Once we had the exhaust and engine cooling systems squared away our attention then turned to a head smell. It appeared when flushing only but the location was on the port side where the vent tube exits the boat. Unfortunately this was right in the galley area which makes food preparation very unappealing. The odor permeated through the cabinets along that side so everything had to be pulled out and stored in the forward cabin. Jane contacted Headsync out of Newport and they were fast to respond and efficient! JP arrived in 2 days, took apart the through hull fitting, and cleared the blocked vent tube. We have two 20 gallon holding tanks but for some reason they were connected to a t-joint for 1 through hull vent tube. Not the best situation for that much of a system.
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Two views of the through hull fitting.
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So JP thought that clearing the vent might solve the problem for us. He did advise that the vent tubing could be original and down the road need replacing We assume it is since we did not receive much in the way of maintenance/repair records. If that is the case we may have 1-2 years left before we have to replace it. Especially since we live aboard so much.
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This is the filter which has allowed us
to flush without odor! They need replacing once
a year. |
Five days later the smell returned while we had company aboard. Headsync returned and determined that to replace the vent tubing and add another vent for the second holding tank would require a retrofit for 1 tank since access was almost impossible. We opted for the alternative for now since our expenses have really added up this summer. So the techs installed a Vacuflush filter on each holding tank vent. That has solved our problem for now.
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This is a treatment recommended by our friends on
their Kady Krogan for head use. It cleans the tubing and
keeps the holding tank working as it should!!
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Our other projects have been by choice to improve living aboard. We discovered that when running the engines there was only a trickle charge going into the house batteries. Since we will be running 6-8 hours daily moving south to Florida we decided to change that. A yacht club friend, Jim, came and helped Peter add 2 charging relays for each engine. On a sailboat you charge the batteries from running the engine.....especially if you don't have a generator. We decided that it would be beneficial to have the same system on Kinvara II so as not to overuse the generator. The largest draw on our batteries are the refrigeration system. It is not 12 v but works through the inverter for 110 v.
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| Jim and Peter discussing the work |
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| Jim rafted alongside with his Grand Banks |
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| Relay boxes used |
Jane got tired of always closing the forward hatches when it rained. They are very like the sailboat hatches which water would roll off the cabin top into the boat. She ordered hatch awnings which worked well on our sailboat. With 6 of them installed in the galley, forward head, and cabin we now have a flow of fresh air without the rain coming in. They also shade from the sun. We may get a few for the aft cabin hatches as well.
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They are low profile and compliment
the look of the boat. |
Our next project is to help us while traveling along the ICW. We like keeping the sliding doors open for ventilation when anchored so we took ordinary screens made to hang in a doorway on a tension rod from Lowes and adjusted them to fit our doors. Peter had to add a block to hold the tension rod and Jane had to cut the screens to fit the doorway and adjust velcro tabs and add binding along the edge to hold them securely.
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| The block installed |
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| Cutting the block |
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Voila!! A removable screen
to use along the ICW |
Our last project was a necessary one. One of the long window blinds broke at the top making it unable to raise, lower, and open & close. The blinds are original to the boat and the plastic and cording is very brittle. Jane found a 58" ready made Levelor blind at Lowes so we shortened it, strung wire through it,and Peter installed it. It works perfectly so we know we can diy the blinds along the way. Jane is experimenting with a clear film that has UV properties on the sliding doors to see if we can cut down on some of the heat generated through the glass. Eventually she will make window shades for the outside.
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| This takes a 58" blind to cover |
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Shortening the blind and
stringing wire through it to hold
against the window. |
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Peter poked a hole through
the top frame for wire |
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| Voila! New window shade done |
Now, hopefully we can settle down and start to enjoy our boat and new adventures.
