#don't have a working stove either- i think it's more of a electrical problem since we got a new stovetop two years ago and still nothing

[saltydoesstuff]

Yeah, I'm okay! I wasn't in the room when it happened, my uncle came in as I was finishing the liminal don bot and said the microwave blew up so he's going to get a new one. The one we have is just about a decade old at this point, so it's needed anyway- the thing just briefly sparked and caught fire Also should I be worried about the stare?

Soooo my microwave blew up-

But on the bright side I got 1/8 bots done and public and working on the next now, starting with the liminal au boys

[clatterbane]

Oh yes, speaking of dishwasher safe items? Not that this will be doing us much good at the moment. 😑

Time for more fun with appliances! Less than two months after moving in.

I don't think the door handle/likely latch on this dishwasher was quite right when we got here. But yeah, of course it finally decided to break to the point that I was wary of using the thing.

It wasn't completely "coming off in my hand" borked yet, but that time was obviously too close for comfort--and I really didn't want the door to get stuck shut with a load of dishes inside.

Fine, that should be a simple and cheap enough repair job! Never done it before, but it does look very straightforward on other models at any rate. I'll just find the necessary parts, hopefully with quick shipping.

But, NOPE! Turns out that the thing is apparently just old enough that the parts are discontinued, and I couldn't find anywhere stocking what we needed. 🙃

So, we ended up needing to look for another dishwasher this past week, and found this Logik model on sale then, with delivery/installation available on the same Friday. Really hadn't been planning on replacing any appliances while we're in the middle of a little financial crunch anyway, but ain't that typical. 🙄 So, Mr. C went ahead and pulled the trigger on that.

So yeah, of course the surprises didn't end there! The delivery and installation guys did show up with the new machine as scheduled. So far, so good.

Then, they went to work the old dishwasher out from under the counter. And hit a little snag almost immediately. They couldn't readily get it out, because the floor was blocking it in under there. This wood flooring was apparently laid after the dishwasher was already in--and whoever did that little job decided to just cut around it! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Oh yeah, they also managed to visibly bend the door trying to wriggle the fucker out from under there anyway--so, now it won't seal properly. Guess we can't just pop the latch with a screwdriver, to use it in the meantime!

OK, so we'll have to figure something out there, which hopefully would NOT involve ripping up the kitchen floor. 😩

But, there's more!

Turns out that the electrical code has changed in the estimated 15-20 years since that dishwasher was installed--and where it's plugged in somewhere back under the counter is no longer acceptable! So, we're going to need to get a certified electrician to put in another outlet where it is easily accessible enough to meet the current code.

At least the installation guys were evidently very helpful with explaining exactly what the issues are there, and actually hauled the new machine to the storage unit downstairs for him before they left.

(Unlike the last dude who it turned out wasn't actually qualified to remove/install a gas stove in Plague Island House--so, he just dumped the new one off in our TV room, half-blocking the kitchen doorway like a complete asshole, and booked it out of there. 🙄)

So yeah, it's anyone's guess as to when we might have a functioning dishwasher in this place again.

When washing dishes is extra awkward for my wheelie ass, and he frankly doesn't always get them totally clean--for the same apparently disability-related reasons that he honestly can't see clutter, or what all needs to be swept up. (Whether or not he has ever thought of it that way. Or even as much of a problem to begin with. 😒) So, I end up either trying to beat him to the job, or rewashing some of the dishes.

[rossl32123]

Broken Clouds, 14°C

7 Pacific Hwy, Mooney Mooney NSW 2083, Australia

Of jobs

So many jobs, so little time. What have I been doing with myself.

Resealing leaking hatches. Of all the jobs taken on this year resealing the forward hatch has taken the most time. It would have helped alot to have known the hatch was bolted down before I started, not screwed. To get access to the nuts you have to take down the ceiling lining, including removing the hand rails, then remove the hatch lining. Once it was all apart I sanded back all the woodwork and varnished it with as many coats as I thought I could get away with, then put it all back together with at least half a tube if sikaflex. I think it still leaks!

The sail locker hatch came apart much more easily, there is no ceiling liner in that part of the boat. Much sikaflex, and butyl tape on the bolt heads seems to have got this one done although I still suspect leaks.

I took the foot of the self tackers boom off the deck and rebedded it with butyl tape.

The anchor winch has been dismantled and the lower clutch remachined.

The main anchor chain has been removed from the locker, measured (80m), marked at 10m intervals, and returned to the locker. The bitter end was treated with some anti rust spray.

Both anchor rodes are now all gal shackles and swivels. All shackles have been seized but I might switch to cable ties for that job, particularly as playing with different anchor/chain combinations requires undoing the shackles, which isn't so easy once they have been seized with stainless wire.

Both head sails have been inspected by a sail maker and restitching done where it has flogged out. Toe and head tacks have also been cleaned up.

The sailmaker has also replaced all the clears that were smashed by the hail storm last year, and built me a new mizzen. The old one tore at the leech clew, so I had it repaired, but then it tore again as I was trying to bend it back on. He wasn't so keen to repair it again. The clears need some new studs fitting to the cockpit canopy, which I still have to do. The corrosion in the aluminum frame where the old ones pulled out is quite bad, probably because of the stainless fittings weren't isolated properly.

I fitted a new set of blocks on the self tackers sheet track so that I can control the car from the cockpit. This required jam cleats and guides as well, but I got quite alot of the components second hand so it wasn't too expensive. I came up with this solution after the self tacker flogged the sheet car back and forth along the traveller and blew out the stops and the track end caps, which you can't get anymore for the type of track I have.

