wkearney99
Guru
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2018
- Messages
- 2,164
- Location
- USA
- Vessel Name
- Solstice
- Vessel Make
- Grand Banks 47 Eastbay FB
Oh, the joys of age and Ibuprofen.
Forward lockers at the bow, alongside the anchor locker, weren't draining effectively. Starboard one wasn't draining at all. Various crud clogging the drains. And, of course, no quick fixes like aiming the hose down from above or alongside. Or a coat hanger bent straight to poke around...
Had to pay out all the chain to get a look at the drains. Various bits of mud/leaf litter had clogged them. Simply blasting them with the hose didn't help. Nor did hanging my not inconsiderable bulk waaaaay down into the locker help get an angle on poking at the drains (thus the Advil). Had to bring the dinghy around and use shore water to blast the drains from the outside, as I'd nearly run the on-board tanks dry using the freshwater washdown. Oh, and it being low tide made for added fun clambering back up to the pedestal since I'd forgotten to turn the water on when up there getting the hose (two Advil job, now). But a few blasts of water from the outside were sufficient to dislodge the crud. Now the lockers all drain freely.
I didn't have spare line on-board, otherwise I'd have replaced the line securing the end of the chain to the boat. A friend at the marina mentioned using floating poly line for the job. As in, if you have a situation where you have to pay out and lose the entire chain, having some floating rode might at least give you a better chance of recovering it.
So, one task off my to-do list... and another one added. Two steps forward...
Forward lockers at the bow, alongside the anchor locker, weren't draining effectively. Starboard one wasn't draining at all. Various crud clogging the drains. And, of course, no quick fixes like aiming the hose down from above or alongside. Or a coat hanger bent straight to poke around...
Had to pay out all the chain to get a look at the drains. Various bits of mud/leaf litter had clogged them. Simply blasting them with the hose didn't help. Nor did hanging my not inconsiderable bulk waaaaay down into the locker help get an angle on poking at the drains (thus the Advil). Had to bring the dinghy around and use shore water to blast the drains from the outside, as I'd nearly run the on-board tanks dry using the freshwater washdown. Oh, and it being low tide made for added fun clambering back up to the pedestal since I'd forgotten to turn the water on when up there getting the hose (two Advil job, now). But a few blasts of water from the outside were sufficient to dislodge the crud. Now the lockers all drain freely.
I didn't have spare line on-board, otherwise I'd have replaced the line securing the end of the chain to the boat. A friend at the marina mentioned using floating poly line for the job. As in, if you have a situation where you have to pay out and lose the entire chain, having some floating rode might at least give you a better chance of recovering it.
So, one task off my to-do list... and another one added. Two steps forward...