Torture by Boat, its Bananas!

 

OK I know. It’s been awhile. I sure many of you wonder if I joined a Cuban boat lift and took up rolling cigars. Well no such luck just been busy having fun and entertaining guests. So on with the Blog.

One of the curiosities I had prior to embarking on this life changing Odyssey was would I get antsy, bored or get claustrophobic living onboard without all my terrestrial belongings of a dirt home.

Well I am happy to report not only do I not miss them I also do not miss the routine of caring for a home and the property that it sits on. With that being said I find the care of a boat to be quite exasperating and defeating with certain projects. Case in point. We have been living with some nuisance water in our aft bilge that would periodically cause the bilge pump to kick off, usually in the middle of the night. I knew the cause or so I thought. I identified that the fitting holding the rudder post had a minor leak. I had tried without success to fix it before we left on the Loop but no luck. Well with some extra time on my hands I went at it with a vengeance. I finally found the right tool to tighten the fitting and wala no more leak. Dried up the water in the bilge, project marked as complete. Two nights later the bilge goes off! Checked the fitting, still dry.

Looked for two days and finally found the source. A crack in the shower sump. Ordered a brand new one, installed, dry bilge once again. Crossed another line thru the item on the project list. Four days later bilge goes off again. What the heck! Took about four days to catch this one. Water was leaking out of a loose connection on the shower wand. Only leaked when someone was actually using the shower wand.

Tighten fitting, third line to cross out the project item and rendered a prayer to Neptune to let up a little as I was growing quite despondent. Needless to say my plea when unanswered. Bilge went off again three days later. This time I took drastic unconventional measures. As I sat in the galley holding my head wondering, why do I hate myself so much I noticed a bunch a bananas on the counter. Many of you boaters have heard the tale that bananas on a boat were bad luck. Many more of you know I do not subscribe to such nonsense especially coming from a scientific/medical background. But I was desperate! So I rendered a Captains order banning all bananas onboard. So then I went to work to find the source of water as all previous repairs were holding. Turns out water was leaking from the fitting for the fresh water tank level sender ONLY if the tank was filled completely to the top. So I sealed the the fitting with some good old silicone, tested it and it held.

It has now been two weeks and the bilge is as dry as the Sahara. Don’t know if banning bananas on board was the trick but for now the ban will remain in place. 

So do I miss my terrestrial trappings? Not really. Am I bored or antsy? Don’t have time cause I’m always fixing, re fixing or working thru how I’m gonna fix something.  When I feel the slightest level of anxiety I simply sit down on the sundeck and stare out into the turquoise water. My blood pressure almost drops too low as I suddenly feel like I could sit there all day. A feeling I never experienced in my dirt home lifestyle. This odyssey certainly has altered my inner priorities in a very significant way. 

The Pics were mostly from a Sunset Dinner Cruise we did with two other couples. Very touristy but it really was a blast. 

                                                Manitee Cruising through the marina