly placed the order for the installation parts.

I am not convinced the WiFi booster arrangement works any better, and may in fact be worse, than the direct signal from the marina when working in the salon – the part of the boat nearest the dock. However, it seems to be a significant improvement elsewhere on the boat. Given that the booster has a rather short antenna, and it is currently located inside the center of the boat, I am surprised it works at all.

Both Clark and I are frustrated that we keep looking for things on this boat that we thought we brought with us from New Jersey and cannot find. Either they all perform vanishing acts, or we only thought we brought the items. The “where did it go” item Friday was a tool Clark needs to drill out a broken-off screw on the fresh-water wash-down and replace the lost cap with the new one that came in the mail. That tool set does not appear to be on board! Either that or it is hiding with the boat hooks that we were sure we brought and mysteriously cannot find!

From reading the documentation on equipment on board the boat, Clark knew that a cellular booster should be located somewhere on the boat. He just could not find it. After contacting the broker, he discovered that the floor of the master stateroom closet has a compartment in the bottom that contains the cellular booster. Of course he had to remove everything from the closet to access it.

With a little detective work, he deduced that the cellular booster and the antenna he disassembled earlier in the week go together. The antenna is supposed to feed the cellular booster; however, with the wire disconnected from the antenna, it could not possibly work. When Clark found the unit in the closet, he was shocked to see that the wire was not connected at that end either!

Note the brass-colored connector with no wire attached and
the large white wire laying in front of the unit! Why?!

Having spent two days waiting for a call back from the local plumbing store regarding the parts needed for the guest head, Clark decided to call Middletown Plumbing to ask them about the parts needed to make the repair. They knew immediately that he needed a Corian Overflow Assembly. With that bit of information, he went online and ordered the part. They told him he can use it in conjunction with the part he already bought at Home Depot, so when the overflow assembly arrives, we can put the sink back together. I can’t wait!

Before retiring for the night, Clark made a list of four items to tackle on Saturday. 1) charge the battery for the dinghy, 2) fill and leak-test the propane tanks, 3) lubricate the windshield wiper arms where the springs do not quite allow the blades to meet the window when they run, and 4) look at the check-valve plumbing associated with the bilge pump. The first item on the list went smoothly although charging the battery seemed to take much longer than Clark expected. The propane leak-test showed no leaks (yay), and he got the empty tank filled so we are good to use propane for cooking.

Clark had hoped to remove the three windshield wiper arms and soak them in penetrating oil; however, he discovered that they cannot easily be removed, so he oiled them in place and said he would have to do that daily for a while to see if the mechanism loosens up over time. The one on the port window is in the best condition. The other two need a lot of help to be functional. I hope we don’t need them any time soon as they don’t even touch the glass as they move back-and-forth.

The last item on the list proved the most interesting. Clark was dismayed to see that the boat had a check-valve system in place associated with the bilge pump. The pump pushes the water up the hose and out of the boat; the check-valve is designed to stop the water from running back down the hose and into the pump when the pump stops pumping. Clark said that check-valves are notorious for failing, and once they fail, they have the potential to form a siphon and cause a boat to sink in rough seas where outside water is allowed to pour, unchecked, into the bilge through the faulty part.

He climbed down into the compartment containing the bilge pump, took apart the hose connection, and sure enough the part has deteriorated to the point where it is dysfunctional.

Daylight can be seen looking through the valve!

This "check valve" is not going to stop any water
from flowing into the boat!

After checking and cleaning the part, he put it back as it is needed when the bilge pump runs. Immediately afterwards, however, he placed an on-line order for a vented loop, which is fitted with a one-way valve at the top, permitting water to be pumped through the loop and out of the hull. It prevents the formation of a siphon that would allow water to flow back into the hull and, at least theoretically, sink the boat.

With Clark completing his day’s tasks on both days, we attended docktails and met a lot more boaters – many of them loopers currently on their great loop voyage. Two families, each with small children, are currently traveling the loop and home schooling as they go. We met one of the two families; they are from Peterborough, Ontario. James, the father, said that the home schooling is the hardest part of the trip. I can imagine that finding time, and getting the children to focus, would be very difficult. James’ wife, Nancy, is a school teacher, so she certainly has the credentials to make it happen.

We also met an interesting young man on a sailboat named John who is traveling with his cat named “Captain Jack”. John is a captain for a dive boat here in the Marathon and saving to buy his dream sailboat some day in the future. He boasted to Clark that he was “an electrical guru” as he told Clark all about his solar power cells and how he configured them on his sailboat. I left partway through their conversation. When I rejoined the two of them about an hour later, John said, “Well, I thought I was a guru until I met this guy [Clark] and now I learned I don’t know diddly squat!” I started laughing well before he even got to the part where he admitted who was the real guru.

When I walked up to say hello to some looper folks today, one of them pulled me to one side and asked if Clark would mind if she asked him some questions about their boat’s electrical systems. I told her that it was not a problem as Clark generally likes discussing those types of things. She found him later in the day and asked for help; they plan to meet to go over her list of questions. I expect Dr. Clark and his trusty volt meter will soon be making a “boat” call to see what ails them.

Both days we got to see sunsets though neither was super spectacular. When we walked back from docktails Friday night, we could see the bright full moon shining down on us. We expected to see some signs of the eclipse supposedly in progress, but we saw no signs of it with either the naked eye or binoculars. Strange! We did not stay up or set alarms to look for the comet at 3:00 a.m., so we only got to see one of the three big astrological events that occurred this weekend. I read online that each full moon has a name given to it by the American Indians. February’s moon is called the “Hunger Moon” thus named due to the lack of food in the coldest month of the year.