Handyman Al Streaks to the Valve!

Yesterday enroute from Isabella to San Blas, Alan made fresh water. We had full tanks leaving LaPaz, and he had been running fresh water flushes through the watermaker to maintain his filters. So, we needed to fill our four tanks, if only to kill the sloshing sounds at night of half full tanks in a rolly anchorage! (Baffles help, but sloshing water is still sloshing water.)

First Al makes a 5 gallon container for us to use as drinking water. Then he turns the valves to begin filling the port forward tank. This tank is a gravity feed to the main tank. I go on deck a bit later to watch a huge sea turtle and viola! water is gurgling out the port forward tank vent line. For sometime now, we have been taking seawater, de-salinating it, and then dumping it back in the ocean. Time for plan 2. Alan gets out two 6 gallon jugs and has the watermaker product fill into jugs and then he manually empties the jug into the main tank. Next up: why is the gravity feed line "blocked."

He checks his forward tank valve, he blows into the line; nothing but water back. He tries to trace the line--but it goes behind cabinetry and disappears. We lift up our mattress. We take the salon seating apart (literally the wood frames have to come up) to see if we can find the line INTO the main tank. We open up the water tank inspection ports to see if anything is evident. Nothing but clean tanks.

In the mean time we are motor sailing, snacking, watching for fisherman, turtles, sealife. Wishing for a breeze, maybe?

Finally, we decide to call it quits and put it on the project list for another day. Why is the gravity feed line blocked when visual inspection inside the tanks has shown us beautiful, clean interior tank walls? There must be a hidden valve somewhere. Now this makes no sense, as last year we did not have this issue. Not once. But it is a boat.

At 2am -- Alan suddenly realizes, that some months ago he switched a valve for the water system back in the starboard engine room. So he bolts naked from bed, grabs a red light and puts back together the valve and line in the forward port head; streaks out through the cockpit to the engine room and switches the valve. Suddenly the noises from the forward tank changes: instead of gurgle slosh, we have gurgle slosh drip drip. A bit later the main tank joins the chorus: mini pop as it is full. This morning he actually can measure in the tanks and see that water has drained from the port forward tank to the main tank. Problem solved. And now we really know how our fresh water system works. Mostly.

So, if you think we have days of doing nothing, think again!!