In the Water

Two posts in one day! Don't get accustomed to this, it probably will never happen again.

Well the boat went into the water yesterday, and we were tied to the dock overnight to make sure all of the systems were working well. Everything seemed to be good. But the bilge pump kept coming on every half hour and pumping maybe a cup of water out. Annoying. What could it be? Now that is no big thing, but a little disconcerting until you find what it is. Is it something small that is tolerable or is it something small that is working its way towards something big, and a bigger problem. It is good to deal with these things while tied to a dock with a travel lift nearby.

This morning Peter was having another look around and found that there was a split in one of the connections to the hot water tank. He thinks he may have done it on installation by tightening it too tight.  That would explain why we seemed to be going through more fresh water than we were using. This would come under the category of something small and tolerable. We probably have lived with this for the entire trip. Time to fix it.

Well off to Home Depot for some parts. Quick trip to Walmart for some last minute things for the boat. Once back, Peter installed the new connections for the hot water tank. And Voila. No more leaks. We will need another trip to Home Depot for some more fresh water, but it should last a lot longer this time.

Now you all are familiar with Peter and his shopping, but this time he may have come across something. He found a 12' length of LED lighting strip. The box says it is for landscape lighting. As I write this he is installing the strip from the galley through to and including the salon. It even has a dimmer switch.  As Martha Stewart says "and this is a good thing".

Peter took off his plumber hat and donned his electrican's cap. Sure is a good thing to have such a talented man on board.

The time is 5:10 pm. No dinner in sight. Preparation is impossible with my electrician at work. Dinner will be late tonight. It pays to be flexible in these things.

We had hopes of leaving the dock today, but the weather has also changed our minds. High winds getting up over 30 miles per hour and the accompanying lumpy seas have encouraged us to stay put. The temperature has dropped significantly. 46F overnight and only expected to go up to 64F for the daytime high. Temperatures are to be even lower tonight and the lowest for Sunday. The low temperatures are expected to stay with us until Monday afternoon.

We unpacked the slacks and sweaters. Even got out those socks.

We had a little gator friend come to visit us this morning. About 4 feet long.  He floated in the middle of the channel for awhile and then went over to the mangroves to hide out for awhile. A little later he came back to visit again and then left, I know not where. Guess I won't be swimming in the fresh water canal, no matter how inviting it looks.