Weekend

March 8-11

Setsuko, Brandon and I just got back from our work weekend for WT. We left Thursday night and I just got back an hour ago. The weather was great but I was not able to get out on the lake. It turned out there was too much to do at the houseboat. Here is a list of things that were done.

Installed a new fuse bar under the helm station to accommodate additional connections. See pic.

Installed 7.5” LCD screen with aft and upper deck cameras. See pics.

Charged house and engine batteries. See notes.

Cleaned deck under upper help station.

Pulled extra wire from upper deck to main helm and main helm to interior hold for solar wiring pull.

Reviewed solar set up and configuration with Ron Mundy. See notes.

Cleaned fuel fill compartment and repair drain hose and holes.

Reattached fuel sending unit wire connections for both tanks.

Removed caulk and re-caulked main bathroom shower.

Checked toy tank pump relay switch. See notes

Cleaned rear railing canvas near toy tank fill station with canvas cleaner. Fuel had stained canvas.

Replaced and tested new winch handle. See pics.

Added “heat” and “injector cleaner” to fuel tanks.

Cleaned inside of aft exterior closet.

Notes:

Canopy - Brandon and I will be going back to the houseboat in about 3 weeks to check on Ron Mundy’s solar installation and install the canopy. Ron asked my not to install it until he was finished. I left the canopy on the HB.

Batteries – It is a very good thing we are getting solar on the HB. Brandon and I checked all of the batteries and they were from 1.2 to 2.1 volts. They don’t get much deader than that. We had to treat a few of the batteries to get them to even accept a charge. Ron Mundy has a treatment he can use to desulphate the batteries and try to rejuvenate them. I asked him to treat every battery we had. After we charged the batteries they did not hold a charge for long at all BUT we were using a car charging battery and didn’t give them but one day on the charger. We may have a bad battery of two.

Solar – I looked at two boats that Ron had done solar work on. We decided on the best mounting method for the bracket. This mounting method is the cleanest and strongest but will require slight modification to the awning. Setsuko will make the modification to the canopy when we go back down after the mounting brackets are up. After discussions with Ron and Brandon I would strongly recommend that we bump the solar panel count from 3 to 6. I talked to one of the houseboat owners that Ron worked on. He started with 3 and went to 6 the next fall. He highly recommended we go with 6 if we can. It will save us money in the long run and also save wear and tear on the generator. I have asked Ron to re-FAX me a bid that includes the additional panels so we can see exactly what the difference is. I would expect it to be just over $1400. If we can do it we should. He is just waiting for the go ahead from me to start the job either way. I would like to have him order supplies this coming week so let me know what you all think about the extra panels. The system will be set up so all batteries (fore and aft) are charged and there is no switching by members to do. Everything will be automatic. About the only thing that 6 panels wont drive is the heating and AC.

Fuel Fill Compartment - Did we ask Lake Powell Marine to cut inspection holes in our fuel fill compartment? Brandon and I were checking all of the instruments to make sure everything worked and the fuel gauges would not work. When I went to inspect the connections at the sending unit (they had been disconnected) I noticed metal file shavings all over the tanks. When I lifted the fill cover there were two large holes that had been drilled into the fuel fill compartment. There were shavings all over. In addition, the drain hose had been cut halfway through and not repaired. What a mess.

Toy Tank Pump – The switch for the toy tank is integral to the pump itself. We will need a new switch and gasket made specifically for that pump. I got the information and will see what I can get. If I can track down the parts I will replace it on my next trip.

Rick

Mike and Lisa Conklin were on Water Therapy March 16th & 17th. Items addressed are listed below:

Attached 2007 Arizona registration & placed paper work in the front of equipment manuals binder, which is in the closet aft of entertainment center.

Added an operations manual for depth finder to manuals binder.

Replaced 2 broken light diffusers in kitchen ceiling.

Replenished supply of Water Therapy check on-off & maintenance sheets, along with stamped envelopes for mailing.

Took forward & aft slider curtains to dry cleaners. Will need to be picked up later.

Purchased & labeled new pillows for the boat; LPM claimed we never owned the pillows which had been used previously.

Added enzyme & water to holding tanks. AP will finish filling, let stand & pump out.

Reglued exterior carpet & vinyl Velcro which had come up during last season.

Repaired chipped porcelain in kitchen sink.

Cleaned coils in kitchen refrigerator.

Repaired kitchen counter at miter between stove top & sink.

Replaced AC filters.

Repaired a few canvas tears.

