Day 366

Above the photo shows an update to the septic tank since day 318. Gena has been hard at work fitting everything together and with the amount of time she has spent on the water system as a whole, things are coming together nicely. The large black thing to the left is a 3 way valve that enables switching from the macerator pump ( thing with label ) to a manual pump, ( the big round thing ) that has a handle that can be pushed in much like a car jack. The "T" below the pump is connected to a pipe that goes to the bottom of the tank, less about 1" . The pumpout line behind it also goes to the bottom.

Galley pressure system fittings

The cockpit drains/sump pumpout

The white fitting has a hose coming from the aft, the tub, sink, and head. A "T" fitting was used as good practice, In the event of a clog, removing the plug may allow better access bypassing the messy job of pulling off a stinky hose.

I have memories of my father trying to clean out a pipe that went along the roof of the garage. It was a long, messy, and smelly job!

The photo to the left shows the pressurized lines, cold and hot going up to the galley sinks taps. The rather large fitting is part of the manual hand pump. The line from it must go directly to the tank and should be mostly gravity feed, or it would take a lot of pumping to get the water to the tap.
This will be good for small amounts of water to fill a glass etc. without allowing the pressure system to kick in thus saving power. Also in the catastrophic event of the pressure system failing, ( a catastrophe as I must have my showers! ) it is a good backup.

The giant standpipe from the cockpit to the hull finally has fittings on it. After applying some coal tar around the welded on fittings for extra rust protection, the plastic fitting were screwed in while things were still wet.

The large bottom fitting is for the sump pump out, and the smaller fitting above it is for the starboard side drain. The little seat drain pipes will go to the top fitting barely visible.

The bottom fitting has a valve that isn't really necessary, but because it leads down into the sump, Gena thought it a good idea to be able to close it off. A large volume of water flooded into the cockpit may flush water into the sump.

All of the fittings coming in from the salt water intake standpipe make things look complicated but all have their purpose.

The flash animation below better shows the layout. The main fitting is a rather expensive stainless ball valve type which is the only thing that is fully below the waterline. Some quality was required for obvious reasons.

Next is the auxiliary valve for whatever we haven't thought up yet, then the valve to the watermaker and finally the valve for the saltwater pump to send water forward.

It strikes me as strange after building such a strong and sturdy hull to keep water out, that we have so much water inside!

The last water system area worked on today is the exit point. Here are valves from the water maker and septic system. This must be used individually as one wouldn't want septic to back into the watermaker flush. These 2 valves go into another one of those expensive stainless ball valves.

The flash below has been a work in progress and my attempt to describe the whole water system in it's entirety. Each section is (will be) animated according to what function is being executed i.e. starting water maker procedure, pumpout, normal usage, "away" mode etc. It is also to help *me* understand the system because I'm still a bit fuzzy on the whole thing! Me and pipes don't mix for some reason.

The sections glued and screwed together

Jig-sawed into a nice curve

The photos to the left show my progress on a nice touch to the forward end of the galley. Once again, I have no idea what I am doing as I am no interior designer -especially a marine interior designer, so if it seems bizarre, it probably is!

The vertical shown a couple of days back needs a front edge and this seems the logical way to accomplish it. After attaching the 3 sections of oak board, a curve template was marked using the bottom of a lounge seat for the circles. After cutting with a jig-saw, the oak broom handle ( $ 2.99 at Liquidators world ) was fit by drilling a 1" hole using a graduating bit until it broke out of the 1" oak.
This must be done with care into another piece of scrap wood underneath or it with ride out and make a big mess as I found out!

The hole over the handle could be smaller because of the threaded end of the broom handle. The leftover length was used to go across for support and perhaps a good dish towel holder.

Once together, I carefully routed the edges round just up to where the broom handle was inserted. The small photo shows the one I cheated and screwed from behind.

Once in place, the whole thing doesn't look too bad ( much to my relief! ) and has set a "look" for the rest of the galley. Can't wait to give it a coat of stain!

Day 366:
10 hours - Added fittings to waste system, ran pipes to pressurized side under pilot house, and mounted all valves going outside. Made aft galley counter enclosure edge.