About the only positive to come out of the lockdown is getting some long neglected boat projects worked on. With summer coming on quickly, and it looking more and more likely that we’ll be marina-bound for at least part of it, we figured it was time to clean up our 1986 air-conditioner. It was caked with dust, hair, and who knows what else. I pulled out the dirty sound-dampening insulation, scrubbed and washed the coils the best I could, scraped and vacuumed, and pulled off the hose for replacement. Not a very fun project, and one of those that you get zero immediate satisfaction from, but hopefully Caribbean summer will be a little more bearable. Right now the weather is absolutely gorgeous, however. If only it could stay just like this year round.
In the past I’ve used teak oil on the lower railing. I have zero interest in having that much more varnish to try and maintain. A few months ago I cleaned the teak and gave it a fresh oiling. It looked good for a couple of weeks, but then started to really look terrible. The railings turned black and ugly. So, I’m cleaning them again, sanding gently, and then I think we’re just going to leave them alone to go gray like the decks. We’ll see how it goes.
The marina water here is supposedly good for drinking, but at 650 ppm it’s pretty sketchy. I run it through the watermaker, where it comes out at 8 ppm instead, and then fill up a couple jugs for our drinking water. It takes about 15 minutes and Lowe has been hanging out with me while I do it. We’ve been going over what things in the engine room are for. “Papa, how do you know what everything is for?”
One day, apparently having had enough talk about how engines work, how DC power is converted to AC, and how a refrigerator compressor makes the fridge cold, he brought some books down instead.
The kids have spent many hours together in this thing.
This is the grocery store shopping outfit.
This is what happens when I get sent to the grocery store and soy sauce is on the list.
Of course nobody but an idiot husband actually buys those boxes of fortune cookies, so it’s no suprise to everyone else that the cookies were disgustingly stale.
Also, that mop on Ouest’s head, I think they call that Coronavirus hair.
A couple of months back our drone went for a swim in Jamaica. I didn’t expect I’d be getting a replacement until we had a visitor from the States. But then we got stranded here in Puerto Rico, and discovered that Amazon delivers. Financially I’d be much better off had we never found this out, but I’ll admit that it was nice to get a new drone delivered to the boat. We went with the Mavic Mini this time. We use it for still pictures 99% of the time, so figured all the video bells and whistle of the bigger Mavic Pro was just overkill for us. Plus, we’re way more likely to bring this mini with us when we are adventuring off the boat. The Mavic Pro rarely went anywhere with us. Anyway, here’s our first couple of shots from the first flight. High wind warnings and no lens filter, yet not too bad.
Where we are—Salinas Marina, Puerto Rico.
Where we’d like to be—out at sea on our way somewhere new.
17 Comments on “Boatbound”
Energy Star room ACs. https://www.energystar.gov/productfinder/product/certified-room-air-conditioners/results My LG – LW8018ER has a power factor of 0.99(Volt-amperes=watts) Important if you are generating your own electricity. Also compressor doesn’t turn on until two minutes after fans. No huge current draw when starting. With a minor modification, have used it to heat my 1500 sq ft. FL house the last two winters. U-shaped, Midea – MAW08V1QWT(inverter-mini split technology AC) on order from Amazon. Expected to receive in a month.
Nice. We are hoping this one lasts a few more years ourselves.
If you can get the air conditioner out, you can get a solution that you pour onto the evaporator coil/condenser. It foams everything out. Then you rinse it off with a water hose. AC or ref. service should have it.
Disregard this message if you are already familiar with it.
Thanks, John. Not so easy to get out, riveted in, but should this small clean up not help, we might need to.
An addition- if my tartan 40 had nearly as much teak as you I would never even use cetol like I do- I would use semco all over
Hi Pat-
If you want to keep the natural teak look use semco teak sealer. Looks like oiled/natural teak but doesn’t attract dirt like oil. Apparently superyachts use it on their teak decks.
I use it on assorted teak steps and our sailing dinghy and it lasts longer than any other non-varnish finish I’ve seen. Also use it on our front deck teak chairs which sit out in rain and weather year round and they still aren’t gray despite > 12 months
You likely have to spend 15 min re-applying another coat every 6-12 months where you are in tropics.
FWIW.
Mike
Thanks, Mike. There are so many opinions and products it’s hard to know what to use. So when someone likes one and has had good results, it’s helpful. Appreciate it.
Wow look at all those wind turbines. Must power a big chunk of the island. Smart Puerto Ricans.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_Nuclear_Superheater_(BONUS)_Reactor_Facility Domes looks like a neighborhood kid built a reactor in his backyard. Now a famous surfing spot. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g264369-d635150-Reviews-Domes_Beach-Rincon_Puerto_Rico.html
We finally did the same thing to our caprails on Siempre Sabado that you’re doing – letting them weather to a natural grey. SO much easier and looked fine.
A lot of Grand Banks owners will not agree with us but way too much upkeep to do it all. We did it on Bumfuzzle mono as well. With the teak decks all natural, they should match that just fine. Hope you guys are doing good!
Hi, hope you guys are doing well and not going too stir-crazy with the lockdown. Quick question: what brands do you recommend for snorkel gear? We’re just starting to experiment with a little snorkeling and I would like to buy a quality set or two. I’m thinking you’ve done a bit (lol) of snorkeling in your lifetimes and would have some recommendations.
Hi Jay, we are hanging in there. With nowhere to go, it sure feels weird to just stay put for so long. We definitely don’t have the best stuff, but we did buy a couple of things that the Wynn’s recommended. https://www.gonewiththewynns.com/product/freedive-scuba
Howdy Pat!
I’m land bound in Oregon! Your Mavic Mini! Which one did you order? There are several combos of the Mini! I pray for your family and your health and well being. I’m sad that your plans have been put on hold. Trusting that all will be to your liking and needs. Be Safe! Tommy
Hi Tommy, thanks for that. We are hanging in there and doing just fine. Thankfully we are very use to having to change plans/courses at any time. With so much up in the air, we will sit tight for a bit. Here is the Mini we got – https://amzn.to/3eRLnua
Was there any danger, in your area, from the quake?
Not that we know of. We didn’t feel a thing.