One of those days

[Pords]

Well got down to the boat this morning expecting to finish wiring up the new solar panel but nothing ever goes to plan. First off, after already positioning Charge controller under chart table turns out solar cable from the panel doesn't quite reach so have to reposition in the aft cabin. Easier said than done. Next faux par, still going on original measurements and not thinking i cut the additional solar cable i bought for the batteries into 4 which now doesn't reach the repositioned charge controller( a few choice words to myself for being an idiot). So back in car to source some more 4mm cable. Electrical store wants to Sell me 100m as doesn't come any other way and pretty unhelpful overall.

Next stop chandlery which wanted to charge me £60 for 20 metres. I only paid £13 for 2 X 5M originally, so i had to re order again online which saved me £35. Won't arrive until Thursday so that's now on hold. Then i thought why not finish fitting deck gland which turns out didn't want to play ball, and at this point i throw my toys out of the Pram to everyone else's amusement. Decided to pack up and go home. Why is it when it comes to working on a boat everything takes twice as long and numerous trips to shops? It's a curse

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

 

[matthewriches]

Sounds like my recent plumbing venture. Had to remove my calorifier to replumb it. If you heard swear words emitting from Southwold, or Suffolk for that matter, then it was I :disgust:

Still, all in now and functioning with no hot water leaking back into the cold!

 

[neil_s]

It will be worth it! My solar panel has been re-connected for a week after taking the winter covers off and both batteries are now back to fully charged. Don't need a mains charger any more!

 

[Daydream believer]

Well got down to the boat this morning expecting Etc Etc.

Well you know what they say:-
Prior Preparation & Planning Prevents Pathetic Poor Performance


Note -- Not really "pathetic" but i am under notice from mods for use of unacceptable language :encouragement:

 

[macd]

Puritanical Insistence on Sanitised Sentences?

 

[Daydream believer]

Got it in one :encouragement:

 

[dolabriform]

W Why is it when it comes to working on a boat everything takes twice as long and numerous trips to shops? It's a curse

Because !

Not just boats, houses, vintage cars, etc.

The umpteenth law of sod says that as soon as you start to fix the problem you had prepared for you will discover many more that need to be fixed before you can repair the original one.

 

[fisherman]

I saw a fisherman set out to repair a Gardner engine, a simple job which ended up with him dropping the sump then lying in it on his back doing the big ends.
I was minded of the first St Helena having engine problems, they simply took the side of the ship out.

...and, lying in the mud at Gweek in sub zero temps doing up keel bolts while the tide crept up my oilskin legs.

 

[alan_d]

Because !

Not just boats, houses, vintage cars, etc.

The umpteenth law of sod says that as soon as you start to fix the problem you had prepared for you will discover many more that need to be fixed before you can repair the original one.

Hofstadter's Law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law.

 

[zoidberg]

Why is it when it comes to working on a boat everything takes twice as long and numerous trips to shops? It's a curse

You betcha! Having failed to remove the s/s fuel tank and failed completely to drain it, leaving ~5 litres of contaminated diesel to dribble out to be mopped up, I thought to turn my hand to something easy.

I'll put fresh oil into my new engine, as Beta, the manufacturers, had removed what they'd bench tested it with. So, 2.0 to 2.5 litres of 15W-40, it says here, with CF bits. I peered at the dipstick. Nothing showing at all. Fine. I have a container of prime 15W-40 with CFs, and it has exactly 2 litres remaining. I bung it in. Then I leave it for a few hours to dribble down - actually, overnight - then go check via the dipstick. Wha...! it's way over Maximum.... Howzat?

Multicheck. Same answer. No alternative - suck some out. So I assemble a narrow-bore plastic tube, insert it down into the dipstick orifice, and suck. And suck. And suck. That takes half a dozen attempts before a golden 'rise' is seen. A finger over the top, pipette style - and this is allowed to dribble into a 2 litre empty plastic milk bottle. Check the dipstick. No change. Do it all again. And again.

Peek into the opaque milk bottle. Huh? Go fetch clear glass jar from wheely bin. Pour the extracted 'oil' into glass jar. Note it is mostly clear water with an oily froth. How the...? It was certainly golden fresh oily stuff sucked up into the plastic tube. Go make a tea and biscuit and ponder.

Find the engine's manual oil extraction pump and struggle with the awkward knuckle-scraping thing, while producing several spurts of clear, golden oil into the glass jar. Find myself wondering there wasn't some water left in the plastic milk bottle, that I didn't notice, and how come there was virtually no extracted oil in the original 'sucked up' sample. Check the dipstick. The level is now right. The oil coating it is about right in colour, feel, smell, viscosity....as it should be. Don't have an answer to the water in the original 'sample' and hope, for now, it was already in the milk bottle.

Decide enough is enough. I'll return to this another day. Is there anything easy I can do to gain a sense of 'success'....

Go write something in a logbook. Correct spelling errors.....

Thinks - why are sailing boats so bluddy difficult, time-consuming and frustrating when it comes to the simple 'auxiliary' bits? One of those days.....!