Temporary Holding Tank Fix

Posted on March 14, 2018 by Melissa

The dreaded holding tank. Everyone who cruises and has a traditional style head and holding tank will eventually need to ‘deal’ with maintaining this system. Unfortunately for us, our time was this week. We had already given Marina Cortez notice we would be leaving, twice, and so, naturally, we came up against a repair that meant we needed to stay a few more days. They probably think we’re a little nuts up there in the office.

A few days ago Mike and I tackled a job we’ve been putting off: we replaced the hose that goes from the holding tank to the aft head. While we were doing that job I noticed some nasty looking liquid in the storage compartment in front of the tank. Yes, the tank was leaking. From the bottom. The amount of sighing this caused cannot be overstated. In order to reach the leak, we’d have to remove the tank. That meant taking stuff apart. That meant the boat was about to get messy again.

We are really lucky aboard Galapagos because our tank is pretty accessible. It’s under the midship berth. You can lift a heavy wooden cover to access it. Getting the tank out requires a bit more disassembly, but it’s not nearly as hard as it would be in our friend’s Tayana 37. Theirs is under the engine. Enough said. We’re grateful for small things like this.

The crack is located to the right of Mike’s arm, down underneath.

After the marina’s pumpout service came by, we used this nifty little tool to get the rest of the liquids out of the tank. Mike uses this to change the oil in the engine. Makes getting the oil out, or the black water out, pretty easy. By this time, there wasn’t much in the tank.

After getting the tank free from it’s home, we saw that, indeed, the tank was actually cracked right by the seam. We were hoping that a seam had given way, but it was a real doozy of a crack. Honestly we can’t figure out how this happened. But whatever, it was leaking like nobody’s business. I whipped out the bleach water mighty fast.

The tank is plastic; believed to be made of polyethylene. This is a substance that resists fixing unless you have exactly the right stuff. We didn’t. We weren’t even exactly sure that the tank is made from this stuff. It could be ‘poly’ anything. But we did know that given the right materials, we should be able to heat weld a fix to the tank. But how to go about getting the right materials here in Mexico? We started with putting out our need on the morning cruiser’s net on the radio. We got nothing there. Moving on, Mike’s research brought up a plastic supply place within walking distance. I put on my Teva’s and we went off into the bright Mexican sun, still feeling confident we could get this fixed. We enjoy the feeling of confidence that comes with ignorance.

The offending crack.

Unfortunately, we speak so little Spanish that we have to use photos and a lot of sign language and Google Translate (which is frequently wrong, by the way) to get by. The young man behind the counter at the plastic supply was having none of it. I pointed to my photo of the tank. He shook his head no and looked straight ahead. Mike brought out the plastic welding rods he did have already (wrong stuff, right shape) and the lad shook his head vigorously ‘no’ again. We showed him more stuff. Frankly, he just wasn’t interested in helping us. We decided to look around the store and see what jumped off the shelf at us. We could smell plastic resin. They make plastic stuff there. Surely…

Mike found some small trays that looked and felt like the exact stuff our tank was made of. We bought two for 85 Pesos, about $4.50. Our hopes soared as we walked back to the marina, still believing in fairies.

I do not understand this face. But these are the trays. Pretty nice trays, too.

Back at Galapagos Mike cut strips of plastic off the trays and set to work. Using the multitool (part of our Ryobi rechargeable tool sets that we cannot live without) he ground out the crack back to clean plastic, then used the sander to sand the surface with heavy grit, then cleaned the surface with acetone. He got out the butane torch and began laying the plastic into the groove. It looked good. The stuff melted easily and flowed into the crack. We thought we’d hit paydirt.

We were wrong. As the plastic melted some of it began to bubble and when those popped they left pinholes. In the end, the pinholes leaked. Back to the drawing board.

That’s a butane torch.

