2011: Repairs at the Marina

Deltaville Marina: Part 1

At some point we realised just how useful it is to have time at the dock rather than trying to do it all on the hard, particularly when it comes to adjusting or finetuning all this expensive gear we have on board.  So after we splash, we head to the dock for a few days at least.  In 2011, we spent quite some time there.  After all, we were prepping for an Atlantic Crossing.  So, everything needed to work perfectly!     

a.  Freshwater System.  A couple of those PVC fittings broke so a lot of freshwater ended up in the bilge as I filled water tanks and then turned on the pressure water system.  A breather line came away from the hull fitting sending more freshwater into the bilge and I had to add a short extension to the original hose.  Oh well, the bilges love a bit of fresh water circulated through them. 

b.  Manual Toilet.  The two anti-syphon valves on the inlet and outlet lines to the manual toilet decided to fail at the same time so I had to replace them.  No leaks now, which has made the whole thing much more ‘attractive’. 

More motoring up the Chesapeake with BW at the helm

c.  Forward Bathroom Hatch Rebedded.  The acrylic had come away from the hatch frame and so I rebedded it with 3M 5200.  It’s quite heavy since I added the Nicro solar vent to ventilate the compost toilet and, I think, there may have been too much weight for the sealant to adequately hold the acrylic in place.  So far it’s doing what it should.

 

d.  Regalvanize Anchor Chain and Second Anchor.  The chain and second anchor were quite rusted in places so I was able to get it all regalvanised at Ashland near Richmond.  They did a good job and it cost about a third of a new chain.  Since my chain was not that old nor showing any obvious signs of excessive wear, this seemed like a sensible solution.  All we have to do now is mark the various depths (with cable ties) and then put it all back on board.

 

(For anyone interested, BW scored the job of marking off the chain.  He chose to measure it in 10ft lengths and fold it in 30ft lengths.  Every 30ft length, over the entire length of chain, is marked with cable ties - yellow @ 10ft; orange @ 20ft; and red @ 30ft; starting yellow @ 40; orange @ 50 and so on until the entire length of chain is cabled with these three colours.  Then, each 30ft is marked as well.  We started with blue cable ties.  One @ 30ft; two @ 60ft; and three @ 90 ft, then repeated the same with green to mark the next three lengths.  It sounds complicated but as the chain is running out over the anchor winch - even in torchlight - you can be sure that you know exactly how much is out. We haven't had too many cable ties pop off either.)

 

e.  Spinnaker Pole End Fittings.  I purchased two new Ronstan spinnaker pole ends and Crew put them on the pole, after I broke one of them (a plastic fitting - not Ronstan) last year in a simple and not particularly stressful situation.  The fittings I purchased in Australia, brought them with me, then found that there was one or two millimetres difference in diameter of the pole and Ronstan fittings.  My Crew had to grind some of the raised sections down and then they fitted perfectly.  These aluminium fittings are much more robust than the ones they replaced.

First flight - new spinnaker feels the breeze
on Chesapeake Bay