Romance vs. Reality

Last week began with the Fast of Av, which was pushed off to the 10^th of the month because the 9^th fell on Shabbat of course.

It was also the first day we started work on the boat in earnest.

As I surveyed my new vessel, I was reminded of the verses in Eichah where Jeremiah contrasts the once incomparable beauty of Jerusalem with the gut-wrenching scenes of utter desolation after the Babylonians were finished with her.

Not to compare the Sephina with Jerusalem – but it was impossible not to observe how lovely this boat once was, in contrast to the decay, neglect and abuse we saw before us.

We spent most of our first week cleaning, scrubbing, discarding trash, etc. I pressure washed the topsides of the whole boat. There was so much moss and green slime growing on everything, especially the teak, that I wondered whether I had bought a boat or a terrarium. LOL

On the one hand, I like pressure washing because it indulges my childish need for instant gratification: from gray/grungy to sparkling white before your very eyes. OTOH, it’s also pretty boring, so it gives one lots of time to think. And think I did.

After surveying all on-board systems, I decided that my strategy for tackling the work ahead would be as follows:

-      -  Basic cleaning, scrubbing etc. 

     - Making the interior spaces habitable (hot & cold running water, electric, propane for the stove, functioning heads and showers, functioning washer/dryer, etc.)

-       - Sanding, scraping and painting the bottomsides

-       - Work on engine and genset

-          Make sure nav equipment, lights and other safety equipment all meet Coast Guard standards. 

     

     The hull concerns me the most, because the weather is supposed to start turning rainy and cold, and I want to bang that out early in the process. I can work in the engine room (aka “The Holy Place”) during a rainstorm; not so true of the bottom.

So how did we do?

We got 110 VAC (household electricity for you non electrical engineers) to the boat. The good news is lights came on. So did the galley fridge, freezer & microwave.  I also got one of the davit winches to operate. (The starboard davit winch needs rewiring – a project for later.) The bad news is that that’s about all that runs on shore power.

Most of the boat’s electrics run on 24 volt direct current; a few things run on 12 volt dc, but they too get their power from the 24 volt system through step-down transformers or directly from 12v batteries.

And as the 24 volt system was non-existent, I got to work rebuilding it.

We schlepped four 4D batteries (each weighs 120 lbs.) from Pennsylvania for the house bank. Getting those batteries aboard was quite a task, but B”H the winch made it manageable.

So by Wednesday evening, we had a house bank – and lots of other things came on! In particular, the 24 volt salon lights cast a very soft, warm glow on that space. Very cozy.

By Friday I had the 12 volt system up and running. This was critical, because the propane stove in the galley is equipped with a 12 volt cut-off solenoid. Extra safety precautions and procedures have been established with regard to propane use at sea: propane, which is heavier than air, tends to settle in the bilges or the lowest place it can find. One spark and you can cause an - ahem -"exothermic reaction." So for example, constantly lit pilot lights are a big "no no" on board. And the propane supply is regulated by a switch;  no power to the switch, no gas. The oven now works.

Water is a different matter. There are two 275 gallon water tanks on the boat, one portside aft and the other starboard aft. Once I had the 24 volt system up and running (for the water pump) I filled the tanks with water. Not my brightest move.

We discovered multiple water leaks, broken pipes, etc. throughout the boat. Also plenty of clogged drains, in part from biologicals taking up residence in my pipes. I spent a good part of the week patching those leaks, replacing pipe fittings, elbows, opening clogs etc. Still have a major leak that’s pumping water into the aft stateroom head. I hope to have that plugged by Sunday. So I can’t even test out the washing machine until the plumbing is intact.

But we accomplished a lot this first week, and are about 80% of the way to the making the boat functional – hot & cold running water, operable oven/stove, refrigerator, freezer, 

operable heads and showers, washer/dryer.

Next week we’ll finish that last 20% and get going scraping the hull.

Shabbat Shalom.