Beachy knobs

I made beach glass knobs to go on the newly painted cabinets.  They're very pale green with aqua blue beach glass.  Someday, I want all open shelves, but for now this works well. 

Because we're having our last cold snap of the year, the marina has the water turned off to prevent frozen pipes.  My reserve tank is about twenty gallons and I have to hoard it, I'm using paper plates and putting off laundry for a few days.  It's just part of living on a boat in a place where it gets below 35 degrees. 

I think I'll go paint the kitchen backsplash and part of the counter.  Pretty soon the weather will warm up and I'll be working on the outside!

It's about time!

My new neighbors--a LARGE houseboat

It's been a tumultuous time since my last post and I decided it's time to update.  However, when I tried to log onto the blog this morning, I was locked out and google told me that my blog didn't exist!  Thank goodness I'm able to access from my home office.

More neighbors

So, I was thrilled to have the new floor laid and was working on the painting, one little section at a time.  I didn't get very far before there was another problem.  The electrical problems continued to escalate and the main breaker on the dock was popping off as often as four or five times a day.  I would wake up with no electricity or come home from work with no electricity.  The maintenance man informed me that he was told to not fix it for me and I was left with no electricity at all.  Well, I had already started to look for new moorage and I was able to find two possibilities.  My favorite didn't pan out and set back my move by a week by waiting for it, but my second choice is very good.  There were some delays in getting paperwork signed, making arrangements with the tug company, and watching the weather, but we got my little boat moved just as the snow was starting during our winter storm.  I hired someone to make sure the electrical system was plugged in properly and there weren't any problems after the problems I had been having, and all has been well.  I'm able to have heat, lights, and run my appliances and no breakers have popped at all.  For some reason, we had a little trouble getting the water hooked up and the maintenance people have been turning it on and off to prevent pipes from freezing.  Josh showed me how to use the backup tank and pump system for those occasions that the water is turned off.  He specializes in marine plumbing and electrical.  I also keep bottles of water for drinking and washing.  But then something else cropped up.  We found the water heater leaking!

The dogs checking out the funky bench

Fortunately for me, I have a suite at my office and I've been able to use the shower there.  Good thing, because I got pretty busy and didn't have much time to research and shop for a new water heater.  It's a specialized item due to the size.  I was hoping to get an on-demand water heater like they use in Europe, but found that they use too much amperage by far.  Another option is a gas powered water heater that runs off a propane tank, but that would require setting up the propane system and finding another place for the water heater.  Expensive and complicated.  I've decided to replace the tank with a similar ten gallon model and that seems to fulfill my needs just fine.  It's a special order.  Normally, people want the biggest water heater they can get.  It will be here next week.

Springtime on Lake Union

In the meantime, I finished repainting the bathroom and the kitchen cabinets, and I hung curtains.

I was afraid that it would be darker at this marina, but it's actually lighter and my plants like that.  The whole marina is quieter and no all night parties here.  It's peaceful and lovely.  Occasionally some geese will swim by just looking around and I'm looking forward to warm weather and having my morning coffee on the back deck.  I'm living just a few blocks away from the former marina but the neighborhood is much different.  Quieter, nicer.  And I don't have stairs!

Floors

After fixing the electrical, Dan and Leila returned to finish the project they were originally scheduled to do:  put new sub-flooring down.  I want to use SIPs for construction, but there was no need to use full SIPs for the flooring.  So, they laid sheet foam insulation onto the existing flooring and put plywood over it.  Nice solid floor, no more forest green vinyl.  They even prime coated the plywood for me after realizing how difficult it was for me to paint the floors while in place.   So, that project is finished.  Dan even installed hinges on the bilge so I don't have to find a place for it when it's opened.  ZhouZhou helped.

Oh yeah--they installed the long awaited back stairs!!!

 

And put a frame around the bed!   Now I have to hang curtains on it.  So luxurious.

So now, I'm in the middle of the floor painting project.  After mulling over a number of ideas, I decided the easiest thing to do would be to use high gloss deck pain.  So, I went to Home Depot and found a nice blue deck pain that I chose from the chart.  I also bought white so I could do an effect.  When I got home, I opened the blue and thought I would be blinded!  I'm told I can take it back but I haven't had the nerve to yet.  Maybe today.  I went back to find something else and was told I could get a custom mixed color, so I got a nice Nordic blue that doesn't blind.  The biggest problem is that the high gloss paint is oil based and takes longer to dry than acrylic paint.  But I don't have to use a sealer.  I paint a small section, then block it off with whatever I can find to keep the dogs out and then find them in the paint anyway.  ZhouZhou loves fresh paint.  I considered just putting out a pan of paint and letting her take care of it herself by walking through it then walking all over, but decided no.  PJ found himself in the paint and waited to be rescued.  So far I've been able to head Teeny off before she actually made it into the paint.  This project is going to take awhile.

