Ep 159 Am I Cursed With My Boat Projects? Frustration in Sint Maarten
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- čas přidán 26. 08. 2024
- The cruising life is full of challenges, and truth be told, it would lessen the enjoyment were it not for both the failures and the successes.
And there are times when you almost want to give up, but you can’t. These are necessary and important tasks that must be seen through to completion. Should you neglect to do so, your life and that of those you love could be put in danger. Passed over projects simply make enjoyment of the boat harder, or worse, build to a point where nothing works as it should.
For me, keeping Talisman in top condition is an almost obsessive process. Having even a single system not functioning as it should grates on me. Even a small list of repairs will haunt my dreams, especially if I lack a path to success. And when I look at the spreadsheet of fixes and improvements that we’ve made over the years, totaling over $200k in hard costs alone (not including our own labor and that of others, plus the little items I never bothered to count), it’s nothing short of an enormity.
I generally avoid the topic of money, since it distresses me. And I know that if I wanted to gain more CZcams views, the easy way would be to reveal the secret of how to sail the world inexpensively. It’s what every young couple dreaming of escaping the rat-race is looking for. Hoping against hope that there’s the perfect boat out there or list of components that would allow them to sail endlessly across the seas worrying only about GRIB files and whether there might be a fish on the line soon. But such is not to be.
The truth is that this is a grinding life that takes a lot out of you. In every harbor you’ll see dilapidated sailboats that were once shiny and polished, ready to head over to the next island at the whim of their owners. Now they’re floating apartments for a singlehanded owner hoping to eke out a small living beneath the prying eyes of the local officials. Eventually, these boats might be abandoned or even sink from lack of supervision. It’s a sad thing to see, and I try my best to pretend it's not as it appears.
Such visions keep me awake at night, and moving forward on my own repairs come morning. I quickly become absorbed in the crisis of the moment, eventually declaring success and celebrating knowing that I have succeeded where others would have failed.
On a more upbeat note, I should add that cruisers are the best of the best when it comes to running to help a distressed fellow sailor. And the various local Facebook pages are a Godsend. A quick shout-out to the rest of the folks on “the net” in an anchorage will call forth a parade of knowledge-filled dudes with the tools and expertise to fix nearly anything. You just need to find a way to obtain the replacement parts.
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Thank you Kevin for sharing a typical boat life experience.
Boats always something to fix
Take good care Mike
Thanks Mike. And great to have you with us!
You might consider getting a refrigerant leak detector. Also the Emily & Clark's Adventure channel has some really good DIY videos on fixing refrigeration and AC.
Interesting stuff Kevin. So it's mot all sunsets and sundowners!
Sadly, yes.
Great episode kevin and wendy.
Thanks so much. It's what makes this effort so worthwhile.
"Everything on your boat is broken, you just don't know it yet!". Have had the need to replace our RULE bilge pumps and float switches several times over the past couple of years. We run two large and one small electric bilge pumps and 3 manual pumps. Despite the electric ones still being in the warranty period, they don't replace if any oil or chemical are present. Very hard to do in a bilge. Bilge cleaner is a real killer and will destroy the components in minutes. A year ago, I was persuaded to buy a combined pump and sensor (expensive). The unit was rated to run at 12 amps with a recommended 15amp fuse/breaker. The sensor works on impellor resistance. Oil increases the resistance and caused the pump to constantly run until the oil entered the casing further increasing the load and tripping the breaker. A very expensive learning process. Threw it out and went back to individual pump and float switch. Hasn't overcome the problem, but if one unit fails it's a fraction of the price. Had RULE bilge gear for 35 years and best we get is 3 or 4 years. They used to replace under warranty (5 years for the high amperage float switch), but the current units come with a disclaimer around oil and chemicals. Pretty ordinary for a bilge pump manufacturer. Think they would use oil and chemical resistant seals.
Likewise, our boat was wired with copper wire 35 years ago. Slowly but surely replacing all with tinned wire including the nav lights. Ironically our bow lights used to be large expensive ones that would get broken regularly. Changed over to small, rated LEDs and haven't broken one since.
Wow! Great comment. I'm pretty happy with the Rule higher amp float switch, and the pump itself is a Jabsco Maxi Puppy 3000 24V agricultural utility pump, which has been great. It's an impeller pump and oil probably helps it. We replaced the first version as a service item and kept the old as a spare. I also have a Rule sump type pump that I've been meaning to run as a parallel system just to have some extra flow capacity. We have a lot of 1.1/2" seacocks and the bilge pumps through a 1" hose. Our float switch goes through a relay and doesn't take bilge pump amperage through it, which doubtless helps with longevity.
Bring On Another Thousand...
I have had a similar bow nav light issue and in the end ran new tinned copper wires to the bow from the anchor locker through the bow pulpit which was not fun . Might be worth have a slow blow fuse on the bilge circuit if you don't already
good luck
Hi Geoff. Wait till next episode. You won't believe it. BTW, a fuse won't help unless there's some sort of hard short in the system, at which point the breaker will trip.
Wow, been there and had similar problems (I reran the wiring for the pumps, I have a second one up by the high water switch on the same float switch you have), I had to replace my lower one and I did it with a seawitch that has only an electronic sensor). I also make it a habit of throwing the manual bilge switch every once and a while to see what comes out.
I loved the exit from the sound and the $7 charge for passing under the bridge. We got stuck just outside when they would not clear us till we paid the bridge toll (and the cashier had left at 11am for the day). Cost me a trip to St Barts as needed to get back to VI's.
I saw the SeaWitch switch for sale at the chandlery, but it had confusing language on the packaging saying that it wouldn't trip via oil and fuel (a feature I suppose), so I went with the Rule version shown, which has worked generally well over the years. This was the second one I swapped out.