Added a 3rd water hose & nozzle (1 forward hatch, 1 aft closet, & 1 under upper bar.

Added inexpensive electric pressure washer; stowed in main bilge, directly below kitchen center island.

Picked up leftover supplies removed from boat at the end of last season & stored by LPM. Added to supplies brought to stock boat.

Stowed supplies. Because AP supplies, for each trip 5 trash can liners, 3 rolls of paper towels, 5 rolls of toilet paper/bathroom and 1 week supply of holding tank chemicals for each bathroom, we stocked extra of each of the above items. We also stocked items used on the boat and not supplied by AP---trash compactor liners, tall kitchen can liners, small bathroom can liners, dish soap & sponges, SOS pads, laundry soap, Windex, Simple Green, & rodent control. All of the extras which AP supplies are in the main bilge to the port-aft corner of the port water tank. Most of the Water Therapy supplies items are under kitchen or bathroom sinks (rodent control is behind manuals in closet near entertainment center.

Will authorizing AP to pressure wash & wax entire exterior of boat, including outside carpet. AP will also be servicing stern drives, checking drive motors for a possible fuel delivery problem, installing new impellors in the 3 seawater pumps, tuning generator and checking for possible disconnected high temp sensor, and dewinterize all water systems.

Mike

Rick & Brandon Nelson were on Water Therapy April 5th - 8th. Items addressed are listed below:

Hi Mike,

Solar panel rack and panels installed. It took Ron, Rick and I six hours to install everything. Kind of makes you wonder what Ron meant when he said “once he was on the boat it would only take him 3 hours”. It took us longer than that to install the rack and panels with 3 of us. The charge controller and disconnect got installed.

The sat phone receiver/transmitter, battery, and phone were removed (Sat company decided they weren’t making enough money on phone usage charges & wanted to charge us monthly or remove the phone. Rick & Brandon removed it for them, as phone hadn’t worked well).

We reinstalled the canopy and did not need to modify the canopy. We repaired the broken snaps on upper deck cushions, replaced fuel nozzle and added the internal shut off switch (there was no switch on the inside to begin with). We picked up the three propane tanks from L.P. Marine. All three tanks given to us were 5 gallon tanks. Rae told us that this is what the boat originally came with. Rick says B.S. on that but left with his tail between his legs. We looked for 7 gallon tanks after we finished but can't find any down here. The gas company may have some but they don't open till Monday. If we don't find any at Ace tomorrow we will pick them up in SLC and bring the down next time we come down. We left the stove at LPM until next time we come down. In the mean time AP did say they have some where we can store it temporarily and also said they will try to find someone to buy it.

They came to clean the carpets today. They did the inside only. It took them all of 10 minutes. Next year I will bring my Bissell down and do it. If the water truck is still parked by WT tomorrow we will try to spray the outside carpets with the pressure sprayer.

The upper deck vinyl cushions had mold and mildew growing on them. Tomorrow we will clean them with mold and mildew remover. Also, we will putty the holes in the wall left from the sat phone removal.

Ron still needs to install the connection to the batteries in the stern of the boat. He didn't have the wire or a one way diode today so he is going to do it this coming week. The connection can be made in helm station so I will not be difficult. He is also going to treat the batteries this coming week once he makes sure they all will hold a charge. I believe they will.

Thanks.

Brandon

Mike

Rick will talk to AP and make sure Ron will be able to get on WT to finish up. Rick said that he will also keep in communication with Ron to see that it does get completed this coming week.

We will go to the docks and check on the footage needed for a cord. We could probably order one cheaper from West Marine and I could put the ends on it. I'll let you know what I find. (We found out last week that we’ll need our own power cord for shore power while the boat is in the courtesy slip each week).

Thanks.

Brandon

Mike,

We forgot to mention that yesterday when I was by the VHF antenna and bent over I touched (literally) the antenna with my butt and it snapped at the base. If you look in the picture that Brandon took of me sitting on the edge of the starboard side of the boat you will notice the antenna is laying forward. It's broke at that point. We will get a good antenna with a brass nickel base and install it on our next trip down here in a few more weeks. I think one of the problems we have with our send/receive on the VHF is that the antenna wire under the upper helm station has about 16 feet of wire coiled up. With the new one we will cut it to length. With a quality antenna and having the wire cut to length it should help.

Rick

Mike,

We checked on West Marine this morning and the worst case for a pre-made shore power chord is $600 for a 50' 125/250 Volt cord. If we make it up ourselves we are assuming it would be about $400 (we didn't find all the parts but Rick knows they have them). We will either make one or get one from West Marine in time to have it down here by the next trip before the boat goes out. (Ron Mundy ended up coming back the next day & finishing the solar installation. Also, Rick & Brandon traded our extra stove).

