This was supposed to have been posted quite a while ago but it didn't post as it was supposed to. So here it is now. It illustrates what its like to be a first mate trying to justify being on board.
Life aboard Gitana has come a long ways from the mess we moved on to. Now things are pretty orderly and slowly but surely the wiring system is being simplified. One thing hasn't changed - the need for me to find useful activity (to justify my existence). I have now branched out from small engine mechanic to apprentice electrician and toilet mechanic or Head Maintenance Technician if you prefer. Me, I'm just a toilet mechanic.
Servicing the generator, which we both agree we will probably never use, was a natural extension from being the small engine mechanic. I am now responsible for the outboard engine and the generator. Oh boy!
The 110V outlets were irritating me to the point of losing my sanity. There was one hanging right in front of the cupboard door. AND there had been two others within one foot. I finally decided that this was not a priority for Greg so if any thing was going to happen I would have to be the one to do it. I ripped out the outlet (which was easy because so little was holding it to the wall) and pulled the #10 wiring, all 30 feet of it out of the boat. I took a more conveniently located outlet and rewired it to our current 110 wiring. Now I feel much better.
Now about the head. I waited until the very last minute to check out the head. We couldn't use it so what was the use. When Greg reminded me that toilets, both household and marine, are "the wife's job" I took a deep breath and opened the door that it hides behind. When I touched it, it wiggled (we all know that's a bad thing). I thought the bolts would be loose but I didn't expect crevice corrosion to have completely separated the bolt heads from the boat shafts. Nothing was holding it down.
Okay, I need new bolts. Then I started to look inside because of prior experience on our other boat. Sure enough, there was a lot of hard stuff accumulated inside the elbows and the hoses.
There are two valves in most marine heads for those of you have never been brave enough to look inside your head. One, the joker valve (I have no idea how it got that name), looks life a heart valve. The other is the flapper valve and it looks just like its name. I wish I had taken "before" pics of the valves. The flapper looked like a clam shell that had been in the sea for hundreds of years. This toilet would never have worked. Greg suggested phosphoric acid and it did the trick. That's the pink stuff in the bottle. It's everywhere in Mexico. All the nasty chemicals are still available in Mexico. This flapper valve is not completely rehabilitated but it will do the job.
Dirty. The calcium buildup once I broke through just fell away. This stuff is the result of seawater interacting with urine. If no one has told you, you need to fill the head with vinegar once a month, pump just a little to get it into the valves and let it sit for hours to dissolve this stuff.
I just took the hoses and smacked them soundly against the walls a few times to get this stuff out. The previous owned probably didn't know about vinegar.
When I thought that I was all done, Greg mentioned the thru hull valve. It was rock solid. Nothing would budge it. It wasn't a marine ball valve and it didn't have the grease fitting. Luckily the local marine store had five of them at only $101 each inc tax. Oh boy, I get to spend more money. Once that was installed, with a great amount of effort, as most thru hulls are, we were in business.
Now I also have a marine head that works like new. Unfortunately, the intake line that brings in seawater is still clogged and I can't clear it while we're wet. Something for next haulout.
Ladies I encourage you to follow my lead on this one. You never know when yours is going to clog up and the Sig Other will not want to be bothered fixing it.
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