South Pacific: Hinckley Yard
Monday, February 23, 2004:
N 27o08.998′, W 080o11.629′
Today was a three-steps-forward, two-steps-back sort of day. In the morning, Mike, the electrician at Hinckley, installed the stereo. Unfortunately, when we tried to insert some Crosby, Stills and Nash, the new unit proved to be defective. We set that problem aside and after verifying that the wind generator, solar panel, and watermaker appear to be working, Mike and I confronted the bilge pump. This consumed the entire afternoon. Meanwhile, Dick and Peter pumped out very ripe water from the bilge and hand carried it to a disposal unit at least a hundred yards into the boat yard. Quitting time came without the pump problem being resolved, but Mike, a super nice guy, left his tools on the boat so I could continue working the problems. In the end, it was a combination of mis-wiring and a short in an indicator light. The one step forward is that we now have a working bilge pump.
After showers for all, no small need, we took the dingy across the inlet and walked down to West Marine to exchange the stereo unit. (This will hopefully be installed first thing in the morning.) After pizza and a beer at Shrimper’s, Dick and I left Peter behind at the phone booth and set out across the inlet, only to have the motor quit half way across. No big deal, since we have oars, but it gives us the opportunity to once again clean the carburetor. However, despite the aggravation, overall the day was a success. Even the pump was a good lesson in the electrical system. And, I forgot to mention, we have a new wind speed indicator, but it has yet to be attached. More importantly, the main systems have now all been serviced and are ready to go, so we plan to head out tomorrow at high tide.
