To see as much of the world as we can,
Using the smallest carbon footprint we can,
Spending the least amount of money we can,
Making as many friends we can.

Team Red Cruising

Cleaning and Cleaning

Two winters of sitting — and a summer with only a few trips — has left Red Ranger awfully dirty. Also, some mission-critical things had failed.

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Here's CA washing the galley fan. She's scrubbing the power cord with a toothbrush. (Mine, I think.)

If the galley fan is dirty, what does that say about Red Ranger overall?

She washed all of the dished, cups, tumblers, pots, and pans.

Plus all of the shelf-liners.

It becomes a logistical problem because she ran out places to put things to dry.

It was raining all weekend, so the interior had the "nothing will really dry out in here" feel.

While she worked, I took a picture of the power panel.

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"Why?" you might ask.

On the left is 11.11 volts. That's bad. We should be well over 13 normally.

On the right is 106 Amps of current at 11 V. That's almost 1,000 watts. Or 1.5 HP. Which is what the Shop Vac draws.

It's only a for a few minutes. But it's necessary. That really puts a dent in the batteries. But the solar panels are working, so we'll be topped back up in no time.

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Parts of the V-Berth got a thorough cleaning, also. We use a lot of vinegar for this.

Not much soap.

No Chlorox or other really lethal chemicals.

Vinegar and elbow grease.

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Also, this.

A new float switch for the deep bilge. On the trip up from Deltaville, the deep bilge, wash down pump failed.

And then ceased being a failure and started working again.

But the float switch had (somehow) crapped out.

The manifold of bilge pumps was one of the first relatively complex jobs I tackled. It involved wiring and plumbing, and some mechanical work. Since the bilge pumps are mission critical, I was seriously sweating the details.

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I've since made some important changes to the plumbing aspect of this. And now there's a brand-new switch down there. That's a comfort.

And everything smells pickle-fresh.

The bar, however, is inaccessible. That's Scout (the dinghy) and some cockpit cushions keeping Stevie away from the Gin (and Tonic.) Sigh.

Maybe next weekend.