Category Archives: Boat Technical

Specifics about the boat.

Chores, Food, and More Food in Las Palmas

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Yesterday and today were chore days. Yesterday’s big task was installing the new 5.7 water pump. It was a quick and easy install. All worked great, and Eric and Colin were proud of themselves. Until an hour later when the pump died. After a quick troubleshoot, it was clear that the fuse connector was loose. With a quick squeeze of the pliers to make the connection tighter, the problem was instantly solved. They also cleaned the AC water maker. Today’s big project for the men was to change the oil on the main and repack the lazarette. Of course, the lazarette had to be unpacked to access the water pump. Eric also removed another smelly pad from the bildge, so hopefully our smell is gone for good now.

Christi has been doing spring cleaning. Knowing nothing will be cleaned for three weeks, she wants to get as everything as clean as possible before we go.

The other important thing is we went through all the emergency and safety gear on board. We made sure everyone knew exactly what we have and where it is located. This was a good review for Eric and Christi. Since we never use those things, it is easy to forget about them. We also reviewed emergency plans.

We are ashamed to admit that Continue reading →

Passage to Gran Canaria – Days 1 and 2

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Yesterday we wanted to get up early so we could leave ASAP. Mind you, early for us these days is before 0800, when the sun rises. It was cold and dark, making getting out of bed painful, but we had to do it. We had no time to dilly dally. Fortunately, it wasn’t as cold as it had been all week, so getting up before turning the heater on was a little more bearable. The wind was calm when we awoke. We knew it would change soon.

Eric gave Kosmos a quick wash down. There was jet fuel residue all over the boat, and we are afraid if we go out to sea that it will turn to cement and be difficult to remove down the road. Christi ran to Continue reading →

Stabilizers, Fuel, and Chores in Gibraltar

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Eric is starting to stress out about the Atlantic crossing. We were originally going to be here for only three days, leaving us lots of time in the Canaries to get things ready for the big crossing. Now, thanks to the stabilizer delay, it looks like we will only have a few days in the Canaries to get things ready. The “to do” list is long, and sadly, most of it is last minute stuff.

So, needless to say, yesterday and today have been chore days. The biggest and most important news is that ABT repair technician came today at about noon for the stabilizers. He was done by 1400. We now have a new hydraulic cylinder actuator. This time we Continue reading →

Day 3 of the Water Pump Saga

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We are happy to report that today was sunny with calm winds. The marina is calmer, which is nice. We like calm days.

Eric went to the marina office as soon as it opened, where a Spanish speaker was on duty and happy to help. Yay. He called and found out that the distributor did carry the part, but absolutely would not sell to us direct. We had to go through a retail store, and they didn’t volunteer any information as to what store we might be able to find their product in. Our nice translator didn’t seem to want to call back to press them on the retail store locations.

Yesterday, the clerk at the Gibraltar chandlery suggested that we go to a nearby chandlery in Spain, just a 15 minute away, and ask them to order it for us. They would be able to get it sent from Barcelona via overnight express with no customs issues. Now that we knew the distributor had the part in stock, we were happy to make the trip. We got directions, which were go out to the road, turn left, walk over the airstrip and you are at the border. Catch a taxi to the chandlery on the other side. We were kind of dubious, but the directions were accurate. You really do walk across the airstrip. Or drive across, if you are in a car. When a plane needs to land or take off, they just close the road for a few minutes. Seeing the wide open strip explains why the other day, we heard several announcements over a loudspeaker demanding that the car parked on the runway be moved now.

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One more block from the runway is the border. Crossing the border was Continue reading →