Chapter 127: The One Where We’re a Speedboat

At the moment, we’re just hanging out. We’d like to leave Grenada. We really would. But we can’t. Because… Well, because of two things really. First, we ordered some parts. FIVE WEEKS AGO!!! And they haven’t arrived yet. When I ordered them, I said “We want to leave by October 3rd. Can you get the parts here by then?” The response, of course, was “Of Course!” That’s why we’re still waiting. Happily, the parts are, allegedly, on the island, having arrived this past Wednesday. The delay is customs bureaucracy. Hopefully we’ll get them tomorrow. Hopefully. The other reason is figuring out where we’re going. We’ve been all about preparing to go to Bonaire, Aruba, and then Panama! Then we remembered the whole insurance thing. Our current policy, which is exorbitantly expensive, covers us for the US East Coast and Caribbean Sea. It does not cover the Panama Canal or the Pacific. So we need to buy a different policy for that. Our agent is currently working on it. We’ll see. We could just go ahead and leave, exploring Bonaire, Aruba, and the Caribbean side of Panama. The problem is the wind. Once we’re in Panama, with the trade winds blowing, getting back east is difficult. So we’re in wait and see mode for this too.

Of course, it’s not like we’re bored. There are always things breaking that need to be fixed. But first, let me tell you about our new propeller!! Installing that was a big reason for our haul-out last month. Well, last week we took Meraviglia out for a spin with her new prop (see what I did there?). Wow! What a difference. I knew our old prop was undersized, but I didn’t realize what a difference having a correctly-sized propeller would make. With our old prop, with the engine wide open, we could make 6.5-7 knots in calm waters. Now, we can make 8.3 knots! It’s a miracle!! Before, we would cruise at about 5.5-6 knots. Now, with the same rate of fuel burn, we can cruise at 7 knots. This new prop truly will pay for itself in fuel savings (although it will take a while, because DANG, it’s expensive). But, definitely a win. Plus, we should be faster under sail as well.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming: fixing stuff. First, our fresh water pump started misbehaving. It was loud and vibrating, and not pumping as much water as it had been. So, I swapped it out with a new one (we had a spare). Did that fix the problem? Of course not! Silly me. Next, I noticed that we were losing water pressure on the side of the system between the tank and the pump-that shouldn’t be under pressure anyway, but we were getting air in the lines. So I assumed that our tank vent was clogged and the pump was sucking against a vacuum. Did that fix the problem? Of course not! Silly, silly me. Then I thought that the filter was perhaps clogged, so I cleaned that out. Did that fix it? Of course not! Silly, silly, silly me. Then I thought maybe there was a leak in one of the water lines. So I switched to the other water tank. Did that fix the problem? Of course not! Bob is SO silly. Finally, I noticed that in between pump runs, the water filter was emptying out-like water was draining back down towards the tank. So I took the filter apart (again) and noticed that the gasket had some grit on it. I cleaned it, reassembled it, and voila! NOW it’s fixed. Sheesh!

Speaking of water, we have a water pump that circulates seawater through our fridge and freezer compressors to make cooling more efficient. That pump died. Happily, we carry a spare. I hooked it up and problem solved! Until 3:30 AM the next day when the pump was acting all crazy. First I thought the through-hull was clogged. It was, so I cleaned it out. At 4 AM. That didn’t fix it. Ditto for cleaning the raw water filter and intake lines. I gave up and waited until the sun actually came up-Kim appreciated this. After a quick Google search, I discovered that the pump’s behavior was due to pushing against too much pressure. There must be a clog in the lines from the pump to the compressors and then overboard. So I started disassembling stuff. There was, in fact, a bunch of nasty-smelling sea life in the tubing: everything from barnacles to general slime. Eventually, I got it all cleaned out and now it’s running great! I just need to replace the pressure switch on the original pump and we’ll also still have a spare if needed. Now, on the advice of our faithful project manager, I am putting a pool chlorine tablet in the water strainer to keep the growth at bay (thanks Drew-again).

As I write this, nothing is broken. That will change by tomorrow, I’m sure, but for now, I’m taking the “W”.

Finally, gotta tell you about the life-changing piece of kit we got! Have we mentioned we have no aircon? I mean have we mentioned it this week? No? Well, we have no aircon. And it’s hot. Especially at night. So we got a mattress cooler! This thing is a miracle! For not much money (unless you need to have it shipped to a foreign country), this thing has made nights about a thousand percent better. It’s basically a swamp cooler in reverse. With a swamp cooler, a fan blows air across water, cooling the air. With this thing, a fan blows air across water, cooling the WATER. A pump then circulates the water through small channels in the mattress pad. Take home? It’s glorious.

Anyway, hopefully, this week will find us on our way to Bonaire. We’ll see!