Well, not exactly that fast. We did a lot of other things like add more material, remelt and try to smooth the existing material, and use the heat gun, which actually worked pretty well. But the weld was not a good one and the tank still leaked. We didn’t know if we had the wrong temperature, or the wrong materials, or what. We’d had to peel a thick layer of rubber off the side of the tank and the plastic underneath was discolored. Mike thought perhaps the plastic was somehow contaminated. But whatever the problem was, it was wrong. And, by the way, this is why there are professionals who know about this kind of stuff and do it for a living. Most places.

Another cruiser came over and took a look and lent us his wood plane. Mike used that to shave off thin strips of material off the corner of the tank so that we could use the exact same material the tank was made from and try again. I routed out the old material, exposing the area of the crack again. Oddly, some of the stuff we’d just done had welded great. But not good enough to keep those pinholes from leaking.

We laid the small strips of tank material in the groove and commenced with the heat. It melted well, seemed to adhere well, and there was less bubbling. I thought we were onto something. Alas.

Still another cruiser came by and offered us some blue plastic stuff he used to repair his poly…something tank 10 years ago. It was still holding after all that time. He suggested a propane torch, which was what he used. With nothing to lose but our sanity, we sanded and cleaned the surface again with acetone. Because of the wind, the torch had trouble staying lit. But Mike finally got the stuff to melt and the surface of the tank to melt enough to hold it. After letting it firm up he tested it and the strip of blue plastic peeled right off. Things were not looking good. I decided it was time to try to find a professional. At this point I was ready to pay someone else to get frustrated.

We used the propane torch on this stuff. Honestly we thought this would work. Everything went all melty. It peeled right off.

We contacted La Paz Cruiser’s Supply and got a phone number of a guy who welded plastics. It was disconnected. Then I contacted a long time resident of La Paz who has his finger on the pulse of boat works around here and had given us a tour of all the marinas and boat yards. He used to own a yacht management service and is a marine surveyor. He said there were no plastics welders in La Paz. He should know. He said we might have to get a fiberglass tank built to spec or we could probably order a new tank through Lopez Marine for $$$. To me that sounded like a lot of money, but mostly a lot of time, and also our tank should be reparable with the right materials and know-how. He also suggested a special repair kit for plastic tanks sold by Autozone. Leaving Mike to perseverate over the tank, I Ubered to Autozone, only to read the back of the package where it says, ‘Not to be used on Polyethylene or …’. Back to square one.

This is the stuff. A different brand than what we used before, but equally good.

I texted Mike and told him it was a ‘no go’ in terms of the plastic repair kit. He decided to try one more thing. This is the ‘one more thing’ that will get us off the dock on Saturday for however long it holds up; the ‘one more thing’ that will buy us time until we can find someone who can do an appropriate repair. And that one more thing is this wonderful Pro Flex All Weather Water Proof Butyl Roof Repair tape we keep on board. This is the stuff we got to replace the sealing around the little rectangular ports on our hull above the waterline. It has worked so well that we keep it on board for other possible uses. And now we found one.

When I returned to the boat the tank was standing up on the dock, full of water and not leaking. The rubber was holding the leak back. I reinforced Mike’s taping with a couple more strips of this magic tape and now we’re good to go, as long as this holds. We have no idea how long that will be. I mean it could last as long as next week, or as long as 5 years. But however long it is is better than sitting here on the dock right now. We can easily keep an eye on this since now we know exactly where the leak is.

Now that the tank is back in place we’ll be getting a can of that expanding foam and putting a bead of that under the leading edge of the tank. We believe there is not enough support for the tank in this location and that led to the eventual cracking. There is plenty of room for the foam to expand without causing a problem.

All taped up and ready to rumble again.

One of the good things that came out of this little setback was that we were able to get a good look inside our tank. Remember that fun science experiment we did with the Zaal No Flex Digestor; the one where we demonstrated what a good job it does at dissolving solid waste and toilet paper? Those results held true. What could have been a nasty, stinky job was really not bad at all. When we opened up the hose connections we could see into the tank and there was zero buildup inside. Much to people’s dismay, we actually do put about half of the toilet paper we use into the holding tank. So let me state this again: we had zero buildup in the tank, and the aroma was nothing like you’d expect. No gag reflexes were engaged. I’m sticking with my Zaal NoFlex Digestor and the toilet paper is going to continue to go into the tank.

