Our next chapter

[Southpaw]

We officially became live a boards on April 2nd when dropped the line at 4:14 pm. We would have left earlier but just before we dropped the lines I dropped the hand held radio that was plugged into the inverter charging and the inverter started to smoke. So I had to turn off the battery switch because I could now see a small flame. So I disconnected and luckily I had a spare (it is older and had to modify the connectors).

I was hoping to leave earlier so we just motored out and anchored by Anclote island. We decided to try the water maker. While going through the book on startup of a new water maker everything looked good. Ya we are making fresh water. Check for leaks I didn’t see any. One hour later I see water in the bilge. Started the bilge pump. The water maker was dumping water into the boat. It took us three hours to dewater the boat. We ate dinner and went to bed

 

[dlochner]

What's that saying about cruising and fixing boats in exotic places?

Hope things take a turn for the better!

 

[DArcy]

It sounds like you are off to a great start! Life would be boring with nothing but beautiful sunsets and umbrella drinks

 

[Tom J]

Southpaw, was that the brine drain going into the bilge, or the fresh water?
Nice place to anchor out, anyway. Anclote Key is a great spot to relax, swim or fix the boat, whatever.
We always anchor out close to our home base when heading out for a cruise. It's a good way to iron out the bugs in the boat, and catch your breath after all the prep work.

 

[Al Schober]

Three hours to de-water? What are you using to de-water - a teaspoon? Might want to consider something with more oomph.

 

[Gene S]

First thing you have to do is turn off the water maker. Just kidding. I looked at a few water maker advertisements and they put out a lot of brine. That might be it.

 

[Tom J]

The brine should drain through a through hull. Is the valve to the through hull open?

 

[Southpaw]

What happened was a loose hose clamps on the saltwater intake after the filter. I didn’t see it leaking so almost as fast as we were pumping the water out it was coming in. That is why it took so long.