More hatch work. The aft cabin hatch wouldn't come apart, even after I took all the head lining down around it. I just could not get the hatch liner to come out, so I though to myself, "How much of this taking to bits regime do I have to force on myself? All the woodwork I had removed I cleaned up and varnished, then I cleaned up the hatch and liner/surround, taped it off and varnished it all in place. Since it didn't seem to leak through the flange, only through one corner of the main seal, and the control gasket, I figured I'd get away with it.

Also, the main cabin has two small hatches, these don't leak either, so I sanded their liners back in situ, and varnished them (3 coats). The big hatch in the main cabin is next, followed by the woodwork at the entry although I've already started this (couldn't help myself). There's also a bit of woodwork under the main sheet traveller which I've started preparing to varnish.

The genoa halyard was replaced, at the same time I ran up a block to the head of the sail so that I could reave a halyard to it for raising the spare genoa onto the same foil for going wing on wing.

I've started work on a solution for preventing halyards from tangling in the mast steps. This will involve climbing both masts at some stage to run light lines up the outside of the steps, then drilling through the steps to fit cable ties (or some such) to hold the line in place.

The steering disconnect control cable has been replaced.

A new topping lift has been installed on the mizzen boom.

The diesel heater has been demystified. After using all the diesel from the header tank last year it's remained empty while I figured out how to top it up again. That required quite a bit of time tracing plumbing and electrical cabling. Eventually I worked out that the "circulation pump" switch on the DC panel also allows the lift pump to top up the tank, provided you open the tap next to the gen set, and pull the switch under the heater. What had me really confused to start with was that I didn't know where the pump was, and the circulation pump is for water through the wet back, so how did the diesel get into the tank? Also, the sight tube was so brown inside that at first I thought it was copper pipe, then once I replaced it I couldn't figure out the tap at the top of the tank. It turned out that the bleed valve you close when you fill the tank so that any overflow goes down the return line, and you open it so as to avoid an airlock when your using the heater. The sight guage is also part of the filling line, which provided another level of confusion, as you can't tell the level in the tank while filling it. You have to turn the pump off and wait for the level to settle. Anyway, it's all good now, really cosy in fact, except that the water circulation doesn't seem to be reaching the heat exchangers fore and aft, but that problem is low on the list.

The saltwater pump for the desk wash down wasn't working too well. I started by replacing the ancient old gross particle filter with a more modern plastic one, but the pump still only runs for about 2 or 3 minutes before petering out. While searching under the rear cabin berth I discovered 2 other pumps in a plastic bag, underneath where the installed pump was. I'm not sure why they were stashed there because they were rubbish, but perhaps they were there to remind me just how long these things last.

I cleaned up alot of mess from under the rear cabin berth, including about half a litre of spilt Dextron. I would like to know where that came from as there were no obvious signs. I also restowed the spare engine parts under there to make room for more personal items in the foot locker, and I worked out a way of rolling the mattress out of the way so that you can get at that area. Previously I had been pulling the mattress off the bed and into the companionway, which was an all around pain. Now I can lift both ends to access a length of webbing which I can use to tie the mattress into a roll.

Rooting around under the stove I discovered that the igniters do have a power source. Ive been using a gas lighter for the last two years. It is only a small AA battery, but it had plenty of life in it so I returned it to its holder and lo, spark ignition!

The chart table chair now slides forward on its track, and locks as designed.

I replaced the broken pin in the track slider that the whisker pole snaps onto with a dowel of hard wood. I've also managed to get a second slider organised, it's pretty rough, but you have to have one if you want to wing on wing the headsails. Now I just need to free up the seized pin in the spare whisker pole, and work out how to get the spare slider onto the mast track.

I took the main compass off the binnacle, thinking that perhaps I'd better inspect and oil the engine control lines. There was a fair bit of corrosion in the compass mount as the screws where stainless through aluminium. I have an idea to replace the whole control panel at some stage. The compass is a bit of an anachronism these days but I'm not sure if I should toss it out. The depth guage is so old it uses vacuum tubes to display the numbers, but it does work. The GPSs screen has burnt out, although the unit still works! The wind indicator panel is fine, although it only gives apparent wind at the moment, however, the wind speed sensor is unreliable. Since it is also an ancient unit (despite being self powered and wireless) you can't get parts for it. When I climb the mast to do the step protector job I'll have to take it down and figure out what I can do with it. I really would like to have a completely wireless system of wind speed and direction, hull speed, depth and sea temp coming through to a couple of guages by the wheel, and also to the computer and any other device that can use the data, like iSailor and OpenCPN.

I was dissappointed with the amount of power the vacuum cleaner gets through. It's almost as bad as the microwave. When you pull 100 amps from the battery bank the voltage drops very quickly, and puts the batteries under stress. Two minutes of vacuuming will do it. I did discover that besides running the battery charger part of the inverter, the gen set will also power all the 120V sockets, when it's running. This was a surprise as I was under the impression that the gen set only recharged the battery bank. Now I know I can run all the 120V equipment on the boat I like, provided I put up with the gen set running.

I have discovered the trick to the 2hp outboard! It has always been a problem for me, so much so the I stopped using it for quite a while. Even after dealing with getting water in the carburettor all the time it still ran unreliably, usually quitting after having only run for 50m. After some considerable time putting up with it, it became apparent that it was fuel starvation. If I tilted the motor up when it was just about to die, it would fire up again for another 5m. Looking into the fuel tank one day I discovered that the inlet pipe sat up off the bottom of the tank by a good 2-3cm. With the angle of the transom on the dinghy, plus the inlet pipe being on the high side of the tank you only have to run the tank down about a third before she starts sucking air. Unfortunately you can't level the motor off as the fitting adjustment as rusted up solid. Never mind, atleast I know now that you just have to keep the tank topped up.

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