Water and Boat Jumbles

Another weekend closer to our departure (59 weeks and counting) and a number of smaller jobs needed ticking off.

First up was the water filtration system. No longer living aboard full time means the water in the tanks (especially in warmer weather) can start to age quite quickly, so some sort of filter was needed. Having looked at the "marine grade" systems (£400 plus), I did some research and went with a standard 10" home system (about £69). This also includes the benefit of using standard 10" filters (about £5 each), generally available anywhere in the world.

Anyway, to the install. The first tank holds a 5-micron sediment filter and the second holds a 5-micron carbon block filter. I've installed the setup immediately after the tank outlet and before the water pump - I had thought about installing it for drinking water only (ie. under the galley sink), but then this would still have the shower and aft head sink using unfiltered tank water. The placement of the filter housings also means that if any water does spill (through a leak or while changing filters), it'll drain straight into the bilge.

The pump now sounds like it's working a tad harder, but it also no longer cycles so rapidly. Time will tell if the system needs moving upstream of the pump, but for the moment the water tastes great.

Sunday morning brought about another boat jumble. Here's our shopping list:

New Life sling - £20
New McMurdo grab bag - £15
Ocean Dan Buoy - £8
1 x Sika 295, 2 x Sika 291 - £10
2 x Harnesses & tethers - £15
Red webbing (enough to do all the lifelines) - £3
Hand bearing Compass - £2
Horsehoe Holder - £5
Folding Trolley - £5
2 x Mini Strobes - £4
1 x large Flare Case - £10

Now, given the Dan Buoy itself is worth over £150, we made out quite well. Plus there's now more toys for me to play with next weekend.

Something else I forgot to mention is our plan to install an external helm on the aft deck. We picked up a wheel & chain sprocket, plus fibreglass pedestal for £60 at the last boat jumble. Installing them will be a job for next winter....

This coming weekend will be drying the boat out to check the rudder & replace the anodes, having that starboard engine looked into and (if the weather holds), getting the wiring installed for the wind gen installation.

nathan