boat chores – The Gray Route

No easy chores

Boat chores before leaving Enkhuizen

July 15th 2015

It is really the last day in Enkhuizen. And since it’s the pre-passage day we had to do all kinds of chores to prepare for the next passage, like getting groceries, clean up the mess in the saloon and filling up the water tank.

Today is a typical example how a simple task on a boat becomes an afternoon’s work. We still had two full water containers, that we had filled a week ago. With the current temperatures isn’t prudent to drink that anymore, so we had to empty them first and refill them. That reminded us that we also needed to clean the bilge. There’s always a little puddle of stagnant water in the bilge, so you have to clean it once in a while. And the last time we did that, was in Middelharnis 3 months ago. The reason we thought of cleaning the bilge when we were refilling our water containers, was that we could empty the containers in the bilge, scrubbing at the same time, and then the bilge pump will pump out the water. This way we wouldn’t just toss the water overboard, but use it before we throw it away.

With a clean bilge we could progress to filling all the empty water tanks. Refilling a water tank isn’t that straightforward when you live on a boat. First you have to unroll the hose. But you can’t just pop the hose in your tank, especially not in high summer. To prevent that harmful bacteria end up in your water tank, you have to let the water run for a few minutes to flush the pipes and thus get rid of the stagnant water in which bacteria like legionella can grow. Usually you let it run until the water gets cold. So while we were waiting for the water to become cold, we thought we might use that water to clean the anchor locker while we’re at it. There is an outlet in the locker to dispose of excess water. But no water was coming out. Hmm…apparently the hole is blocked. Jeroen heaved out the anchor chain to see what was causing the blockage. The culprit was soon found. A clump of clay had accumulated on the bottom, blocking the hole. It was no mystery how that clay ended up in our locker. In all our anchoring adventures we had scooped up so much clay that this was bound to happen. We spent the better part of an hour prying all the clay out of the small hole. Two hours later we could finally refill the water tanks. There is nothing like an easy chore on a boat…

Show your colours

July 9th 2019

Late in the afternoon the rain finally stopped and the sun came out again. The dry spell allowed us to do a few boat chores that had been waiting. Because the next passage will be a longer one with probably slightly more wind than when we came from the IJsseloog, trailing a boat behind us might not be advisable. So we cleaned the inflatable boat, deflated it and tied it to the deck. Months ago we had bought a flag from the province of South Holland, and a KNRM flag. Every year at you can buy a KNRM flag, which is the Dutch coast guard, to support them. High time to put them up and show our colours, with our brand new just installed flagline.

A jazzy goodbye

Our last day in Enkhuizen

June 15th 2019

Our last day in Enkhuizen. We needed to replenish our food supplies before we leave and since we were planning not to moor in a marina the coming week, that meant lots of heavy bags with groceries. We still needed to do a few minor boat chores, like fastening the iPad mount we had just bought for navigation, and gluing a piece of teak back in place that didn’t want to be part of the boat anymore.

Although the day started rainy, the sun bursted trough the clouds around noon. So when Jeroen’s mother came to visit in the afternoon, we were able to sit outside in the cockpit.

This weekend there is a big Jazz festival in Enkhuizen. There are stages with Jazz bands all through town, and parades of Dixieland orchestras playing happy tunes. So after we waved Jeroen’s mother goodbye we went for a stroll through the town to watch the festivities. When we had heard quite enough Jazz to last us a lifetime, we went for a long walk through the city. As if saying goodbye. We felt a bit sad because we’re leaving tomorrow. On the one hand we feel that it is time to go on, but we like it so much here that we don’t want to leave. But that is the essence of travelling: knowing that you have to say goodbye someday.

You never know where the road will lead you…

Boat works today

Getting ready to leave

May 17th 2019

Jeroen in a dramatic pose after completing all the boat chores

Boat works today. The engine sounded a bit ‘raw’ during our nightly passage and since we want to leave tomorrow we had to check what was causing the sound. We figured it probably has to do something with oil, a car also sounds a bit hoarse if it doesn’t have enough oil anymore. After checking all the oil related parts the last item seemed to be the culprit. It’s always the last one, isn’t it? The cover for the transmission oil inlet got a bit unscrewed, thus hence we lost some oil.

Fortunately since our crash course Diesel engines we now know that there even is an oil level to be checked at the transmission. We wouldn’t have known it otherwise. So we refilled the oil, started the engine and tried switching from forward to reverse. It seems to sound a bit better.

We also checked the prop with our underwater camera, because something could be wrapped around it. Last time we went through Rotterdam, another busy city, we had a whole canvas shopping bag entangled in our prop. But this time it was absolutely clean. No need to dive today fortunately.

All preparations done, we are ready to leave.

