By Kevin

The title of this post is a well-known cruising witticism. When I would hear it in the past, I would laugh and think that surely this was part of some negative propaganda campaign that was meant to deter flocks of would-be sailors from crowding beautiful tropical anchorages.

Now, a few months into our journey, I see glimpses of truth in the saying. We’ve had broken stuff. And, I spend a lot of time researching, troubleshooting, fixing. Google is my friend, at least when WIFI is available. When not, I lean on more experienced cruisers for tips.

Here are the things that have broken so far, just off the top of my head:

• We had our brand new Garmin GPS unit replaced in Miami.
• We had our GPS unit reinstalled in Bimini and then again in Nassau. Now it works beautifully.
• Our low pressure hose blew off our engine-driven refrigeration compressor, creating a smoky mess in our engine room when we were 20 miles from the nearest land.
• We destroyed the bearings in our refrigeration compressor. It is dead.
• We ordered a Honda 2000i gas powered generator to run our AC refrigeration unit until we get back to Florida. It should arrive on a flight from the U.S. tomorrow.
• Both heads (toilets) clogged badly. (Marine toilets cannot be unclogged with a plunger. You must disassemble them and take out whatever is causing the blockage.) Not fun but I got stuff flowing again.
• We (okay, I) broke the pump handle in the forward head. Well, technically, it was the little bracket that the pump handle fits into.
• We ordered a new pump assembly for the aft head. It will arrive on the flight tomorrow.
• I rebuilt the floorboard hatch in the galley. It needed new plywood supports.
• I re-inforced the plywood divider that separates our anchor chain from our anchor rode in the anchor locker.  I screwed in an aluminum bracket to give it strength. 
• Our new LED anchor light on the top of the mast stopped working a few weeks ago. I had to go up to the top of the mast twice to try to fix it. Unfortunately it is still kaput so for an anchor light, we are using a lightbulb that we hoist up the mast 15 feet. 
• Our saltwater washdown pump stopped working. I need to find where it is located and figure out if it is a pump or electrical issue. That can wait–I need a beer.

Of course, when we aren’t fixing broken things, we can spend quality family time cleaning and polishing stainless steel fixtures, sanding and varnishing teak, and of course, washing and waxing the boat.

By Kevin

When you here the cliched warnings that GPS units sometimes fail so have a backup available, heed them.

In early November, we installed a new Garmin 441s electronic chartplotter, which we purchased at West Marine in Fort Lauderdale. We installed it by running the wires into the engine room (directly under the steering pedestal) and attaching the positive directly to the house battery bank switch and the ground to a ground terminal block that was also servicing our 12 volt auxiliary outlets.

Fail.

It seemed to work fine but when we got the boat off the dock in lightly choppy water, it cycled off. Each time we turned it back on, it would only stay on for 5 minutes or so. Fortunately, it was enough to get us to Miami and one of the crew had good local knowledge that allowed us to get into port after dark. (Thanks, Captain Gerry!)

West Marine was gracious and replaced the main GPS unit, in case the one we had was faulty. We kept the existing wiring in place and swapped out just that unit.

Fail.

The next time we went out, on a flat Biscayne Bay, it cycled off.

We rewired the positive to the 12 volt auxiliary circuit, as I suspected the house bank connection was loose.

Fail.

Unfortunately, the night we chose to leave for the Bahamas, crossing deep ocean water, it failed again. This time one of the crew (yes, Captain Gerry again!) had the Navionics iPad app and we used that for the 12 hour passage to North Bimini Island.

So, now in Bimini I hired a Garmin authorized installer to take a look. He thought the problem was the wimpy 3 amp inline fuse holder that comes with the unit. So, he replaced it with a heavy duty automotive-style fuse holder.

Fail.

We left the dock at North Bimini to sail 60 miles east. Within minutes of getting off the dock, the unit turned off again. So, we cancelled our crossing of the Great Bahama Bank and anchored out.

Since we want to get out of Bimini as soon as a weather window opens, we decided to order a new GPS chartplotter. We ordered a Garmin 78sc handheld chartplotter from West Marine. It will be shipped overnight to a private airplane company that flys between Bimini and Fort Lauderdale. Hopefully we’ll get it by Sunday, which is our next potential departure date.

So, the problem with the 441s should be either the voltage disappears, the voltage drops, or the amps drop. I turned on a voltage alarm on the unit when the problem first started that will sound if the voltage drops below 11.5. It hasn’t sounded when the unit cycles off. So, that leads me to believe either the amps cut out because of a corroded wire or the volts disappear because of a partially broken wire.  

