We started the day at Defender Marine in Waterford, CT. Always a fun place to visit. We had ordered a new shower sump and we picked it up this morning. Too bad we had to replace this Rule "Shower Drain Box" (official name) again, since we installed this same unit new last winter. The first time we powered it up after the boat was in the water, the float switch failed and we arrived to find that the pump had been running for a day or two, even though we hadn't used the shower. These sumps have an integrated float switch, so there's no taking it apart. We tried to exchange or have it repaired but Defender's answer was that once installed, these things can't be exchanged for a new one.
We're replacing the old sump with the same Rule sump because the mounting and hose configuration now fits it perfectly and it's mounted down below the floor in a spot that is very difficult to reach. We'll see if this new one lasts. If you're buying a shower sump, we'd suggest you avoid the Rule 800 GPH Shower Drain Box. It's engineered for the recreational marine market, which we all know has lots of money to spend on unending parts replacement and repair.
Back on the boat, we were able to install the new, slightly shorter, belt on the port alternator. Perfect. Check that off our list. Next was to fill the port heat exchanger with anti-freeze. OK, not a big deal but it was on the list.
Then we went into the salon to install the second string of LED lights in the galley. It's amazing how fast these odd jobs go when you've done them once before. This time, we heated the super glue on the hood of the car for about a half hour before we applied it. The LED string went up without much effort. We wired the first strip that we installed last weekend to the new one and the took some pictures. Frances' galley looks nice and bright now.
On Sunday, we decided to take care of the last of Frances' lighting projects. We have four small LED lights around the edge of the cockpit that we often use during summer evenings. For some time, Frances has also wanted a light mounted over the sliding door. Since we now don't install any lighting that isn't LED, we shopped around and found a simple 5-1/2" diameter white LED light with a self-contained switch.
The problem was that there isn't a 12 volt DC source over the sliding doors so we bought 10 feet of Wiremold surface mount wire raceway. and some angles. We'd run a length of 16-2 marine wire in the raceway sections across to the starboard side, then down almost to the deck where we could drill through the wall and into an access panel where all the control cables and wires from the bridge go through the salon floor and down into the engine space.
We'd forgotten how carefully you have to measure these things when you cut them. If they are off even a little, the corner pieces won't snap together as they should. We definitely did the "measure twice, cut once" routine for this little job.
This damn thing took us three hours to install so I guess we should keep our day job and not branch out into installing boat lighting for a living. In the end, the light looks fine and should supply some very nice soft lighting to evenings in the cockpit.
This plastic raceway is white and the vertical portion is mounted on a section of wall that is painted a very light tan. We think it will look better (or draw less attention) if the raceway is also painted that tan color. We can take care of that in about 15 minutes next weekend. Ah, come to think of it, that tan section of wall should be cleaned first. I guess an hour would be a better estimate.
No comments:
Post a Comment