Our primary, planned project was to get our water tanks and lines working. The boat was not properly winterized while in Connecticut, and one of our two tanks had split as a result. Several of the water lines, which were the original copper pipes, had also been damaged. A couple of days of getting water straight from the hose was all it took to move this project to the head of the list. Don spent a weekend pulling the old copper out and replacing it with flexible PVC tubing. Then he isolated the tank that was still intact, and we gave it a shock treatment. Out boat came with an installed 6 gallon water heater, and much to our surprise it worked like a champ once we found the reset button. Hot and cold running water! These little things are now what make life great. Repairing the second tank took a bit more effort. Removing the access plate held in place by 100 rusty bolts was a real chore. And there is always that one last bolt that just doesn't want to give up its hold. We pumped all the stagnant water out, and were elated to discover the crack was only on the fiberglass top of the tank. After repairing the split, Don spent a great deal of time hanging upside down steam cleaning the tank; a real joy in Florida's already humid environment.
	Our Hans Christian came with no means of indication as to how much is in the holding tanks at any time, so we decided to install a Tank Tender. This ingenious instrument requires no electricity, and comes in a 4 tank monitoring system which was just right for us. We decided that while we had at least one access plate off, we would go ahead and install it. The most difficult part was figuring out where to mount the panel. And the scariest part was cutting the big hole in our beautiful teak for the panel. But I'm very happy to know that we now have the capacity for 90 wonderful gallons of fresh water, and to know exactly how full all of our tanks are.
I wasn’t much help in the plumbing department, so I took to bringing the bronze ports back to their original shine. I started with Never Dull, but after several hours of rubbing with little effect I turned to an old home remedy - vinegar and salt. 24 hours of soaking, and then a rub down with Never Dull followed with some good marine wax and new gasket. In a few short weeks we had 10 beautiful, leak free ports. Whew!
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Copyright © 2007 Diana W Mulroy - SV Re Metau.  All rights reserved.