As for the $7 charge, that's nothing. Wendy likes to do the clearances (and taxes too ... she's a glutton for punishment), and last season the Lagoon Authority woman at the window sent her home in tears telling her that we'd skipped payment the previous season and would be owing many hundreds of dollars in fines and charges. It took her almost the whole rest of the afternoon to find the credit/debit card payment for the single visit we'd made. The woman took one look at the payment info (Wendy had our log book too) and said "oh". She then processed the new payment with zero apology. I was tempted in the worst way to go over there and raise hell. But there's a life rule about never talking past the sale (or never snatching defeat from the jaws of victory).
@@SailingTalisman I do keep a pair of the rule switches just in case. Thankfully oil and fuel do not have a path to my bilge. I keep all the oil (yes Gulf) in a Home Depot bucket in my spare propane locker.
We had to go into the lagoon to get fuel @ Island World as there was no fuel available outside. I like to anchor off the beach and dingy inside. The woman at clearance counter would not clear us for the in/out toll (big $14). I offered to leave $20 in envelope for cashier and she went crazy saying I was trying to bribe her. Next day we had to wait an hour while they cleared all the ferry people. Next time I will go to the french side. BTW: we are back in Annapolis now and getting ready to run the Salty Dawg Delmarva rally.
Great video, we have a similar issue with the same bow light. We did work out how to adjust the fridge temperature once I found the thermostat up high in the galley cupboard. Now the fridges are running sweet. You could always look at the 4wd world for a replacement fridge. Engel upright fridges are almost indestructible. I have one in my truck that would be 15 years old.
@@OspreySailingAdventures-ch1mj Watch the next episode when I finally solve the bow light issue. You'll be amused. As for the fridge, Oyster's stand-up style built-in cabinet reduces the choices on form factor. But I'm pretty sure we know what the issue is. Just need some attention from our tech.
@@dansraspberrypisoftwarecla1690 We prefer being in the Lagoon as it's less rolly, but the lady at the window always seems to be a witch of some sort. The French side is good, (especially Grand Case) and we don't even clear out of the Dutch side. We just go clear in and out the French side at Isle Marine in Marigot and sort the tolls and days in the Lagoon for the Dutch side at the end when we clear out (don't tell anyone). If they ask we say we went to Phillipsberg, which we often do anyway as part of our excursions.
You have more inductive loading with the bilge pump pumping oil, on start up especially. Pump's working life will likely be shortened as well. I'm sure you have a spare! I'm always impressed with Kevin' diverse skill set. It's especially fun seeing him up on the mast!
Hi Greg. Thanks so much (I say that so often, but it's true). I'm pretty sure we weren't pumping too much oil. Maybe a bit, but putting Dawn dish soap down there really does cut it down if you have the time. In this case, and I didn't tell the viewers because it was complex, but one of the refrigeration techs wanted to use an evacuation pump on the fridge system but the pump ran on 110V AC power. We only had our smallish 800W inverter available and no idea what the draw on the pump was. Suffice it to say, it wasn't enough and lots of things went pop, including (it turned out) the fuse for the bilge pump.
I like watching your troubleshooting and repairing videos. But if I can make one suggestion, you don’t leave the text screens on long enough to read. I have to rewind back and then pause to read them. Otherwise take care guys!
Thanks for the suggestion. I'll see what I can do. I'll admit that I knew the times were too short but figured (as you say) that if people were really interested they'd just pause the video. Since so many viewers have the attention span of a gnat. But I do think you're correct and will make changes going forward. Thanks for being with us.
My bilge pump failed after olive oil fell off the bench and drained into the bilge. Shows you can't win with boats!
I think that's the result of having a diaphragm pump. Ours is a bit more robust, Jabsco Maxi Puppy 3000 impeller pump. These are agricultural utility pumps that are rated for pretty much anything that's liquid and not flammable. This is what came on the boat, and its ability to drain a bathtub's worth of water is pretty impressive. I swapped the original out for new a few years ago just to make sure it wouldn't fail in our moment of need.
Ain't the yachting life grand. The definition of boat ownership should be an agency that sucks money from the wallet into a blackhole, without it - the money - say bye nor the boat showing any gratitude.
Hi John. Everybody thinks it's all bikinis and white sand beaches. And while that's sometimes what it is, there's still the price to be paid, both in money and also physical/mental effort. Thanks so much for being with us.
do you have screw or soldered fittings on the fridge? I had all fittings screw type removed and soldered since then no more issues
That's an excellent idea, and one I'm going to add to the list if the current tech can't get this thing working (yes, it still isn't fixed). Frigoboat uses threaded couplers with large 1" or so o-rings. These o-rings have a habit of leaking. But the design does allow for replacement of the three main components, the compressor, the keel cooler, or the refrigeration plate. Each of these three components comes pre-charged from the factory, and in theory you can assemble the system without need of charging at the end of the install. This worked for the freezer, but not the fridge. However, we did get 4-5 years of flawless service out of it, and I think we will again once the o-rings are replaced the the system properly evacuated/refilled.
Yeah , boats suck sometimes , that damn salt water takes it toll on everything . I can think of worst places to be stuck doing projects. Let me know if I can help with your refrigeration problems.
on another note: seems like you r Patreon page is outdated?
I gave up on that a bunch of years ago. It's not that we'd turn down the money, but there are so many young couples and single-handers doing the cruising life on the cheap that I feel like it should go to them. It's a complex thought process there.
@@SailingTalisman no, I understand, I just got curious b/c you included the patreon logo on the video... anyway, good luck and thanks for posting - I really enjoy your videos!