Sunday, March 23, 2014

You know it's really spring when...



...they begin to put the docks back in. Saturday was about 50 degrees with the wind blowing like stink from the west, but the wind wouldn't bother us where we were going. The evil water hoses were waiting.

We remarked to Rob, our next boat neighbor in the shed, just how little we had accomplished over what seemed to be a long winter. Anchor pulpit, some take-home refinishing projects and the water heater. Some of what's left on the list just may have to wait.

We've gotten the two new water hoses from the water heater all the way forward and now we're under the galley sink. Working under there is really difficult but we're not complaining. We love planning and executing boat projects even if we do go home walking a little funny.

We made the connection for the hot water under the sink and since that involves a "T" fitting, we also took the time to snake the hot water line forward to the head. This water hose has a mind of its own so we fastened in down with a couple of clamps. Once the hot water gets to it, it will relax.


We can't tell you how glad we were to see the end of that hose appear under the vanity in the head, exactly where it should be.

It must be spring because we also began to put things back where they belong on the boat. We put all the stuff away that is stored under the lower steering station and actually brought a few tools home. We even powered up the Shop Vac to suck up some of the stuff that this project left behind.



Sunday: The end is in sight
Sunday was cold again but we drove to the boat with new energy. We could finish this damn project today if everything went right. We left on Saturday afternoon after not being able to make the cold water connections under the galley sink. On Sunday, those hoses slid on immediately. Guess we were a little tired on Saturday. We next reconnected the sink drain. That had been removed a month ago to get access to faucet fittings. With everything connected, we cleaned up all the stuff that had accumulated on and under the counter and moved on to the head. The galley looked as though no one had ever been there. We even remembered to leave the fridge doors open a crack.


We had a vague idea of what to expect in the head. We spent a good deal of time in there a couple of years ago installing a new toilet, holding tank and pump-out fitting. 


The door to the storage area under the vanity in the head is actually a little wider than the one under the galley sink and we knew that if we followed just the right sequence, we could lie on our back, slide in under the vanity and then by turning, get an arm under there too. Doesn't that sound like fun? We'd rather have a wisdom tooth extracted but we were so close to getting this project finished we just gathered some tools and went for it.

The first step was to pull the old hoses off the underside of the faucet. Much easier here because we could actually see the fittings. We loosened the hose clamps and naturally, the hoses wouldn't bulge. No problem. Score them with a utility knife and off they came. See ya in hell, stinko old hose!

Then we cut the new incoming hot water hose to length, slid on a new hose clamp, gave it 30 seconds with the heat gun on high about two inches away to soften the hose end a little, then flip over, slide back under the vanity, and push the hose onto the faucet fitting before the hose cools. Tighten the hose clamp and the hot water is done. 

Funny how you get good at this stuff right at the end of the job.

The cold water side needed a "T" to supply both the faucet and the toilet but that went almost as easily. We collected our tools and closed the door to the vanity behind us.

Before we left, we crawled back down behind the port engine and connected the hot water line to the water heater and screwed the water heater itself down. We needed one short pipe nipple to connect the cold water supply line, which we seemed to have forgotten. We'll install that next weekend and make the AC electrical connections. We'll also reinstall the bilge blower and the engine's coolant overflow tank, both of which had to be removed to get the old water heater out and the new one in.

We love boat projects but this one took a lot longer than we intended because of the cold weather.


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