Wednesday, June 18, 2008

An Update on Yesterdays Mis-adventures

Well I got on the phone this morning with River Marine, they can provide me with an adapter for the outflow hose, but when I described the way the water kept leaking through the closed valve,they said it sounded like the valve was clogged and it would be better to replace it. Of course that means waiting till I can get hauled out. Im hoping to have the boat out of the water by the end of July but thats another 6 weeks without a toilet.

I talked to the sateliite people as well and apparently you can't split a satellite connection like you can with a cable tv signal. They had me rewire things the way they were and the reciever works ok again, but I will have to order a separate reciever for the new tv. Its only another three dollars a month but my main issue is where to put it.Im running out of room here for bulky appliances. Thats why I bought an LCD TV, nice and flat, low profile, can just hang it on the wall. Now I will have to build a big bulky shelf for the reciever, Bah ,Humbug!!!

I guess I will bite the bullet today and try and tackle the kitchen shelves.Lets see how I can screw this up, lol.

Tana has some great pictures on her blog http://mvbowie.blogspot.com/ of the kind of damage a deadhead in the freshet can do.I wouldnt have believed it if I hadnt seen it with my own eyes.Docks are expensive to buy and its unreal to see that a huge log can float underneath one and shove itself straight up through the dock breaking it apart like toothpicks.The one that came up and almost poked right through Tana's houseboat looks absolutly evil.I thought after a year of living down here that I had seen all the possible dangers and mishaps that could happen, but I am so wrong.Each day is a new surprise,another emergency, another challenge to face. I still dont regret a moment of it, what doesnt kill you makes you stronger and all, I just wonder how the stress will affect me in the long run.I never dreamed about boats in my life but since living here have had at least 15 dreams of various boat sinking type incidents. Me worry!! No way, just roll with the flow and keep a life jacket close by.

3 comments:

bowiechick said...

Yes and I am most thankful my boat has a steel hull.

Jamie said...

Hadn't caught up here for a while ~ looks like what I now consider typical boat-living ~ a dollar here and several more there! Ah, but what a life we get to lead. Keep up the good work, R!

rob said...

In my life I have had two boats sink on me and I`m still here, the first was a dive doat we borrowed and as we surfaced it came past us on the way down (truly), fortunately somebody had seen it happen and called the lifeboat. the second was a welding fault on a steel boat that the surveyor failed to notice ( since then I have always done all my own welding) and I had it re launched only to be telephoned and told that it was sinking! I have come close on other occasions but something has always happened to tell me what was happening ie pumps running for to long, wet feet Tee hee! On one delivery trip across the channel on route for Spain, the long way, I noticed that the vessel was nose down, only to find that the forward bilge area was full to the brim with about two ton of sea water and the newly fitted bilge pump had a too fine a filter fitted ( for drinking water) and failed to work other than a couple of pumps and then clog. fortunately I had crew and they bailed the bilge with a two gallon bucket, into the close by WC and overboard, whilst another member went forward
(given that it was storm conditions) to fix the forward chain locker hatch down by lashing an oar across it to the push pit using a gash fender on top of the lid for compression. What had been happening was that a hand bouy in the locker had been floating up and lifting the locker lid as the water got in and the moulding of the locker body itself had never been properly sealed with the deck (yawn!) suffice to say that all was well in the end. So be concerned and always check the boats integrity but dont worry and let it spoil your boat life. Remember it is totally amazing the amount of sea water that can be removed with a two gallon bucket when your boat is sinking!:o))

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