2021: Sink and Fridge Repair

 14 January 2021

No boat travel.

With the cooler temperatures combined with a northerly wind, we spent most of the day on the boat. Late afternoon, we went for a walk around the marina - what Clark likes to call a "Bed Check". 

We saw a pair of penguins? pigeons? What's the word again? Oh, Pelicans! (Clark was having a difficult time remembering the correct bird name - after all, they all start with P!)

Pair of Pelicans guarding the boats

The sea grass has been plentiful. It surrounds our boat and the neighboring ones. The fishing boats are dealing with the grass as well.

Sea Grass Hairdo for the Outboards

15 January 2021

No boat travel.

Another cool day with yet more sea grass. We went to see who was around for docktails as the weather did cooperate a bit better today. Yesterday no one appeared for docktails as it was just too icky out. When we arrived, we found Mel learning how to operate the drone he has on board.

He got it going but then did not know the next step. While he continued the read, the drone kept flying over to cozy up to him. Whereby he would say, "Get away from me!" as he read the manual.

Mel with his overly friendly drone

16 January 2021

No boat travel.

Sandy and I went to the drive-thru farmer's market today. We keep arriving just a little too late to grab a bag of green beans. As we waited for our turn to pull up to order, we saw the car in front of us buy two bags of beans. We hoped that there would be more as we like to buy one bag and share it. Alas, the car in front took the last of the green beans! I did get lettuce, tomatoes, sweet corn, and peppers, so I did not come away empty handed.

As soon as I got back from the trip to the farmer's market, Clark started work on fixing the sink in the master head. Yesterday, I found the drain mostly clogged as the sink was very slow to empty. Short of using harsh chemicals, I tried a number of things to unclog it. Finally, I looked on line and found a recommendation for salt and hot water mixed with a touch of dawn. 

Clark turned off the valve under the sink, and we let the solution soak for a while. This unclogged the drain. Unfortunately, the water I used was way too hot, so in addition to unclogging the drain, it melted the waxy substance used to hold the sink overflow hose in place. We found out that the water that couldn't go down with the valve closed found an alternate exit out the overflow hose and onto the cabinet floor.

So, now instead of a clogged drain, we have a hose problem to fix. Clark mixed up some 2-part sealing compound for plastics and applied that to the connection after filing away the old sealant residue. 

Sink Repair Needed
Clark removed the cabinet door

Where the overflow hose connects under the sink.

Difficult to line up the hose to the overflow hole
in the sink. There always seems to be a bit of a gap.

After completing the repair, Clark did not want us to mistakenly use the sink. He clamped the tap down with a rubber band and put a tube in the sink as a reminder to use an alternate place to wash hands. Since we have a second head, we basically abandoned this head for 24 hours to allow things to dry. 

17 January 2021

No boat travel.

Our refrigerator started to fail on our trip south this year. On occasion, we could smell a "burning" smell that appeared to be coming from the fridge. By taking off the cover plate at the base of the fridge, Clark determined that the fan either did not spin or did not spin freely. He decided we needed a new fan. By poking it, he managed to get the fins of the fan spinning, and he babysat the fridge and the fan all the way to Marathon. 

Once we got here, he ordered a new fan motor. After it showed up, we hesitated to tackle the job as moving the fridge on the boat appeared to be a nasty job to tackle. We did not know if we could get it out, and if we got it out, if we could get it back in. Clark contacted a representative from our Krogen Express broker who sent information on what another KE boater experienced when they pulled out their fridge to install an ice maker. Their only caveat was, as I had already told Clark, the wood floor needs protection to prevent it from getting gouged.

We decided to tackle this ugly job today. I planned ahead to have frozen ice packs available, so I could empty the fridge. Clark thought that might be unnecessary, but I insisted that if I was going to lift a refrigerator, I was going to remove X pounds of meat and beverages before attempting to do so. I loaded up an ice chest as well as several insulated shopping bags.