The only 2 things left to do to troubleshoot are: Rewire the unit directly to the battery to see if it works without fuses, breakers, etc in the circuit; second, replace the power/data cable that came with the unit, as it may have an intermittent wire break that only acts up when there is some wave or wind movement.

But, that will have to wait until we get to Nassau.

By Kevin

We like to keep water out of the boat. One of the several ways water liked to get below decks on Real Life when we bought it was via the old, crusty Bomar hatches. We replaced all five hatches with brand new ones delivered straight from the factory.

The two that were bedded directly onto fiberglass risers went on very easily and have been no problem. Well, the fiberglass around the galley hatch did get damaged when the hatch was removed. But, some putty and paint will fix that up.

Unfortunately, three of our hatches were bedded directly onto beautiful teak risers. (Risers are bumps or frames that encircle the hole in the deck that the hatch covers. They keep water from spilling into the hole when the hatch is open.) When these hatches were removed, the teak split and splintered.

The contractor that was installing them had to build new teak risers. For the first attempt (yes, there was more than one), he just screwed/glued the teak frames onto the deck, using the screws and glue to bend the frame to the camber of the deck. Of course, this caused them to all leak badly.

We had to call in another contractor, John Francis Shipwright Services (954) 326-4145, to fix them properly. It took several weeks but now we have beautiful new teak frames around our beautiful new hatches. 

There were two tricks required to do the job correctly. The first was that instead of bending the frames the the camber of the deck, the frames needed to be routed out to follow the camber. Secondly, lots of 5200 was used in order to permanently adhere the frames to the deck.

By Kevin

When we purchased Fantasy Island, based on the surveyor’s report, we expected our refit would take 3-4 months and $30,000. As of today, it stands at 6 1/2 months and $50,000.

Believe those experienced boat owners who tell you to take whatever estimate you have and double it.

Here is the list of significant changes:

Renamed vessel to Real Life
Replaced shaft, cutlass bearing, stuffing box (dripless)
Replaced all chainplates with 3/8″
Replaced fore and backstay backing plates
Re-insulated engine room
Repaired damaged keel bottom
Ground out cracks and repainted transom
Painted areas of the topsides
Repainted lockers and bilges
Replaced engine room passageway and aft cabin soles with new teak and holly
Replaced various compromised wood
Replaced galley formica counter, sink, faucets
Re-bedded all stanchions and cleats
Replaced spare halyard
Replaced all aft and v-berth cushions
Installed new bow roller platform
Replaced 2 10# propane tanks
Replaced and redesigned bimini and full-enclosure canvas (reusing frame)
Repaired sails and replaced UV canvas covers (all three sails are roller furled)
Replaced all 5 Bomar hatches with new
Reconstructed teak trim around 3 Bomar hatches
Replaced 3 Beckson gaskets and portlight lens
Built custom screened plexiglass hatchboards for ventilation and security
Replaced liferaft with near shore version
Replaced 1993 Johnson 15hp outboard with 2007 Tohatsu 5hp
Refurbished 10 1/2 foot A/B tender
Replaced all navigation lights and spreader lights with LEDs
Replaced all interior lights with Sensibulbs
Added GPS Garmin 441s chartplotter
Watermaker membrane inspected
Replaced on worn cockpit cushion
Replaced 55# delta working anchor and chain with 250′ 3/8th inch HT chain and 60# Manson Supreme
Replaced 38# danforth secondary anchor and rode with 50′ 3/8th inch HT chain, 150′ 3/4 inch rode and Fortress
Replaced spring lines and bow lines
Replaced numerous hose clamps, valves and hoses in freshwater system
Replaced corroded wiring and wires in various places
Purchased numerous spare parts and necessary equipment that was sold off by the previous owner
Replaced saltwater washdown pump
Replaced bilge pump
Rebuilt both Raritan heads

By Jennifer

We’ve been talking a lot about the work we’ve had done on the boat before moving aboard. Here’s what it looked like the day before we moved aboard.

You’ll see new floors installed in what is called the “engine room passageway.” The old floors were crumbling because of water damage. Also you’ll see Kevin overseeing some work done by a contractor, David. This poor ol’ chap first started working on our boat days after we closed on it. On his first day, he was standing on some scaffolding around the boat while it was in the shipyard and he fell and broke his leg — he needed surgery to have a steel rod embedded. That happened back in June. He’s doing well now and walking with a bit of a limp.