Day 303 Busy Busy Busy

I took off the Webasto heater on Tuesday and took it in for service.  I had planned to work on it myself if I could but once I got the cover off, I just didn't feel comfortable doing it.  This thing cost over $3,000 if I screwed it up.  So into the shop it went.  I had hoped that all it needed was a simple cleaning but unfortunately, the main burner was just about toasted and needed to be replaced.  It did heat, but each time, it kept going into "fault" mode and just turn itself on and off and on and off over a period of an hour.  Once it finally shut off, you had to reset the entire unit to get it to turn back on.  They called last yesterday with the diagnosis.  I told them to just go ahead and put in a new replacement unit so it will work fine.  We are headed out to pick it some time today.

We're not sure as to exactly when as it snowed last night.  We have about 2" here in Bremerton.  Started to come down early this morning so the roads are a mess.  Seattle has anywhere from 1" to 3"s and is a mess over there also.  The forecast is for about 40 degrees by this afternoon so I figure we will head over late this morning.  We have a few other things to pick up while we are there. 

We picked up our out board motor yesterday afternoon.  We waited for the rain to slow down.  The repair shop had put it in their tank and finally got it started.  After a few adjustments, it should run much better--Heck--I couldn't even get it started.  I felt a bit vindicated when we went to pick it up and even they had a bit of a problem getting it started when it was cold.  I got a lesson as to how they start their motors so I'll be better prepared when we do it.  I'd hoped to get the motor onto the dingy today, but I figure we will be gone most of it.  Plus add on the snow and it will just have to wait till Friday.  

When we took the Webasto heater in for repairs, we picked up a new thermostat for it.  The old one was built for the Webasto unit but had a temperature range of 8 degrees between turning it self on and off.  That can get a bit chilly having a range that large.  We picked up a new one that has an adjustable range of anywhere from 1 to 3 degrees.  It should keep us much warmer once we are out at anchor.  Plus, once it is up and running will turn itself on and off and not go into the fault mode where it will only run once during the night and shut down.  It makes it quite chilly getting up in the morning.  I installed it last night.

While in the repair shop, I found a set of ratchet wire crimpers!!!  I've been hunting for a set for quite a while.  When you join wires or put a new terminal on the end of the wire, you have to crimp on the fastener.  Most simply crush the little tube the wire goes into.  This can lead to a bad connection that could fail later in its  life.  With a ratchet crimper, it put a uniform pressure around the fitting and makes it grip better with no crushing the fitting.  I've been looking for a pair of these for months.  No one out here carries anything like them.  Even Radio Shack.  They haven't had anything like that it years according to one of their employees. 

We picked up some "middle" layer clothes on Tuesday.  These go between your normal clothes and your foul weather clothes to give you better insulation when you're out in the cold winds while sailing.  Just a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt just don't keep you warm.  The foul weather gear may keep you dry, but there is no insulation factor built into it.  This should make sailing much more comfortable in the cold weather.

We still plan of setting out on Sunday for Port Townsend for the next stage of getting prepared for our trek North.  I'll be calling to check that there is space at their docks for us.  If not, we will probably anchor out for a day or two until there is space.  Hopefully we will be at their docks by mid week.  We really want to be heading North by the middle of the month.  It's a long way to go and the earlier we start the better.

Well, we sit and wait a few hours till some of the snow melts and the roads are better.  We're in no hurry to go out there.  And here I thought when we left Colorado that we were done with snow.  Guess not yet.