Active Filter

This post has nothing to do with internet content. 

Richard’s plan for the day was to construct the wet locker and I realised during the night that if he did this it would make the installation of the toilet tank micro filter rather difficult.  So my first job for the day was to fit the filter before he completed prefabricating the locker.

The sanitation hose was trimmed to length and a piece of the off-cut used to connect the back of the filter to the brass skin fitting.  Hose clips were then used on the ends of the hoses.  The active carbon filter is supposed to prevent the “pong” from the boat being smelt outside.  The carbon filter will collapse into a “soggy” lump if it gets wet.  In an effort to avoid this the skin fitting has been fitted just under the gunwale.  I would have liked to have fitted a “swans neck” into the sanitation hose but there is insufficient flexibility in the sanitation hose and the actual filter design doesn’t lend itself to this!

It was obvious the day was going to be hot.  Rather than wear an old polo shirt and jeans, I elected to wear my “battered” overalls purchased whilst we were living in Plymouth this time last year.  There was a brief moment of indecision whether (or not) to go “commando”.  In the end I decided not to outrage anyone’s sense of modest and wore my jockey supporters underneath.  I suspect my selection of attire was cooler than the clothing worn by the marina staff.  However I’m also probably slightly more acclimatized to hot weather.

After Richard and I had trimmed and hung the cupboard door we fitted the locker to the back cabin.

The bottom of the door is slightly higher than the planned rear top step out of Waiouru.  It will have a top shelf with a clothes rail on the underside for jackets and wet weather gear.  There will be a lift-up base to the locker so the bottom can be used for long-term storage.  I forgot to borrow a paintbrush before the workshop closed which will delay me varnishing the locker by a day, but that’s not an issue.

After scrounging around the workshop I found an irregular shaped piece of 5mm steel plate which I’ve cut into a 150x150mm square.  After rounding all the edges and cleaning both faces I gave it a coat of primer.  Tomorrow I’ll drill and tap it with 5mm threaded holes so the stern bilge pump can be screwed to it.  Once I’ve given it a couple of coats of bilge paint it will be installed under the stern gear and the pump outlet plumbed to the skin fitting.

Meanwhile Jan caught the bus to Newbury for a fruit and veg shop.  Apparently the first bus went straight past her ignoring the fact she had her hand out to flag it down.  I don’t think she appreciated having to stand out in the sun for an additional 30 minutes waiting for the next bus!  Despite this we have now been restocked with perishables.  She has also made some homemade ice cream using her own recipe. Something was mentioned about another major online order for dry goods whilst she had a valid “free delivery” voucher.  There is only so much she can carry back to Waiouru in my daypack.

Tomorrow we start on the spare bed and I’ll also have to find the time to install the bilge pump.