Boat Projects!

It's a boat. All boats are collections of incomplete projects. Here are a few of the big ones we mostly finished on Dory.

Since Dory became our full time home, we wanted some conveniences that weren't so important when we were just using her as a vacation home. So despite rumors that we had taken early retirement, we actually started a career in boat plumbing! Here are some of the projects of the past couple of weeks, with most of the dirty work being done by Bill and our friend Seth (aka Roy D.), while Sue dodged flying parts and liquids, kept us in food and clean clothes, moved stuff from place to place to get it out of the way of the plumbing work, took care of the dog, and finally gave up and went to see her sister in Connecticut.

Guest Holding Tank

The "stuff" that gets flushed down the head (aka "toilet") generally winds up in something called a "holding tank". Periodically, it is necessary to visit a "pump out station", where the contents are sucked out by giant vacuum cleaners.

Or at least that's how it's supposed to work. Unfortunately, during a past pump out, our vent was clogged, so the tank buckled like a milk carton with the air sucked out. The result was an unusable tank, that had to be removed.

The tank needed to be cut apart to get it out of where it was installed. This was one of the early projects awaiting us when we returned.

When you think of what was in the tank that we were cutting apart with an electric saw, a number of questions might spring to mind. Don't ask.

Eliminating the Pump Outs for Our Head

The reason for the holding tanks and the pump outs is that flushing toilets into coastal waters is not allowed, unless the discharge is treated first.

So . . . we installed a waste treatment unit on board. Although they are a bit pricy, they save a lot of trouble. Because the treated "stuff" is cleaner than what public treatment plants dump into the rivers, it is legal to discharge overboard.

Along with the treatment unit, we installed an electric head, meaning we don't have to pump the flush handle a dozen times with each use. On the other hand, in a quiet anchorage or marina, everyone knows when you flush!

On-board Shower

We had an on-board shower, but it had not been used in quite a while, so we installed some new plumbing there, including the pump that pumps the drain water up and out of the boat.

Drinking Water Filter

The last of the plumbing projects, for now, was the installation of a filter for our drinking water.

Electrical Work

A number of our projects required special wiring. In addition to those, we installed an "inverter-charger" — a device that charges the batteries when we are plugged into shore power, and produces 120 volts for standard household lights and small appliances when we do not have access to shore power.

Carpentry

One important early task was converting the two twin beds in the aft cabin into a single queen bed, and a desk. We also widened two narrow closets and installed a microwave.

Headliner

The old headliner, after 30+ years, was shot. So we replaced it with a different style.

The headliner itself is vinyl glued to plywood; the battens were cut from teak boards.

Engines and Fuel System

To increase reliability, we installed an advanced filtering system in our engine room.