The head on this boat is a Raritan toilet. This boat has a lot more systems (electrical, plumbing, refrigeration) than I've ever had on a boat. On my old boat the head was a five gallon bucket. When I was a kid, I think we just jumped in the bay to take care of business.
Having renovated a house with three apartments, I'm familiar with all these systems. But on a boat, they are slightly different, a little more complicated and much more expensive. Anything attached to a boat is several times more expensive than it's counterpart on land.
I decided that before my girl arrives on the boat next week, I should clean and repair the head. We'll probably go out on the hook overnight, and you know how fussy Muffy can be.
The head has taken quite a beating on this trip, and it wasn't in all that great a condition to start off. It looked like it hadn't seen a thorough cleaning in the 25 years since it was first installed on the boat. If it weren't for how expensive a new one is, I would have just thrown it out. That's what I would have done with a toilet on land in it's condition.
As I discovered when I needed to replace the fuel bowl gasket, I have a gasket kit for the toilet, so the plan was to completely disassemble the toilet and replace all the gaskets, excepting the one that I used on the fuel bowl.
The task was completely nauseating. Particularly so, because I had to remove the sewage line and S poured out. It brought me back to the last disgusting task I had to perform, which was cleaning the mouse feces and urine in an oven, after a tenant moved out. I had to completely disassemble the stove to get at all the nooks and crannies filled with tirds. Then I baked the oven all day to get the urine smell out. I was afraid that even after all that, an almost brand new and completely functional oven would be totaled by mouse feces. And before you start castigating me for being a slumlord, friends and family can tell you that I keep the house in fairly good condition. It's just that it's over a hundred years old, and it's nearly impossible to plug every crack that a mouse can squeeze through. If the tenants had asked me to set traps, I would have been happy to. But they never did.
Pic is of the toilet after I had disassembled and cleaned it. Probably should have gotten a before picture too, but didn't. Sorry.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Another Sh*ty Post
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Thanks for the vote of confidence from the one person who thinks I won't lose more than one more anchor!
Well, maybe you won't lose any more while you're tied up at Hilton Head!
Nice job cleaning up the head at Hilton Head. What's next on your agenda?
Right now I'm just cleaning and organizing the boat. After that, I have the starter motor, rudders, some bimini repairs, clean the built in gas tank, and maybe repair the autopilot.
Also, there are some other minor plumbing issues. It would also be great to get the refrigerator and heat pump working. And of course, I'll have to install my xmas gift!
If "fussy" means "prefers a working toilet," then I'll proudly claim that label.
I hope I can help out on some tasks when I get there!
Well Fussy Muffy,
You realize that my baseline is a five gallon bucket, so beyond that qualifies.
xoxo,
Skipper
Post a Comment