Here's the recessed fridge
that we have to work on.

Here are my bags full of the fridge food
(plus the ice chest not shown here).

After much debate on the best way to protect the floor, Clark suggested we take one of our rugs, turn it upside down, and use that to slide the fridge out. Before we could get the fridge onto the rug; however, we first had to maneuver it over a "lip". Fortunately, the back of the fridge had two rollers (one each side) which aided us in pulling the fridge out once we got over that lip.

Once we had the fridge pulled out, Clark was trapped in the galley. The only way he could escape would be climbing over the peninsula.

Fridge out! No escape from the galley!

Given Clark had no means of escape, I got put to work. Get the vacuum. We have special, small / miniature attachments for one of the vacuum cleaners we have on board. Perfect for cleaning delicate / hard-to-reach spaces.

Clark pulling out the vacuum cleaner from the green bag.

My other jobs included getting tools from the tool box and scrubbing the port side and top of the fridge where several years of grime had accumulated. Clark cleaned the starboard side and back of the fridge as well as the walls and floor of the recessed space.

Fridge sitting on the carpet we used to slide it around.

Peek-a-boo! Clark behind the fridge.

Good thing he is thin -
not much room to get behind the fridge.

When Clark extricated the fan motor and compared it to the new motor, he declared that he had found the "smoking gun". The new motor spun freely where the old one was much harder to rotate.

The old fan motor

old fan motor

Of course, I knew not to throw away the old part. Clark took it apart, cleaned it up, sprayed contact cleaner on the bearings, and applied 3-in-1 oil to lubricate it. It now spins well, and he will keep it as a spare. He is pretty sure he put it together correctly and the fan will spin the right direction when / if it is used.

Before declaring success and putting the fridge back in place, I suggested we at least try to turn it on and see what happens. Clark told me to flip the breaker to check it out. Whoops! No can do! The fridge blocked my access to the breaker panel. I got a long extension cord and plugged the fridge in to an alternate outlet. Success!  The fridge started up with the fan rotating briskly and blowing any remaining dust around! Now we had to put the fridge back in place.

The only hard part of putting the fridge back in its hole was getting over that lip. We had to lift the fridge to get it up and over. Once that was done, it rolled back into place nicely. I told Clark we should tape up the power cord so that it did not fall down and get in the way as we pushed the fridge back in. It plugs in behind the fridge, and once we started pushing the fridge in, we would have no access to keep it out of the way. We tied a long string to the cord and then taped the string to the top of the fridge. It worked like a charm. 

Once we got the fridge back in place, Clark reattached the wood trip above and below the fridge. 

Applying finishing touches on reinstall on fridge.

We got up late today and started this job at noon. When I emptied the fridge, I grabbed what I would need to make lunch in case the fridge blocked galley access for a prolonged period of time. We had the fridge repaired and back in it slot by just after two o'clock. I cleaned the fridge, as I could not see putting the food back in without wiping it down first, and then put everything back in.  It was 3:00 by the time I was done with clean up and finally able to make lunch. 

While we worked on the fridge, I could hear music coming from the area by the pool. That is normal for Sunday afternoon. A wedding made today special, however. The ceremony and after ceremony events were short starting around 2:00 and being done by 3:15.

Bride and Groom exchanging vows.

Bride mingling with the attendees after the ceremony.

Having been on the boat again all day today, we did our "bed check" walk around the marina just to stretch our legs and get some air. With temperatures in the 60s today, we had to wear jackets for our walk. As we walked around the marina, we talked about our fridge-fix success. Clark said that he was glad I emptied the fridge as it did lighten the load considerably. Also, the fridge door did open at one point. Had there been food in there, we might have had an unpleasant mess to clean up.

Since we both worried about the fridge repair, we did not hesitate to congratulate ourselves on a successful mission being accomplished. Now, we hope that the fan repair is all that was needed to prevent fridge failure. Only time will tell.