While I was shopping for the floor paint, I asked about paint to cover formica and the salesperson told me that the deck paint would work.  And it does!  Covers the forest green fake marble like a charm.  That's good for now.

And I have these fabulous stairs! 

Upcoming projects:  minor bathroom remodel until the big remodel.  New back deck with roof.  More built-in shelves and get rid of the big bookcase.  New flooring for the living room.

Disaster strikes

Fortunately, we're all alive and well and the boat is still floating.  Over the weekend, there was an apparent power surge (the light got brighter before it went out and that's the electrician's evaluation).  All of the power went out on the boat but no fuses blew and the breaker on the dock was also fine.  I found out later that there's an additional breaker on the individual plug-in too but it was also fine.  I figured there was a short somewhere and unplugged most of what I had plugged in, checked cords, felt the walls, couldn't find any burned or warmed spots.  I bundled up (it's the coldest time of the year) and tried to get some sleep eventually, but kept waking up to make sure everything was okay.  The next morning I started making calls:  Dan and Leila to let them know that the work on the floor that was supposed to start today needed to wait while the electrical got sorted out, a "boat guy" that a friend suggested, and a contractor I know to give me a referral for an electrician.  All my calls went to voicemail, so I was on hold.  I grabbed food and clothes and moved to the office to keep warm and busy.  Eventually, Leila got back to me first and told me she and Dan would run up from Tacoma to try to troubleshoot.  Quite a bit later I heard from the other two, but decided that, since I trust Leila and Dan, I would see what they could do first.

They started looking through and testing and found:  both ends of the big, fat boat plug were melted as well as a portion of the cord, the fuse box was blown and a portion of wire going into the fuse box was also burned and melted.

 We went out and got a new fuse box and all new fuses, boat cord and plug and installed all.  One portion of the boat is still not working and has to be re-wired but there's heat (some), lights, and a working refrigerator.  While we were working on all of this, we had some interesting conversation with the next door neighbor and her electrician who said he was finding the same thing on her boat.  Unfortunately for her, he did not repair her electrical and is coming back to do that.  It seems the rest of the dock is okay though.  It got down to 29 degrees last night and the boat was as cold as outside before we got the electric on again.  So, my little heater is working overtime.  I need to run two, but when I tried it, the breaker blew again.  I'll try again tomorrow morning.  So, we're all wearing heavy sweaters and making do.  New floors go in later this week and Leila and Dan with re-wire at that time.  I'm pleased that my computers made it through just fine.  So, all in all, it was just a big, expensive scare and inconvenience.  Today, ZhouZhou is acting sick so I hope she didn't catch a cold.

Someday there will be new walls with actual insulation so there won't be such a drain on the heaters when the temperature drops.  I can't wait.  In the meantime, there will be new floors and another wonderful set of stairs, this time at the back door where I really need them.  We'll see what I do with the floors once they're down.  It's a painting project, so with three dogs in a tiny area, that should be interesting.

But life goes on!

The Shower Is Usable Again!

Dan and Leila are home from their road trip/honeymoon and in minutes, Dan was able to get the sump pump for the shower repaired.  First, he had to remove the electrical tape that was used instead of as well as over a hose clamp...  So an almost two month adventure appears to finally be over.

There are two batteries that are used for basic functions when the boat is away from the dock and electrical hookup.  They're also used for starting the motors but that's not an issue currently since I don't even know if they work.  That's a project for later.  So far we've found that port battery powers the sump pump, bilge pump, stove  switch and auxiliary lights.  That battery is brand new with a new charger hooked to it.  The starboard battery is currently unhooked.  So, Dan will return in a week or two to replace it and the terminals.  I hope he'll be able to figure out what it's connected to besides the starboard motor.

In the meantime, I can put the storage closet back together.  When you live in a small area, everything needs to be in its "own home".  The storage closet contents have been out to make it convenient to repair the sump pump.  I'm going to spend part of my Thanksgiving holiday cleaning up and being thankful for Dan and Leila and my working shower.

