First world problems.

We live in a world of excess… the number of minimalist and sustainability websites and blogs show that there is a movement away from the consumerism of the last decades but for all of that we still demand a level of “comfortable lifestyle” and that will be different for everyone.  It may be giving up buying so many shoes (for the record not this chick), turning off the TV or being more aware of where our food comes from but I think that living in the “first world” we all expect a level of basic services in our homes.  Thinking about it my basics would be electricity, giving the ability to keep food safe to eat and to light our homes, water / wastewater service and a dry home.

I’ve got the refrigeration almost sorted (see my last post).

The 240 Volt electricity supply has been a problem with a change in the regs mid-year that wasn’t picked up meaning that I haven’t yet got my EWOF (electrical warrant of fitness), a requirement of living on board. The inspector did say that it is one of the best boat electrical wiring jobs he has seen but the boat has to come out of the water to get an earth plate fitted.  More on that whole job when it is complete.

Following on from that I was having problems with some of the light fittings that had had the bulbs replaced with LEDs which kept falling out (mostly because the job hadn’t been done properly) so I decided to replace them all with LED light fittings. It is a  worthwhile expense as the LED lights use a tiny amount of the electricity consumed by standard incandescent lights which is a major consideration when away from shore power. It took a while and a couple of trips to get everything I needed but I completed it this weekend. 12V is relatively safe to work with so I was happy changing them myself.  There are now a few holes and unfaded bits of timber I have to disguise.

The Old.

The New

While we were out at Xmas I noticed that the toilet was really smelly and back-filling after being pumped out so I decided that I would replace the joker valve and inlet hose. But that turned into replacing the whole pump assembly – an easy job and one that I would do again. The inlet hose (which was really stinky thanks to dead marine life) was easy to replace. But that turned into replacing the non-sanitation hose with sanitation hose (which was thicker and less flexible that the old hose but also less porous to odours. But that turned into “do the job properly” which meant raising the toilet bowl with a teak block, adding a diversion valve on the outlet (so that if I need to I can dump straight overboard) and a whole lot of very pretty hose, pipes and hose clips. But there is still more to do, now that I have repaired / replaced everything except the holding tank and the pump out pump I want to replace the valves and diaphragm in it (waiting on the parts) and maybe add a carbon filter to the breather hose if there is still an odour problem.  I did have help with the project, my friend Craig who owns the local chandlery did a lot of the work for me (once he realised how much I had to do), I’m very grateful to him and have learnt that when help is offered by someone who knows what they are doing I must take it.

“Happy peeing”

My remaining requirement is a dry home and that’s next on the list.