9/24/2013
We have been back on the boat at Twin Dolphin Marina in Bradenton, FL for about 6 weeks after our trip north earlier this summer.
As the subject of the post alludes, it has been hot here - most days in the mid to upper 90's. While we have air conditioning, it is a bit small for the boat and struggles to keep the boat at a reasonable temperature in the afternoon. Next year we plan to come north a little later to miss a bit more of the really hot weather. We also plan to buy an awning that will help keep the sun off the boat which should help.
On Saturday 9/14, we had a relaxing morning at the Sarasota Farmer's Market followed by a great movie ( 'Instructions Not Included'), but our day quickly went downhill as we returned to the boat and saw that there was no water flowing from the air conditioner (for non-boaters, marine air conditioners are typically water-cooled); at that time of day the air conditioner is always running so this was definitely a problem. As we headed below, we encountered distinctly non-air-conditioned temperatures and a thermostat flashing 'HPF' (High Pressure Fault). Quickly researching this error, it pointed to a pump problem or blockage in the cooling water. I was not sure the pump was bad, but it seemed like a likely candidate and something had to be done if we were to stay on the boat that night. West Marine had one in stock so I started to tear out the old one, while Joyce drove to pick up a new pump.
One of 'joys' of an air conditioning problem is that you have none while you are trying to fix it (duh), but in the Florida sun it can be BRUTAL. I must have sweated out gallons of water and had puddles of sweat around me. As with most boat projects, the only uncertainly in time estimates is whether you multiple the initial estimate by 4, 8 or 16, but I finally got the pump in and operating. But 'no joy', the problem persisted. At this point we toughed it out and headed to the Courtyard hotel - no way we were staying on the boat overnight.
A boat neighbor suggested putting some chlorine tablets in the sea strainer to help clean out the cooling water circuit and gave me a handful of the tablets - thank you Ron!. That along with a drop in the water temperature in the marina got the unit working again. It seemed to be a pretty good fix because when I finally got an air conditioning technician to stop by this morning, he declared the water flow and unit operation 'excellent' and did not recommend any further work. Although it was an ordeal in some respects, it was nice to sleep in a king-size bed with a real bathroom and a TV - things we lack on the boat.
Besides air conditioning issues, we have been busy on various boat projects and provisioning. A major project completed for me has been replacing the electrodes in our Electro Scan marine sanitation device (a mini sewage treatment plant). Just take off the top and replace the electrodes - easy-peasy right? Not so much! The replacement entailed removing several adjacent systems to allow removal of the entire unit to access the cover, and obviously the reverse to install. Gotta love fixing boats!
One of Joyce's major accomplishments has been buying all of our 'personal care products' (sun-block, deodorant, shaving cream, vitamins, etc.) for the winter. These items tend to be very expensive in the islands and we try to take a full seasons worth when we leave. We primarily use online stores for these purchases.
We are also in the process of having some routine engine work done, including re-tipping our fuel injectors and installing new engine mounts. After this work is completed, along with the work previously done when the boat was in the yard earlier this summer, we will have completely 'revamped' the 'drive train' of the boat.
It has not been all work - we have enjoyed several movies, shows and museums - anything air conditioned. We also have had the pleasure of the company of Mike & Twyla of MV Nauti Nell this summer at Twin Dolphin. We first meet them at Habour View Marina in Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Bahamas and it has been fun to have them here this summer.
There is still a lot to do on the boat to get ready to leave, but thankfully the weather is getting a little cooler. We are shooting to having pretty much everything done for a 'sea-trial' in mid October.
We are planning to leave here around November 1st to start journeying back to the Bahamas for the winter.
Tom
Docked at Twin Dolphin Marina
Bradenton, FL
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