No photos

Sorry….. No photos on this post as we have been so busy moving our possessions off Molly and either onto Waiouru or into storage. 

We now have a temporary 12v supply consisting of one 12v lead acid battery and a charger which is connected to the 240v main supply.  The water and shower waste pumps are working!  This evening I managed to fit the shower riser rail and rose.  However the water from the calorifier is only tepid?  I’ve checked the 240v supply and everything appears OK.  Either there was a problem earlier and the water hasn’t had time to get hot, or the problem is with the immersion heater in the calorifier.

The macerating toilet has yet to be fitted.  There is a 2-3 week delay!  Consequentially, late yesterday I walked to the local caravan centre and purchased a small porta-potty.  We had been thinking of purchasing one for emergency use and I guess our current situation is an emergency. It splits into two major components and will probably fit in the bow thruster locker (along with everything else!).  The bow thruster locker is starting to get bigger and bigger!

Nick completed all the gas safety checks on Waiouru this morning.  He found two more small leaks but was able to eventually report Waiouru was “gas tight”.  He also completed sealing the remaining joins in the shower cubical.  It’s a very professional looking job!   Because of the problems with the hot water we will have to shower on Molly tonight and fix the calorifier hot water problem on Waiouru tomorrow.  Despite the lack of hot water I was able to test my plumbing of the shower waste and pump.  I haven’t identified any leaks <phew>.

There were some initial concerns during the pump out Molly first thing this morning.  Emptying the tank on the first cycle wasn’t a problem, but after adding the rinse water for the second cycle the pump wouldn’t suck anything from the tank.  When I removed the pump out nozzle the level of effluent was almost at the gunwale.  This didn’t make sense because at that level the effluent would be leaking into the boat.  Bill came sauntering along the towpath (Bill saunters everywhere as if he doesn’t have a care in the world) and I asked for suggestions.  He told me to poke a stick down the outlet as some partially digested toilet paper may have choked the bottom end of the outlet pipe.  I’d already thought of this but was reluctant to poke a stick down the pipe in case I damaged something.  Bill’s suggestion gave me the confidence to use a stick and I duly felt the blockage which was at the base of the pipe which was just clear of the bottom of the tank.  One I’d pushed the stick through the blockage the effluent level immediately dropped and I was able to complete the pump out cycles without any further problems.  Another lesson learned!