Do you know where all of the ball valves on your boat are located? Are they all easy to turn? Do they seal completely? Have you ever done any maintenance to them? They’re not maintenance-free. In this post, I will dispel any mystery about how ball valves work and walk you step-by-step through how to take one apart, inspect it, and lubricate it.
Continue reading “The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Ball Valve Maintenance”
The first mate didn’t care much for the original equipment water pump in the galley of Summer Dance. She uses a lot of water for making coffee in the mornings, sponge baths, or to wash her hair. Pumping that much water by hand with the tiny, manual pump was more trouble than she wants to take when we’re cruising. And she let me know about it. Every cruise.
Continue reading “Upgrade Your Galley With An Electric Water Pump”
I’m not a neatnik that needs everything to be squeaky clean and new. Well, maybe just a little. But if maintaining a part gets neglected to the point that it affects functionality, then the part needs to be repaired or replaced in my book. A good example of this is your sailboat’s cockpit scupper, galley, anchor locker, and other drain tubing.
You’re sailing along on a reach at 4 knots with a steady wind on your beam. The sails are trimmed perfectly, there’s no weather helm, and the boat is in perfect balance. The sky is clear and the sun is shining but it’s not uncomfortably hot. Your first mate is below deck reading lazily in one of the berths. You lean back over the coaming a bit as you watch the clinometer inch past 15 degrees and you build more speed. It’s one of those dream days when everything comes together perfectly on the water and it feels like you could sail to China effortlessly. Your eyes scan up the telltales, all perfectly streaming aft. It doesn’t get any better than this. This is why you came. This is why you sail. Continue reading “Move Your Galley Drain Valve for Better Gray Water Control”
What were they thinking when they designed the Catalina 22 galley without a drain for the water tank? All RVs have them. They’re essential to keeping the water fresh, make sterilizing and flushing the tank easy enough to actually do from time to time, and prevent biohazard from growing in the tank, supply tubing, and pump like this:
Continue reading “How to Add a Galley Water Tank Drain”
The galley on early Catalina 22s had a hand operated, piston type water pump from a manufacturer who has since gone out of business and for which parts are no longer available. The previous owner told me that the pump needed work and since most older parts like this were made better than the modern stuff (plastic), I decided to see if it could be restored.
Continue reading “Repair and Restore Your Galley Water Pump”
The $tingy Sailor 