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  #1   IP: 71.118.13.238
Old 09-19-2011, 12:59 PM
Dave Neptune Dave Neptune is offline
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Smile A day at sea

I had an interesting trip to Catalina Island for the weekend. I arrived at the slip around 7:30 am saturday morning and had the engine fired by 8:15. While tossing off the dock lines I noticed I only had one sandle on the dock and quickly spotted the other floating across the fairway. So into th Voladito I went to retrieve the wayward sandle. While rowing back to the boat I was watching the water batching do to the curiosity derived from Don's info pole. There didn't seem to be much water and I figured it is just idling and I'm being paranoid.
So off the dock lines went and away we were. By the time I was 10 minutes away I noticed the temp was rising in my until now reliable A-4(sorry honey). Decision time and the decission was to proceed slowly out of Alimitos Bay and once under sail I could work on the temp diagnosis. I went below and exposed the engine so I could close off the bypass and force all the water I was pumping through the block. The temp came down a bit but I could only run at about 3.5 kts so slowly we went. Well I had 2 1/2 hours at that speed before I was a few miles out of the breakwater and under sail.
The first thing I checked was the intake side by removing the hose from the strainer holding it down in the bilge and re-opening the valve AH-HA found it just a dribble. So I tried blowing through the hose incase I just sucked something up. No good still just a dribble. So now I pullued up an inspection port in the floor near the valve and disassembled all back to the valve still no flow. Now I spent almost 2 hours poking everything through the valve I could find on the boat wire, tubing, tywraps and some small aluminum rod. Nada nothing still just a dribble, as I couldn't get around the elbow. So I decided to do what all good at sea mechanics do cuss a bit and have a beer to get ready to go over the side and clear it from the bottom side. Didn't really want to go in the cool water so I had another beer while slowly sailing at 2.5 kts until I got a bit further out and into blue water. Well while I sitting inside and getting things ready to go over I spotted something. Eureka that just may work. So off to the ditty box for some fabricating material, duct tape a favorite of mine. Well after peeling off about 2 feet of tape and taping things together with a few rags around the outside I pulled the pin and gave the "fire extinguisher" a squeeze~kaflush. So I waited a few seconds to give her a second salvo~kaflush~ and this time my fabrication came apart and a bit of dust covered the work area fortunately it wasn't to bad as my face blocked where the fab failed. Water is now gushging from the hose, so I used it to rice the bilge a bit. It took longer to clear my nasal passages than to get the lil' beastie refired and now back up to speed. I was actually quite proud of using the extinguisher for an air hose.
It is amazing the things we think of when limited to what is on hand.

Dave Neptune
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  #2   IP: 148.170.241.1
Old 09-19-2011, 01:06 PM
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If only there had been a hidden camera on your boat.... sounds like a fun video to watch.
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  #3   IP: 24.224.206.117
Old 09-19-2011, 01:25 PM
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Smile Lol

There's my chuckle for the day...funny.
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The optimist expects it to change.
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Old 09-19-2011, 01:42 PM
smosher smosher is offline
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I had the same issue, but never thought about purging the line with a fire extinguisher.

What a great idea
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Old 09-19-2011, 02:58 PM
Carl-T705 Carl-T705 is offline
 
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Must have missed my post on making a portable air tank out of a spent fire extinquisher huh?? LESS the powder of course.
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Old 09-19-2011, 03:03 PM
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Dave, God likes you...you make him laugh. Every time you go sailing he tells the angels, "Don't bother me now...I'm watching my favorite sea show...this guy is funny."
You do things like a sailor Dave. I may never use my fire extinguisher to put out a fire, but I will always keep it charged to clear a hose.

Great story ( and great seamenship)...I love it.
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Old 09-19-2011, 03:48 PM
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Great Idea!

That makes me think a bit. I wonder if using the water pump itself, by reversing the hoses, could have done as good a job?
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  #8   IP: 24.152.131.220
Old 09-19-2011, 03:57 PM
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Dave,

I don't remember, do you have an external strainer? Have you considered using a Tee instead of an elbow on top of the thru-hull oriented to give you a clear shot at the thru-hull by removing a plug?
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  #9   IP: 71.118.13.238
Old 09-19-2011, 04:27 PM
Dave Neptune Dave Neptune is offline
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Angry Nope

Niel, no external strainer left as it dislodged a few years back right after my last bottom job. That's why I thought I may have sucked something up. It will be replaced next haulout.
Unfortunately there is no room beneath the floor to go straight up and include the valve.

