A few days ago our propane stove which had been installed last spring suddenly decided not to work. The propane tank itself with its various controls resides inside the lazarette at the stern of the boat in its own special "cubby". To access it, Jim had to clear out the entire lazarette which is huge and very deep - almost as deep as he is tall! So out came two inflatable kayaks, 4 large bumpers, a drogue (sea anchor,) a plastic container with a variety of electric adapters, a 30 amp shore cable, a waterlogged bosun's chair, and 4-5 gallons of water which was not supposed to be there.
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| Emptying the lazarette |
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| Bailing the water out of the lazarette |
After bailing out the water, Jim climbed inside the lazarette and was able to determine that a dead regulator was the culprit. Diagnosis was easy. Trying to find a replacement part was not. First there was a trip to West Marine. Not exactly what we needed and very expensive. Then there were a variety of very long phone calls (mostly on hold), with no definitive answer about local availability. (How can staff not know if they have something in stock?) Then after an almost successful order on the internet I inadvertently disconnected Jim by turning off my hot spot at a crucial moment. After signing on again he got the response that they no longer had one in stock! Ultimately we drove to Home Depot in St. Petersburg where they had 10 in stock. (another hour) The actual installation was pretty straight forward and we were soon back in business in time for dinner. Another day gone having spent it on a project that should have taken a few hours at the most. But the stove works! And the lazarette is clean, dry and tidy!
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| Jim down in the lazarette, regulator in hand, headlamp on to see better, headphones on to communicate with me in the galley |
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| Done! Ready to fix dinner! |
Murphy's marine law? A good days work all in all-I'd say!
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