Thanks,

Brandon Nelson

Mike,

We talked about the batteries in the engine compartment. We don’t think there is a chance of anything draining down now but just to play it safe we will rewire the engine compartment batteries with a one way diode for the engine, MMC and gen batteries so there is no chance of the house batteries draining them down. It should only take us about 90 minutes to redo the wiring and install the diode. We know what we are doing now.

We got everything done and I treated the batteries with the chemical. Front and back. The propane tanks are all installed and topped off. The shore power cord is installed.

Thanks.

Rick

Mike,

I just got off the phone with Brandon to plan our next and last trip to Page to work on the houseboat before the season starts. We are going down on the afternoon of the 26th of this month. Hopefully we have less than one day of work left on the boat so I can get to my boat and get it out while we are down this time.

I have made arrangements with Ron Mundy to get a one way diode because I couldn’t find one online. My guess is he won’t charge us for it. I also ordered everything we need to finish up rewiring the engine compartment (wire/terminals/heat shrink….) to insure there is no back drain on the starting and MMC batteries. We will still be charging all of the batteries in the engine compartment but isolate the house batteries from the rest of the batteries back there to insure there is no way one system can drain the other.

Some of the other things we are going to be doing while we are down there……………

I made a card on VHS use to put in the plastic holder that used to have the Sat Phone Use and numbers in it. I didn’t give that back. The card I made is the same size as the card that come out and has what the VHF channels are used for, how to hail another boat and Mayday protocol. The back of the card has important numbers on it like the Page hospital, Antelope Point, my cell, your number and Merlins. It also says the Page phone book is located in the closet by the TV.

Install new antenna. I did some research on antenna performance and the way they broadcast. We have had three issues on the houseboat with our antenna. The first is that the antenna we had was very cheap. It was not conducive to sending out a strong consistent signal in the environment we are in. The second was that under the upper helm station there was about 15 feet or more of antenna wire coiled up before the connection to the T for the radios. This degrades the performance of the signal being sent out and received. The third is that our awning (being metal) was blocking the signal in any direction but forward or to the starboard side of where the antenna was mounted. The new antenna is 14’ high and will be mounted on the side of the console starboard side (as opposed to the floor where the old one was). That will lift it another 3 feet or so higher than it was and the antenna itself will add another 6’. That should put the tip well above the awning. We will also cut the wire to length so there is no excess or looping. We will put backing behind the mounting plate to insure that the mount is stable is there is no spider cracking on the fiberglass and gel coat.

I purchased insulation covers for the diodes that we are using. Since they are a positive lead and exposed if anyone touched them and grounded themselves they would be in for a bit of shock. It wouldn’t kill anyone but it might damage some of the electronics or batteries that they are feeding. We will install those.

We will be installing a tie down for the extra LP tank we have for the BBQ. I haven’t quite figured out how we are going to do that yet but we will secure it under the BBQ somehow.

I will install the lock ring I ordered from West Marine. The 50 amp shore power cord did not come with a union lock ring. The plug twist locks but that does not keep the water out and as big and awkward as that line is it could still come unplugged. I also got a storage bag for the cord. There is no way to seal off the exposed end of the plug and over time it would likely corrode from the moisture we get in that compartment. I am not sure if we are better off leaving the line in the bow compartment (where the hose and hose bib are) or putting it in the bag and storing it in the forward hold when it is not in use. In theory it will be used every week when the boat is sitting in the slip. The cord can be used while it is in the bag. One end comes out of the bottom of the bag and the other end the top. If we are close to the shore power source when we are in the slip that would likely be the best route. I will double check when we are down there. As I recall the power source on the dock is less than 15’ from the front of the boat. In that case using the bag would be easiest because we can leave the bulk of the cord in the bag. FYI…that cord is so big and heavy that it fills up virtually the entire storage area where the hose goes.

One of the battery straps in the engine compartment is broken. We will replace it.

The last thing we are going to try to do is install a fresh water faucet on the sink that is in the lower hallway next to the bedrooms. We still haven’t quite figured that one out yet either. We have all the parts (we think) but aren’t quite sure how to get the hose to the sink area without taking part of the cabinet apart. If we can do it without messing things up we will. If not we will leave it for another time.

If you can think of anything else that needs to be done let us know.

Thanks.

