This time there’s plenty to drink since the watermaker is working!!! The water comes out tasting fantastic. I was able to fill the 60 gallon starboard tank in about 90 minutes (just from the bottom of the sight hose to the top, which is more like 50 gallons).

There were a pile of problems with my install, but as usual, Rich and his business partner Charlie from CruiseRO water came to the rescue. My problems started with an airlock in the filters. Apparently, mounting the filters a bit too high can cause this problem, but it’s easy to fix by bleeding the filters. My other problems were mixing up two lines running to the control panel and finding a pinch in the output line.

I can’t express enough how helpful the team at CruiseRO water has been during the installation and how great their system works. I was told it would only make 30 gallons per hour, but apparently it can do more like 35.

Now I’m going to reroute the salt water pump from the fresh water system. I don’t think I need to worry about saving water, and having a fresh water hose up at the foredeck sounds like a luxury. In theory, I can even run my pressure washer up there.

Other projects

What’s kind of cool now is that progress seems easier. I now have a charging system for cell phones near the nav desk, the mount is complete for the satellite position reporter, and my victron energy monitor with bluetooth is in a mostly out-of-the-way location. Gerry helped get the speaker installed into the wall better (they were just hanging loose before) and also finished wiring the port side exterior cabin light.

We’re going to do some sailing today, once we finish a few minor AM projects. We might even sail under the golden gate, depending on conditions. The watermaker parts are still loose and there is leftover water in the bilge. I’d like to get it dry so we can check for leaks while underway. It’s time to give the engines a bit of a workout too. Or maybe we’ll refuel and deal with pumpout.

Mexico, here we come

Here’s a pic after closing up the ship for the day, highlighting the new “banner” sent from Latitude 38 after the tragic loss of my last burgee.

I think my crew list is finalized now too, looking like this:

  • SF to Monterey (Oct 13) : Gerry and Dave both expressed interest. I still have space for one more, but there’s no urgency there.
  • Monterey to San Diego (Oct 15): Alan Klee from Delta Sailing School and Sky are committed. This will get us to the start of the HaHa in San Diego. I’m looking forward to having someone with a ton of experience show me stuff I’ve missed during lessons :)
  • San Diego to Cabo (Oct 28): The actual Ha-Ha Cruiser’s Rally. Crew is finalized as Mary, Vince and Nick (who are in charge of the Ships Brig since they are retired prison guards), and Dave (who is responsible for rocket propulsion since he worked for NASA).

Post Ha-Ha, I’m sailing down to Puerto Vallarta. Dave and Gerry have again expressed interest, along with Vince and Nickey. We might just have a full crew for part or all of that trip.

The bash starts over the Christmas holidays. I have room for one more basher. If you’re crazy and really want to go, ping me.