Once in awhile to escape the heat we load up the dinghy and head out on the lake for a few hours. One spot we like is just outside the entrance to the marina on a little island that we've never seen anyone on. The island isn't much but there is a small, mostly sand bar that comes off of it. It's a great place to plop the chairs in the water. Cool your buns, and watch the traffic. It took a bit of coaxing to get Pam to try out the chair but once in she realized how refreshing my idea was!
Of course being out on these hot days has some risk involved because of the weather. Much like the summer days of Florida it's not uncommon for an afternoon rain squall to pass through and as fate would have it on one of our outings we managed to get caught and get slightly wet on the ride back.
I have managed to knock off a couple of "To-do" items from our list. Both required taking the cushion off of the 3rd stateroom berth. Of course to do this required first removing the drawers below it so I could access the screws that hold the cushion in place.
With the cushion removed I could now get to the built in vacuum receptacle to replace it with a new one. The contacts had gone bad in the original causing it to cut out periodically every time Pam used it. This inconsistent performance prompted a blistering flurry of "Stupid idiot machine' from Pam at each usage.
Of course we didn't have a receptacle laying around which required having one shipped to us. In the meantime I decided to tackle a job that I've been putting off for a couple of years. The inoperable combo washer/dryer.
Let me start by saying that this beast has always shook like crazy and has never dried properly. The clothes would always be damp after the drying cycle. However in addition to that the machine eventually stopped working almost entirely.
I had called the Splendide service department some time ago and got a few ideas of what to look for once the machine was in a position where I could remove the top. The most likely culprit was a broken wire to the NTC sensor is what I was told. Now to get it out and in a position to work on it.
The first step was already completed with the cushion removal. Why you ask would that be required? Because the gap between machine and cushion is 22 inches and the machine is 24" from front to back.
Second step was to turn off the water to the machine which surprisingly was made easy by the factory installed shut-of valves in the water lines.
Third was to dis-connect the water lines from the back of the machine. Thank God I have long arms since I had to crawl over an A/C unit. Mash my head and neck into a bulkhead and reach blindly and unscrew the connections.
Fourth was to assume the third step position and remove the dryer vent hose.
Fifth was to pull up the strip of carpet in front of the machine to access the 2 screws that hold the frame down which the machine is bolted to.
Sixth was to start wrestling this thing out of it's hole. Fortunately the drain hose was long enough that it didn't need to be detached.
Although awkward as so many boat projects tend to be, the machine slid out easily. The biggest problem was finding space for me so I could pull it completely out.
Once out it only required the removal of two screws and one ground wire and the cover was off. Just as they thought, one of the wires to the NTC sensor had broken. What I didn't expect to see was four more wires that had come off because the whole heating unit? had come off and was resting on the drum. Both bolts that hold it in place were missing completely!
I could only find one of the bolts and didn't have a connector for the broken wire but was able to pick them up on our next trip to Paducah and put things back together.
One problem that I mentioned earlier was the excessive shaking when in use. I assumed this could be due to the machine not being level. Now normally you could just screw the legs in or out to get it where you want it, but because the factory bolted the unit to a cradle that was next to impossible. My solution was to pick up a couple of paint stirs from Lowe's and some two sided tape and stick them to the floor under the lower side of the machine.
I slid the unit back in place and checked to see if it was close to level and astonishingly it was dead on perfect! Once again I became the human pretzel and hooked things back up. Show time!
I had Pam come in and dial up a wash setting and we sat back to see what happened. Nothing! Oops! Maybe we should turn on the breaker. This time it started and to our relief it worked. It ran through all the cycles and it ran smoother than ever. The only odd thing was that when it went into the dry cycle I could here water sloshing around. After letting it run for a bit I checked the dryer vent outlet and air was coming out but I could still hear water. We shut it off and while sitting there we could see water rising in the drum. Funny because the water pump on the boat wasn't running. The only thing that came to mind was the drain. I then shut the thru-hull for the drain and the water stopped rising. WTF! I don't remember this happening before....but maybe it was and that's why our clothes never dried.
Apparently because the thru-hull is below the water line it siphons the sea water back into the machine. Even with the drain line looping up 3' the water comes in until I shut the thru-hull valve. Fortunately in all this time that we haven't been using the machine I've had the thru-hull closed. We could have sunk!
I now have an in-line check valve on order which I'll try as a method of stopping the back flow of water. Even if it works I'm not satisfied that Sea Ray didn't screw up by locating the discharge thru-hull below the waterline. Plus the fact that the drain line going to the thru-hull is pretty flimsy and has only 1 hose clamp keeping it in place when I believe the code calls for 2 clamps on any below waterline thru-hull.
Anyway in the short term I'll try the check valve and keep the thru-hull closed when underway until a better, more feasible solution comes along.
Those of you who know us know that Pam is somewhat of a neat freak. Everything has to be in it's place. Even I have a designated spot in which I can sit! Well this recent project has turned the interior of Tourist into a jumbled mess of clothes, cushions, drawers, shop vac, and tools. Most of which have been stuffed into our 2nd stateroom. This of course is not in Pam's master design plan for the boat. I keep telling her just a few more days but I'm not sure she believes me!
Periodically as a result of our travels I have to clean our dinghy. Because it rides on our swim platform it collects a lot of diesel exhaust which turns our white dinghy into a dingy white dinghy. This project has been on the list since we arrived here but just kept getting put off....until now. I finally got the impetus to tackle that task while waiting for the check valve to be delivered.
Of course I'll have to do it all over again when we get back to Florida.
Labor day week-end saw the marina fill up. We met slip holders who we hadn't seen in all the time we've been here. The harbor was abuzz with watercraft of all types in spite of the on and off rain showers. We stayed in port and got acquainted with some of our dock mates.
Saturday evening we met a bunch of them over at Buzzard Rock where they had a good band called Swamp Donkey. I'm glad it was a little cooler because of the rain or the place would probably have smelled like a big locker room. The bar was packed with not much air movement but it was still a lot of fun.
When it came time to leave we left our car in the parking lot and jumped on one of our dock mates boats for the ride back to GTB. The music was blaring. The girls were dancing. And I was keeping one eye over the bow and one to the stern. Always the driver!
The party continued once we were back with a pot luck dinner on one of our neighbor's houseboats. After dinner about half of the crowd disappeared into their respective boats, us included. For the rest the party went on into the night.
The festivities continued through the week-end but by Monday evening we had the place to ourselves again.
The best solution to your drain would be to put a vented loop in at the high spot of the drain line. Check valves in sea water are notoriously unreliable.
ReplyDeleteThanks! That may be the long term solution short of raising the thru-hull above the waterline which would be a definite project.
ReplyDelete