Carl, I do have in my posession four old water type fire extinguishers that I have modified to hold air or use in water fights with other houseboats on lake Powell. With those we don't get in trouble for using baloons. We have even gotten a chuckle out of the patrol a few times when our opponents and us were stopped, they got tickets and we got a smirk from the patrol and a bit of stinkeye from the other boats.The nozzles and valves have been enlarged to flow more water and squirt farther. You should see the faces of our opponents when we keep approaching without launching balloons then drown them in a "Broadside" that would make Jack Sparrow proud. They will even blow the curtains away so we can get to those who think they are hiding inside. Great fun!! I do take one to the boat sometimes depending on what I am working on for air.

Dave Neptune
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Old 09-19-2011, 04:46 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Neptune View Post
Unfortunately there is no room beneath the floor to go straight up and include the valve.
I think what Neil was getting at was to use a T instead of an elbow. Turn the T on its side, so that you have a vertical run with one threaded opening sticking off the side. Put the valve on the horizontal opening on the side, and it's the same as having it hanging off an elbow. Put a plug in the vertical opening. Then if you need to clean it out, you remove the plug (no need to remove the valve), and you've got a straight shot down through the through-hull.

It will be slightly taller than an elbow, though, but maybe you've got enough under-floor space for something like that? I think it's a very clever solution.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Neptune View Post
Carl, I do have in my posession four old water type fire extinguishers that I have modified to hold air or use in water fights with other houseboats on lake Powell.
Care to share the details on said modifications?
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  #11   IP: 71.118.13.238
Old 09-19-2011, 05:05 PM
Dave Neptune Dave Neptune is offline
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How too!!

Bill, no a Tee won't quite make it~been tried.

I enlarged the nozzles to around 5/16 and remachined the internal valve and seat in the handle. They'll squirt around a hundred feet at 125 PSI and we get about 5 Qts of lake water in each one.

Dave Neptune
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Old 09-19-2011, 05:06 PM
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(chuckle)
I had to get my lawyer to 'splain it . . .
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Old 09-19-2011, 05:11 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Neptune View Post
I enlarged the nozzles to around 5/16 and remachined the internal valve and seat in the handle. They'll squirt around a hundred feet at 125 PSI and we get about 5 Qts of lake water in each one.

Dave Neptune
Be sure and warn me if you're on Lake Mead!
Or better yet, aim at the mosquitoes (Jet Skis)
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Old 09-19-2011, 06:54 PM
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Originally Posted by roadnsky View Post
Be sure and warn me if you're on Lake Mead!
Or better yet, aim at the mosquitoes (Jet Skis)
I lived in Vegas. Used to sail Mead in a 13 foot boat. Great place to sail. I hear the Cat fish near the Dam are the size of a bus. When I was sailing I wondered if the Dam would break. That would be one hell-of-a-ride down the Canyon.

Last edited by domenic; 09-19-2011 at 10:52 PM.
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Old 09-19-2011, 07:06 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by domenic View Post
I lived in Vegas. Used to sail Mead in a 13 foot boat. Great place to sail. I hear the Cat fish near the Dam are the size of a bus. When I was sailing I s wondered if the Dam would break. That would be one hell-of-a-ride down the Canyon.
It is certainly a challenging place to sail.
30-40k winds coming out of nowhere sometimes!

I have personally seen catfish over near the dam bigger than my leg.
Certainly big enough to eat a small dog.

Ducks are real tame though...
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Old 09-20-2011, 01:05 AM
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Ducks eat rust?! Gotta get me one of them!
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Old 09-20-2011, 04:33 AM
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Great thinking Dave!!! That's an idea worthy of carrying a third extinguisher "just in case!"
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Old 09-20-2011, 08:10 AM
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Originally Posted by jpian0923 View Post
Ducks eat rust?! Gotta get me one of them!
Spicy Blue Corn chips.
I'm trying to get them to eat healthier...
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  #19   IP: 72.45.54.12
Old 09-20-2011, 06:55 PM
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I've also had luck using the air horn to unstop water lines.
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Old 09-21-2011, 11:12 PM
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I've also had luck using the air horn to unstop water lines.
Darn, that's a blast...I like that.
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