There's lots left to do here on Sweet Pea and now we can get back on track and moving forward again.  The next step is to finish the floor and put in the new steps by the back "door".  Dan has an imaginative idea for that.  The back deck needs to at least have some of the framing replaced but I think I want a more traditional deck instead of the fiberglass.

Fixing the shower

So, my boat has been listing a little to port for awhile, but in the last couple of weeks it's gotten worse and that's something that can sink your boat.  I was pretty sure it had to do with the shower, but, not being knowledgeable in boats, I'm willing to listen to someone who might have a better idea.  The previous owner really didn't know much about the boat and seemed to have just spent weekends on the boat, using the restroom and shower at the marina and never taking it out.  When I moved to a new marina, I had the boat towed.  My reason for starting this blog is to memorialize my learning process and possibly help someone else who finds themself in a similar situation. 

I have no network and no mentor, so everything is a learning process.  I decided to advertise on craigslist since I couldn't find anyone advertising what I needed.  My ad read:  "I need someone to check my holding tanks that I think is responsible for my boat listing to port. Bilge is dry and no leaks have been found in the hull. Help!"  Amazingly, I started getting replies pretty quickly.  I arranged for someone to come over on Saturday.  Aleko felt like I needed to learn everything there was about my boat at this visit while I just wanted the list corrected that I felt was the result of something wrong with the shower.  After a three hour tour of my boat, visiting the "beautiful" anchor, the engines and batteries, the diesel tanks, the black water holding tank, Aleko found that the shower was the source of my problem with the boat "lisping".  The sump pump had failed and there is a separate bilge below the shower that was filled with grey water.  He pumped it out using my hand operated bilge pump followed by the wet version of the wet/dry vac.  Then he pulled the soaked sump pump out and snipped the wires, announcing that I needed a new one.  On questioning, I found that he had no experience in installing sump pumps but he felt sure he could do it.  I felt differently and sent him home.  I went to the marine shop down the road and purchased a new sump pump.  Now, since the outlet for the grey water is higher than the drain on the floor of the shower, that makes a sump pump necessary--something I had not thought about at all, but completely makes sense.

Now, I have the water pumped out and have purchased a new sump pump.  What next?  The sump pumps for boats are run off battery power and I just use shore power with a dock plug-in.  Phase three of the repair:  find someone to install and get it running.  Another ad on craigslist.  "I need someone to install a new sump pump that I've purchased on my boat to drain the shower. The battery will either have to be located on the boat or a new one installed. If you have experience with this sort of thing and are available, please email me."  More answers to my ad.  First available time for someone who said he has years of experience with marine plumbing and electrical was today.  Good thing I have my own shower at the office since my marina doesn't have one.  So Steve showed up today and almost immediately broke a strut between the two engines while looking for the batteries and chargers.  Great.  This is the way I get on and off the boat.  Hmmm.  Another thing to fix.  But right now I need my shower.  He determines that one battery is dead and one is good but can't find a charger in the engine compartment.  I will buy one.  I will buy a new battery.  Just fix it.  No, he wants to find it.  Oh wait, he can't.  Okay, he'll hook up the sump pump for me while Teeny and ZhouZhou help.  PJ knows that he's better off in the corner out of the way.  All hooked up and he tells me it "should" work if I can charge the batteries because it's not working now.  That's the same thing he just told the guy on the phone--that it "should" work.  Crap.  Now, I have to go out and get a battery charger and probably a new battery and find yet someone else to install them so I can have a shower at home.  Now don't get me wrong.  I don't mind having to do the stuff, but can't I get it all done at one time and be done?  The trouble with boats is this.  The people working on them are kind of nuts.  The people living on them are kind of nuts.  But I have nice new steps!  And my boat is no longer "lisping".

Dropping the groceries

Well, I knew it had to happen sometime.  I was wrangling the dogs and leashes trying to get them on the boat while carrying my giant Ikea bag full of paperwork and groceries while trying not to drop my really beautiful Starbuck's glass water bottle.  ZhouZhou was trying to jump onto the boat while the leashes were tangled and she was on the verge of pulling one or both of the other dogs off the dock.  Suddenly I heard a few (yes, more than one) plops into the water.  I managed to get the dogs on board, the bag, my water bottle with no further incidents.  Then I retrieved my little play fishnet and laid on the dock to get the groceries.  It seemed like everything floated!  When I thought I was done, I spotted a floating bag that was too big for the net.  I found the grappling hook and snagged it and all was saved!  I hope that doesn't happen too often.  Better the groceries than the dogs I suppose and lots better than my paperwork or a wallet!  The hazards of living on the water.