Monthly Archives: November 2009

Regularly Scheduled Boat Breakdowns

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Funny how things go; the other day I was just thinking that i was overdue for something to break down; we never go for a long stretch without something starting to smoke or otherwise self-immolate.
Sure enough, we got a double whammy the next day: Tracy broke the toilet and the propane shut-off solenoid went pffft and I couldn’t heat my lunch.
Funny how both problems had to do with food at either end of the alimentary tract.

I was not pleased at all about the toilet trouble as it’s an old bugger, and almost certainly would involve replacing it. those who follow this blog know that I’m not squeamish about getting my hands “dirty” and have pulled the thing apart before, but at $150.00 for a complete, new toilet means that it wouldn’t take much to convince me to toss the whole thing and slam a in new one.
Fortunately it was actually a minor repair and I had it working again in about ten minutes.

The solenoid was another thing all together as I had left my meter elsewhere and had to troubleshoot the system without it. Accordingly I blew a few fuses and had to do some digging as of course the fuse for it was buried and unlabeled (I hate DIY electricals!) I eventually deduced that the switch was okay (replaced last spring, which of course meant nothing), and that power was in fact getting to the device, although it wasn’t actuating.

It wasn’t that old as I had installed it about two years ago, but it’s location hanging off the stern means it is exposed to the elements and it’s really not designed for that. Because we live aboard, the little ten lb tanks that go inside the little lockers aft are just too small and we empty them too quick. Accordingly, I have our twenty lb tank hanging off the stern which is the safest, if hardest on the equipment.

These solenoid valves are not cheap at 60 bucks a pop, but are absolutely essential. What was cool was that I could buy a new digital multimeter for ten bucks. I could have tracked down the other one, but at that price why bother? besides, it’s nice to have a few of ‘em kicking around. Total waste of money buying one of those 12 tester lights when you can get a full meter for ten bucks. I think I paid well over $150.00 for my first DMM.

You can see where the shut-off valve is in this shot; totally exposed to the elements on the rail. It’s right after the tank, even before the pressure regulator. I guess the latter will be the next to go. I know it’s not ideal but there’s no place else where I’m willing to mount the tank and I’m leary about having the shut-off a long way from the tank as that would defeat the purpose of the thing.

The top valve is the old one.


Installing the valve. It’s very important that you use proper sealant on the fittings; do not use plumbing-type teflon as it will break down. Use only sealant that is certified for gas work.


The new valve is in place (and it’s still raining). You can see the sealant on the nipple threads. I mount it all just with zap straps as they are quick, simple, last a long time and I know the assembly will have to come off not that far down the road.  A straightforward job, yet it still takes a few hours.

And now for something completely different. How’s this for a blow-your-mind vessel? I’m not sure I buy the bit of shipping being one of the most eco-friendly forms of transportation, as they burn the very worst crap available as fuel. That stuff so heavy it’s almost like burning road asphalt and it’s very foul with sulfur.


Come sail with us. www.selfdiscoverysail.com

The Problem With Blogging

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After a bit of research I’ve discovered that I’ve committed a blogger’s cardinal sin: a lack of focus. I’ve talked about this before and i’ve struggled with what to do about it. My original attempt in writing this blog was, as the name suggests, talk about liveaboard life in Victoria harbour.

Well, that’s not such a deep subject in itself cause liveaboard life is just like any other life, but with less space and the constant threat of sinking.

I’ve also written a lot about boat maintenance and sailing and that stuff seems popular enough. But I’ve really headed out to left field with my Loser’s Guide and my activist activities with Results Canada. You might be able to wrap up liveaboard and sailing and boat maintenance in one package, but not the rest of the stuff.

But here’s the thing; in case you haven’t noticed, I’m a generalist. My education goes all over the place and so does my work and life experience. I’m a renaissance man. The thought of stopping blogging about the stuff that matters to me (i love sailing but to only cover boat topics would bore me) would make me want to give up the whole shebang. I’ve recently thought about blogging about love and relationships as my wife and I approach our 30 wedding anniversary. Obviously we have some things figgered out cause we are totally nuts about each other. But then that skews things away from what the blog is supposed to be about, and turns off those who want to just read about boats!

I guess it comes down to who we write for – ourselves or our readers. Hopefully it’s both, but the problem is if we turn off readers by being honest about our own needs than we are left writing to ourselves, which is just another kind of masturbation; it may feel good but it doesn’t go very far.

Anyway, I’m toying with starting up another blog, one that deals with more important issues such as love and society and relationships, and just leave this blog to the boat types. It seems like the most obvious solution but that means taking on yet another job and i have so many writing commitments already (and few of which pay any bills). Of course writing about deeper stuff like this dovetails nicely with what we want to do with Self Discovery Sailing .

 

I’ve spent my entire adult life trying to become a better person; growing, challenging myself and experimenting with various ways of being. I think it’s fair to say that I have a lot more experience and wisdom in that regard than I have living aboard..

Fitting back into my LIfe

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We arrived home yesterday totally befuddled. my body had no idea what time it was – we were starting to adapt to Ottawa time zone but when you get up at 4 AM two mornings in a row (which was 1:00 AM Victoria time) to catch a flight, all references to civilised time are lost.
I wanted to go to bed when we got home but it was only 4:00 PM, (7:00 PM Ottawa time, but since we had to get up at 4:00 AM we had been up 15 hours already. Gahh).

I feels so good to smell the salt air and listen to the gulls and float planes. But I must admit after living in a house these last several days and sleeping in a very large bed, getting used to boat living again is gonna be a bit of an effort. I hate to admit it, but there’s something about living small that demands a small space, and living larger needs a large space. I’m not sure what I mean, but living quietly and thoughtfully requires only a small space -a place to hang your hat. Even this city is a “small space”. But after this last week in Ottawa with it’s massive architecture and aura of power, after meeting MPs and influencing political decisions that effect how millions of dollars are being spent, conceptually, one’s world needs to shrink and shrink a lot to fit back into this boat and this city.
I really don’t know what I’m talking about, but liveaboard life really is for me about living small. That’s not a bad thing, but one has to wonder is small isn’t sometimes a euphemism for withdrawal. Perhaps that’s why it has been easier for me than for Tracy because her work involves working with many people as part of an institution while mine is mostly solitary. Is it possible that our living spaces reflect our worldview? Our consciousness?
Maybe it’s all about balance: sometimes one’s conscious needs to encapsulate global issues, sometimes it needs to contemplate falling leaves. What I do know is that I felt just as alive in Ottawa as I did sailing down Johnstone Strait, and that really startles me.

When we got back I decided to write a couple of letters to the editor, which is quite a feat given my exhaustion. I am happy to say that the Calgary Sun, Province, London Free Press, and Medicine Hat News carried my letters. I suspect a few more newspapers will cover them over the next few days. This is important because politicians have staff actually cut these out and summarize them to give their masters an idea of where public opinion is going. I don’t get it but people love the letters to the editor section and you can influence tens of thousands of people by writing letters.

The press likes to show democracy as ineffectual and citizens powerless, but i now know that’s not true.

Our flight was canceled Tuesday morning due to fog and icing so it gave us a chance to go for a drive in the Gatineau Hills. I must say that I’m spoiled; with the profound beauty of our coast at my doorstep, viewing some bare, brown hills was a real anticlimax. I’m sure it is quite lovely when there is snow, but this time of year it’s just damp and dead, with gloomy skies to boot. The best part was lounging in a  small town cafe, listening to all the French around us.

Here’s an Interesting post on the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Come sail with us. www.selfdiscoverysail.com