Boat chores galore

Getting ready for the next passage

April 21st 2019

Another sunny and warm day, a perfect day to work on the safety net for Captain Fluffy. We unrolled the net we had bought and fastened it in a makeshift manner to the sea railing to see if we had enough and how we would attach it permanently.

By doing this we encountered 2 problems. The first one was that part of the net had to be removable, so that Captain Fluffy could jump on and off when we are in a marina. The second one was how to deal with the jib sheet. The line now crosses underneath the sea rail into the genoa track. But if we would fasten the net, the sheet had to run through or under the net, both not very desirable options. We couldn’t think of a sensible solution, so in the end we decided to tackle project safety net another time, and check out how other people have done it first.

On to the next task then, cleaning the water tank. Not that complicated, just put some food grade oxi (Sodium percarbonate) in your tank, fill her up and wait for 30 minutes. Then empty the tank, fill her up again and empty again. Jeroen got the idea to clean the bilge at the same time, something we still had to do if you remember that the bilge pump went completely berserk 2 weeks ago. We have a foot pump to operate the water tab, and emptying the water tank takes ages this way. But by disconnecting one of the hoses that run from the tank to the tab, the water -with the Sodium percarbonate- runs into the bilge minimizing our effort and cleaning the bilge at the same time!

Captain Fluffy is lending a helping hand in cleaning the bilge

Then there was another chore that needed to be done. A very scary one. We had noticed that the display wasn’t giving any readings of our speed. We hoped that with a few days sailing the moss or whatever was stuck to the transducer would dissolve or something, but it didn’t. The only thing left now is to pull the transducer out of its socket and clean it manually. The scary part of this story is that once you pull the transducer free from its socket, you basically create a 4 centimeter diameter hole in the bottom of your boat below the waterline. That means water will come gushing in. Now you have a sort of plug that you need to shove in the hole immediately after removing the transducer, but it is still rather scary to make a hole in your boat on purpose while it’s in the water. After cleaning the water tank and the bilge we knew for certain that the bilge pump was working, so after few deep breaths it was time to pull the plug. The water started to squirt out the small gap, when the transducer was unscrewed which was rather alarming, but when the whole thing was out of its socket it went more like …gloop…gloop…gloop. It wasn’t gushing in like we were expecting. Of course you shouldn’t put on a kettle to make tea after you have unscrewed the transducer, but there’s enough time to push in the plug and screw it down. As it turned out a family of tiny shrimps and some small mussels had made the wheel of the transducer their home. Sorry guys, but it’s time to relocate. We gently pried them loose and released them in the water again. A quick scrub, and the transducer was ready to be plugged back. It all turned out to be not that scary as we were expecting.

We also installed a new lamp at the chart table, so the to-do list is definitely shortening. That is, if you’re ever done with chores on your boat.

We concluded our last day here sampling some home-made beer and cider with our harbour masters Arthur and Saskia on their boat and shared more adventures. They told us about how they ended up as captain and host on a 80 foot classic charter yacht, the Vixen II, in the Mediterranean and how they participated in regattas like the Ibiza Gold Classic with this majestic ship (see movie). It was great to have met this inspiring couple.

Tomorrow we’re leaving to test out our anchor for the first time!

Not a Morse cable day

But an everlasting supply of prop shaft grease

April 11th 2019

Today we’re taking things slow. The mechanic said he didn’t have time to check our installed Morse cable today, so maybe it’s the universe telling us to relax and enjoy.

So we only got two small jobs done. We’ve connected the lines for the tethers to attach to the life jackets, which keeps you attached to the boat if you fall off.

The pump to lubricate the prop shaft had also arrived. We thought it was a nice small pump, easy to stow away somewhere, but it turned out to be a humongous thing. The guy at the marine store said that it would last a lifetime. “You never have to buy one again, and you can help out everyone you encounter as well” he joked. But he had ordered this one because the special yacht version was indeed half the size, but trice the price.

So after we figured out how to get the pump connected to the nipple that lubricates the prop shaft we had lots of time for a walk and to practice flying with the drone.

Marina Noordschans with our little boat from above

A good day!

The tinkering trip

The mysteries of a Morse cable

April 10th 2019

Day 3 of our transmission cable episode. Nothing to be found on the internet about how it exactly works, so how to know if we’ve installed it correctly? We only found some cryptic mentions like “it needs to fold open equally on both sides.” What does it mean?? Nothing to it but to wait until the mechanic has time to check our handiwork.

Although the Morse cable project is on hold, we got lot of other chores done today. We’ve fixed the contact for the auto pilot, added the mandatory extra hose clamps on the through hole hoses and installed an extra fire extinguisher (all necessary for the insurance). We’ve already dubbed this adventure the tinkering trip…

We concluded the day with a well deserved glass of wine, some cheese and dried sausages in the cockpit. This feels like a proper vacation!

Captain Fluffy, our helping hand