Rick

Merlin & Diane Johnson and Greg & Terry Martin were on Water Therapy April 13th - 14th. Items addressed are listed below:

Terry and Greg Martin, Diane and I went up on Thursday afternoon and worked on the boat Friday and Saturday morning. We installed the “Spin-On” fuel filters in the lines from the tanks to both engines. While Greg and I were working on that, the girls oiled down all of the paneling throughout the boat. We also picked up the curtains from the cleaners, patched, and hung them. (The water stains at the bottom did not come out very well but I hope they are better than they were) During our trips last year we noticed that something was pushing down thru the fabric of the ceiling in the rear lower Stateroom. We found that the cross brace under the bed in the Master Stateroom was pushing down and into the lower room. We took the bed frame for the master bed apart, screwed and glued it back together.

I will FAX the invoices up to Rick. I had some 3/8” fuel line left over, I left it and the extra spin-on fuel filters in the box behind the “Breaker Panels” in the hold under the helm. The extra screws and hardware are in the drawer in the dinning room, and I left the 15’ extension cord in the cabinet on the rear deck.

The boat is looking like it is in great shape with all of the work you guys have done.

Ron the Solar guy came by while we were there to check on the batteries he was still hoping that they will come back to life but he said that it is possible that they won’t. He ask that we run the batteries down to cycle them, so we did on Saturday morning but it did not take very long (1 ½ hours) and the Inverter shut down, so I don’t know how much hope we should hold out on not needing new batteries.

Merlin Johnson

Rick & Setsuko Nelson and Brandon & Karen Nelson were on Water Therapy April 27th - 28

th. Items addressed are listed below:

Here is a summary of the trip Brandon and I and our wives just finished.

The new isolator to keep the house batteries from discharging the cranking batteries has been installed. We rewired and rerouted some of the battery wiring in the engine compartment to complete the job.

All the batteries have been load tested. We found two that were bad. The port cranking battery was bad and has been replaced. An inverter battery (forward most port side corner) is bad. AP did not have the type of battery we needed. The Trojan battery they had for the price they were talking about previously is a smallish AGM that will not work properly with our wet cell. I will get a new Trojan 105 6V before Brandon goes down and he will replace it.

We had to purchase a new battery tester (about $135 or so). It is onboard in the hold below the helm station. It worked well and will be put to good use each year.

The VHS antenna has been replaced. We now have a 14 foot antenna which should provide much better reception and broadcast capabilities. We did not get to test it because I did not realize that the connector supplied with the antenna was a solder on type. Brandon will be putting one on and testing the antenna before he leaves the dock. I also did not know that this antenna recommends a support bracket. I will get or fabricate one and Brandon will install it while he is there.

A two way valve with dual gauges and pigtails has been installed on the 30 LB propane tanks on the top deck.

The shore power chord with a new locking ring was put in a blue storage bag and put in the hold below the helm station. It is coiled so that the end being connected to Water Therapy (plug is so labeled) comes out of the bottom of the bag through a patch hole. The plug that plugs into shore power (plug is so labeled) can be pulled out of the bag once unzipped. Only as much as is needed can be coiled out and the bag can be re-zipped.

The shore power cord has been labeled about every 3 or 4 feet with “Water Therapy”

A few notes:

When we arrived the batteries were all 100% charged but cooking. Ron had not reprogrammed the Solar Charge Controller so it was set at factory settings. It was not set to enter float mode until the charge level was at 13.7 or so. I am not sure but most of the batteries (certainly the cranking batteries) are rated in the high 12 range. We reset the controller to enter float at 12.6. That should take care of the cooking problem.

For those going down this Spring there are some really great beaches at Friendship Cove (at the end), Neanderthal and Rock Creek (West Finger all the way to the end at the end and also almost at the end and to the East).

Rick Nelson & party were on Water Therapy November 15-16. Items addressed are listed below:

Install GPS

Not done. Will do on next trip with Brandon.

Repair Aft Holding Tank

Done by AP. Repair looked good.

New Garbage Cans from ACE

Picked up 2 new BRUTE garbage cans with flapper lids. Drilled holes and attached line to keep lid and can secured to deck. Labeled “Water Therapy” and stored cans inside.

Install Slam Hatch for hose on upper deck island.

Slam hatch installed on upper deck island for wash down hose. Wash down hose secured to inside of compartment. Had to re-plumb drain for island sink to fit compartment.

Clean outdrives.

Outdrives and transom acid washed and cleaned.

I will take a block and sledge with me and see if I can get the skegs on the outdrives straightened out.

