We finally cast off the dock lines at Joy’s Marina and headed out of the Hampton River for the last time this summer. We headed north to Deltaville, which will be Orion’s home for the next couple of months, as she gets her annual check-up, some repairs and some sprucing up. But before we took her north, we took a road trip to northern VA for our annual check-ups and to visit with friends while there.
Dave in DC Metro
Checking Up
For the first time in a long time, we traveled by Greyhound bus, boarding at the nearby Hampton terminal and arriving in DC at the bus terminal a short walk north of Union Station. From there we took Dave’s old commuter route via the Metro and commuter bus to Reston, where we were to stay with Cookie, our former neighbor and on-going friend.
We like to do a project to say thank you for her hospitality. This time, we dove into the dismantling of a malfunctioning hot tub. Luckily, the weather was cool that day, since it took most of the day to finish the job, reducing it to the size we thought would be acceptable to the trash pickup company. (It was a little much, but Cookie managed to sweet talk them into taking it anyway.)
For the first time in a long time, we traveled by Greyhound bus, boarding at the nearby Hampton terminal and arriving in DC at the bus terminal a short walk north of Union Station. From there we took Dave’s old commuter route via the Metro and commuter bus to Reston, where we were to stay with Cookie, our former neighbor and on-going friend.
We like to do a project to say thank you for her hospitality. This time, we dove into the dismantling of a malfunctioning hot tub. Luckily, the weather was cool that day, since it took most of the day to finish the job, reducing it to the size we thought would be acceptable to the trash pickup company. (It was a little much, but Cookie managed to sweet talk them into taking it anyway.)
After a Sunday spent relaxing and visiting our former church family, we spent Monday morning at the doctor for routine exams that were thankfully uneventful. After Dave met with his colleagues from CNCS on Tuesday, we headed out Wednesday morning for Hampton, retracing our steps through the Metro and bus system. We took time to meet with our financial planners in DC before boarding the bus home to Hampton.
Water: It’s either too much or too little
As the summer heats up, we rely more and more on Orion’s air conditioning to make life comfortable on board. Like most marine A/C systems, it uses raw water drawn in through a thru-hull sea-cock as a “heat pump”, extracting its cooler temperature to cool the air. As the air cools, condensate forms and is routed into the bilge, where it must be pumped out periodically or (eventually) the space under the floor would fill with water. So, to ensure the A/C’s efficiency, we need to ensure a steady flow of raw water, and a routine emptying of our bilge.
Up to now, the raw water flow has been amazingly strong and unaffected by the body of water Orion is sitting in. However, this summer has been wetter than normal, and the Hampton River was churned up more than usual. We were becoming aware that the flow of water coming out of the A/C thru hull had slowed to a trickle by early August, causing us to shut down the system and flush it out with a hose. This restored the flow, but within days, it was slowing again, causing us to flush it a second time. As it started to slow for the 3rd time, we were glad we were headed to Deltaville. The water flow has been steady since we moved north, with no need to flush it any more. (Knock wood.)
Water: It’s either too much or too little
As the summer heats up, we rely more and more on Orion’s air conditioning to make life comfortable on board. Like most marine A/C systems, it uses raw water drawn in through a thru-hull sea-cock as a “heat pump”, extracting its cooler temperature to cool the air. As the air cools, condensate forms and is routed into the bilge, where it must be pumped out periodically or (eventually) the space under the floor would fill with water. So, to ensure the A/C’s efficiency, we need to ensure a steady flow of raw water, and a routine emptying of our bilge.
Up to now, the raw water flow has been amazingly strong and unaffected by the body of water Orion is sitting in. However, this summer has been wetter than normal, and the Hampton River was churned up more than usual. We were becoming aware that the flow of water coming out of the A/C thru hull had slowed to a trickle by early August, causing us to shut down the system and flush it out with a hose. This restored the flow, but within days, it was slowing again, causing us to flush it a second time. As it started to slow for the 3rd time, we were glad we were headed to Deltaville. The water flow has been steady since we moved north, with no need to flush it any more. (Knock wood.)
As for the bilge, we have routinely been manually activating the bilge pump whenever the A/C is running. However, our rudder leak prompted Dave to install 2 float switches, to ensure we had plenty of notice of any water coming into the boat unexpectedly. He installed one in the main bilge compartment at the foot of the companionway stairs and the other in the stern next to the rudder assembly. These switches are then wired into a new buzzer that, like the one hooked up to our GPS, will wake the dead when it sounds. Being highly motivated to keep the bilge dry (and the alarm silent), Dave then moved our automatic bilge pump lower in the bilge, so that it will pump the water out before reaching the float switch. It’s been working like a charm, and we’re wondering why we didn’t do this sooner. Sometimes it’s the simple things you miss.
