Water bladders washed and rinsed

I removed, washed and rinsed the two 35-gallon  and two 23-gallon water bladders.  They're ready to re-install wherever Captain Kiko wants them.

Clearing out the lazarette storage areas took hours,  but that will allow Captain Kiko to easily determine what stays on the boat and where to stow it for the crossing.

Fuel tank uptake tube working

Thanks to Mike at A+ mobile marine, the Golden Rule fuel system works again!

We finally discovered that the reason the engine died at seemingly random times was because the tube in the fuel tank was broken, so we were sucking air when the fuel level went down below the break.

We considered drilling and tapping a new hole in the top of the engine,  but that solution would have been difficult and prone to problems.

Mike surmised that due to our small engine and the need to provide less than 1 gallon per hour of fuel to the engine,  we could live with a smaller diameter tube placed down the center of the old tube.  24 hours later, he showed up with a stainless steel tube coated with ceramic, welded to the appropriate fitting.   He installed the fix and the engine started up with no issues!!

Thank you , Mike!

Getting the life raft to POP marine

It's time for the annual re-certification of the life raft.  Bob Broderick brought his truck and we rounded up another nearby sailor to help move it to the truck.  It's really heavy and bulky.

 

Building a shelf over the water bladders

We require use of the space under the aft deck, but shouldn't be stacking a lot of heavy equipment on top of the water bladders, so I feel it's necessary to build a shelf over the water bladders.  I emptied all of the equipment out from the lazarette storage area and measured for easily removable shelving.  Tomorrow I'll get a bit of wood and begin the project.  I'm allocaing most of two days for this.

Fixing the corroded fuel uptake tube problem

While at POapP, I discussed with Jack the idea of drilling a new hole in the fuel tank and installing a new fuel uptake tube.  The one we have is severely corroded and sucks air when the tank isn't full.

There are numerous hurdles - getting a carbide bit of the right size, attaching a plate atop so that there is enough thickness to tap threads and drilling and tapping straight requires making a jig.  Jack said that even with a lot of experience, the project would be a big challenge.  I asked if he knew of someone who could help.  He pointed to a man next to me, Michael, of A+ Mobile Marine.  Michael said we might be able to use the existing hole.  He is not concerned with the old uptake tube staying in the tank - if any debris from it make it to the Raycor filter, that filter will trap the debris.  Michael will come soon to plan the fix.

 

 

 

Back in Honolulu

 

 

It's great to be back in Honolulu.  However, I really prefer it without tourists.  That's going to get a lot worse as things open up.  I walked past a restaurant on the way to the boat this morning.  There was a very long line of tourists waiting to get in for breakfast.  This lagoon at Waikiki was very crowded later in the afternoon and the parking situation is back to the way it was last year before the pandemic. 

Caulking between the bilge and setee

The crew that came from San Diego to Hilo complained that there was a lot of water sloshing from the bilge into the settee storage area.  The water rusted cans and damaged tools that were in there.  So today I caulked the storage areas on the starboard side.  The port side has pretty well-fitting plastic bins and the equipment in there was fine.  Also, since we replaced a rotting rib last year, the boat leakage is very much reduced.  We also have a bilge pump sitting in a little depression such that we can pump the bilge almost dry.  I'll get plastic bins as needed to further protect against sea water under the settees.

Restarting the blog for Golden Rule and other activism

I'm happy to start blogging again. As we prepare the Golden Rule to sail from Hawai'i to San Francisco Bay, people should be able to follow us and enjoy the process as much as they would like.

The crew is set

We have Captain Kiko Johnston-Kitazawa and Captain Malinda Anderson from the Big Island of Hawai'i, Nolan Anderson from Seattle, and Michelle Marsonette  (Kanoelehua) of Albany, Oregon as crew, with Gerry Condon as alternate.

Captain Kiko arrives Thursday April 15 for initial boat prep with me and the rest of the crew will arrive April 25.

Flight from Oakland to Honolulu

I got my Covid test through Vault Health again.  The $120 is well worth it to be sure that the results are ready before the flight.  They sent my results the day after the sample arrived in their lab.  It's simple to order and you take the sample (spit into a vial) while someone watches you on zoom, then get it to your nearest UPS store that does overnight delivery.

My wonderful partner, Gerry, took me to the airport, and traffic caused enough delay that it took nearly 3 hours to get there.  My luggage was marked as late and I was warned that it might not make the flight.  But my luggage and I arrived safely and Ann Wright picked me up and took me to her home, where I'm staying until Golden Rule leaves Honolulu.