Starboard and port skegs straightened.

Check for spare prop.

There is now a port and starboard spare on board. This took a few meetings with the maint supervisor. Our port spare was finally delivered late Friday afternoon.

Label props.

Spare props labeled.

Straighten up hold areas.

Forward deck and cabin hold area straightened.

Treat for mold and mildew on the bottom of the upper deck cushion casings.

Tried 3 different treatments for mold and mildew and nothing work. What stains are now there are there for good.

Remove and waterproof canopy.

Canopy has been removed and will be waterproofed in SLC this month. I will re-install on next trip.

Aft Closet – Install new hose hanger and tool hanger.

New hose hanger and tool hanger installed.

Replace forward door screen.

Not done. Will do on next trip down.

Install new nylon straps and buckle securing system for tables on upper deck.

Straps made and installed. 2 stainless footman loops still need to be installed for lower portion of straps. Will do on next trip down.

Replace handle on forward wash down hose bib.

Done by AP. Repair good.

Fix leak / replace gaskets in kitchen sink – Moen

Gaskets and valve ball replaced. Leak repaired.

Silicone the crack at the back of the counter top by the sink.

Old silicone removed and new silicon installed on rear seam of counter.

Install new fuel hose for the toy tank as the old one is cracked.

New Toy Tank fuel hose installed. NOTE: This turned out to NOT be the hose Merlin was referring to. I did not discover the hose he was referring to (the fill line between the fill neck and tank under the swim platform) until 10 minutes before we left. Will replace cracked hose on next trip.

Install new fuel particulate and water fuel separator for toy tank.

New in line spin on fuel particulate and water filter installed for Toy Tank. Spare filters are located in the new tool box in the cabin hold.

Check the drain hose for the Genset and see what we have going on. Replace if needed.

Not done. I could not see the problem Merlin was referring to. Will check again in December.

Check stray line in engine compartment and repair and reattach.

This was the line from the solar isolating system that Brandon and I had installed in the Spring. The fuse holder had corroded from moisture and the line had been taken off the battery. The line has been fixed, the fuse holder replaced with a quality marine holder and the line reattached.

Tighten hinge screws for all hatches forward and aft.

All screws and hinges on the boat were tightened including all hatches.

Tighten the screws and bolts on the BBQ.

Done

Check and repair/reinforce snaps on all cushions.

Partially done. 3 snaps also replaced on the upper deck island cover.

Make sure water has been drained from all three wash down hoses.

Done. The wash down lines had all been flushed with antifreeze.

Load test batteries.

Done. Load tested all batteries. In all 6 (six) batteries need to be replaced.

Engine compartment:

All three 12 volt cranking batteries are DEAD including the one we purchased from AP last Spring.

One 12 volt Deep Cycle battery is dead.

Inverter batteries:

The two forward most port side deep cycle 6 volt Trojan batteries are dead. This includes the new one we purchased last Spring. We need to check on the warranty on the cranking battery purchased from AP last Spring and the Deep Cycle Trojan battery purchased in SLC last Spring.

Take a look & see how much space & how the surface is around the boat. Gary Roseberry has a scissors lift he brought once to LPM that would make a wax job easier if we could get it around the boat—maybe take a picture or two. We can let him decide if it will work.

There is enough room on the port side but not on the starboard side. Pictures to follow.

Check for original and new picnic chairs on the boat.

All chairs (new and old) are on board and accounted for.

Install stainless winch tie down paddock.

Done.

Follow up with LPM on WT dry storage stands.

In process.

The Westerbeke Generator antifreeze reservoir was broken.

Purchased a new reservoir from AP and installed.

Additional NOTES:

Rear deck was spotless when I turned in the boat this fall. The deck now has oil stains and footprints from when the boat was serviced and winterized.

I talked to AP and they said they would have it cleaned at their expense.

When I installed the water/fuel separator I did not have oil to coat the O-ring with so I did NOT tighten the filter properly. This needs to be done before the Toy Tank pump is used again.

I will tighten on next trip.

Several items were added to our first aid kit.

A new toolbox was purchased, labeled and put in the main cabin hold area.

A misc. item organizer was purchased, labeled and put in the main cabin hold area.

An “Items Used” list has been put in the first aid kits.

Members need to fill them out when using items from the kits and include them in their use reports. That way we can keep the kits fully stocked.

We need to have the hull pressure cleaned unless they will let us do it where it sits. If they will let us do it then we will need to rent their water truck or have them move the boat to the cleaning area (in which case they will likely have to do it).