Engine Maintenance
When we arrived in Deltaville, it wasn’t long before John was on the boat checking out the engine. However, he was pretty pleased with what he found and the list of to-do items was small.
Dave had wanted to change the engine water pump, but had been plagued by a persistent leak when he tried to install the replacement. John explained that this was a sign not of a faulty installation, but of a faulty pump that needed replacing. With that information, we instead replaced the impeller on the existing pump and plan to order a new water pump as a spare.
Over the winter, Dave had been disappointed with the performance of the boat’s alternator in charging the batteries, so John did a check of the alternator and gave it a clean bill of health. He also checked the motor mounts and the mixing elbow. He changed the air filter, the on-engine fuel filter and the on-engine raw water strainer gasket.
Other than that, the engine was fine. After 2 years of more intense effort on the engine, we were glad to spend our attention (and therefore our money) elsewhere.
Charting a new path
Engine Maintenance
When we arrived in Deltaville, it wasn’t long before John was on the boat checking out the engine. However, he was pretty pleased with what he found and the list of to-do items was small.
Dave had wanted to change the engine water pump, but had been plagued by a persistent leak when he tried to install the replacement. John explained that this was a sign not of a faulty installation, but of a faulty pump that needed replacing. With that information, we instead replaced the impeller on the existing pump and plan to order a new water pump as a spare.
Over the winter, Dave had been disappointed with the performance of the boat’s alternator in charging the batteries, so John did a check of the alternator and gave it a clean bill of health. He also checked the motor mounts and the mixing elbow. He changed the air filter, the on-engine fuel filter and the on-engine raw water strainer gasket.
Other than that, the engine was fine. After 2 years of more intense effort on the engine, we were glad to spend our attention (and therefore our money) elsewhere.
Charting a new path
GPS installed on deck
After much discussion, we decided to install our new Garmin 5208 chartplotter to enable us to display AIS and Radar at the helm. The first decision we needed to make was the new layout at the helm, since the chartplotter has a bigger footprint than its predecessor 172C. Mike from Deltaville Boatyard helped us envision the new layout. With the dissimilarity in the footprints, we decided to lay a piece of starboard over the existing pedestal top to give us a clean surface to work with. The boatyard’s carpenter milled the edges and cut out the holes for the new layout and attached it to the existing pedestal. When he was done, it looked great.
Unfortunately, it just looked great. We now have to do the tedious work of connecting all the wires to make it work.
The first thing we installed was the new GPS. We mounted this on the starboard side of the companionway, removing the headliner below to attach the bolts and run the wire to the engine room, so it could be connected to the 5208 at the helm. There are still dozens of connections to make to ensure everything will work together before it’s done.
Unfortunately, it just looked great. We now have to do the tedious work of connecting all the wires to make it work.
The first thing we installed was the new GPS. We mounted this on the starboard side of the companionway, removing the headliner below to attach the bolts and run the wire to the engine room, so it could be connected to the 5208 at the helm. There are still dozens of connections to make to ensure everything will work together before it’s done.
Jayden blows out his candles for his 3rd birthday.
Family Time
After celebrating our middle grandson’s 3rd birthday, Cathy took the older one to the beach for a few days with her family before returning to Hampton and Grandpa to spend the remainder of his vacation with us on Orion. Droz found crabs, “super” jellyfish, oysters, and all the river wildlife to be exciting, but what he most enjoyed was playing with friends on the dock, whether in Hampton on in Deltaville, where he ended his stay. He got to take his first long sailing trip (where we actually sailed most of the way) with us from Hampton to Deltaville. He even manned the helm for the last hour under motor.
After celebrating our middle grandson’s 3rd birthday, Cathy took the older one to the beach for a few days with her family before returning to Hampton and Grandpa to spend the remainder of his vacation with us on Orion. Droz found crabs, “super” jellyfish, oysters, and all the river wildlife to be exciting, but what he most enjoyed was playing with friends on the dock, whether in Hampton on in Deltaville, where he ended his stay. He got to take his first long sailing trip (where we actually sailed most of the way) with us from Hampton to Deltaville. He even manned the helm for the last hour under motor.
More boat stuff to come
If you’ve been feeling deprived because we’ve had so little to say about boat projects in the past few entries, this and the next entry should satisfy your hunger, since we are already knee-deep in several tasks that will make the next few updates.
If you’ve been feeling deprived because we’ve had so little to say about boat projects in the past few entries, this and the next entry should satisfy your hunger, since we are already knee-deep in several tasks that will make the next few updates.