And now we are hoping to leave La Paz on Saturday to go to the islands and really begin seeing the Sea of Cortez. Shh. Don’t tell the gods of cruising. We don’t like to tempt them openly. Nothing to look at here….nothing at all.

Before we sign off, someone is bound to bring up getting a composting head. We’re not ready to do that at this point. We’d have to order it and wait around for it. Then that’s another boat project. We’d rather be cruising. In the future, if this tank issue can’t be resolved, then maybe. But it’s been a bulletproof system until now. It’s a good installation that has lasted since the 1980’s. If we can fix what we have, we’ll keep it.

S/V Galapagos, out.

Cheap and Easy(ish) Boat Trick: Cockpit Shade

Posted on August 17, 2017 by Melissa

This summer the Pacific Northwest fell under the spell of a particularly hot couple of weeks. We had temps in the triple digits in some places, and, while I’m not complaining, it became clear that we needed something to protect our delicate pacific northwest skin from the rays of blistering sun. Those hot days reminded me that we are, in fact, headed for weather that may be even hotter, and sun that is definitely stronger. We needed shade in our cockpit!

I left openings so it’s easy to get in and out of the cockpit without detaching the cover.

Galapagos came with a full set of canvas for the cockpit, including a pretty neat shade enclosure made of some kind of heavy screen material. Alas, it was falling apart. Literally. I mean the fabric was disintegrating. We trashed it. But I began noodling out how I could make a simple shade enclosure that would fit the bill as a ‘cheap and easy boat trick’. It had to be easy to deploy and easy to store. This turned out to be cheap, and if you have a sewing machine, which I do not, then it would be easy. I had to do everything by hand, so let’s call this ‘easy-ish’. It’s definitely easy to deploy and store.

I ordered two rolls of extra heavy Coolaroo Outdoor Shade cloth from Amazon; enough to go around the entire cockpit, including the windows in the front when they are fully open. (You can certainly order directly from Coolaroo, but it’s more expensive that way.) This fabric is rated to block 86-90% of UV rays.

To attach the side and back panels to the cockpit, I wanted to use the existing aluminum bolt rope channels (called an Awning Track on Sailrite). Yes, this is the bolt rope that is used to make sails. This is how our current heavy canvas enclosure is attached. I ordered 12 feet of bolt rope from Sailrite. To hold the panels down onto the outside of the dodger, I used plastic grommets in the corners.

Cost of materials:

Sunshade cloth $38
Bolt rope $27.60 plus shipping
Grommets: 2 packages $8.60
Needles, thread, para cord – 0 because I have those things already.

Total cost: $74.20 plus however much I paid for shipping from Sailrite.

I know alot of people who sew all the time would probably get busy making some kind of pattern for this thing but that’s way too much trouble. I do better just holding the fabric in place and cutting around the shape, leaving enough room for mistakes and to make a neat edge. If I have to stop and make some kind of pattern, this stops being ‘easy-ish’ and falls into the ‘hard’ category. Plus I don’t have a flat surface large enough to lay out fabric of this size.

The needle is VERY sharp.

Making the side panels was dead easy once I figured out how I could stitch bolt rope by hand. This stuff is extra stiff, my fingers are old, and 12 feet is a long way to sew this stuff by hand. I tried using Mike’s Speedy Stitcher, but it’s made to be used with heavy waxed thread. It didn’t work well with the thread I was using; heavy outdoor ‘sail’ thread. Plus it was cumbersome. My patience wore thin. What did the trick was using the speedy stitcher as an awl to poke holes along the bolt rope. Those holes allowed my heavy needle to go through with little trouble and I made short work of getting the bolt rope attached to the panels after that.

I wanted the back panel to be in two pieces and I wanted it to go all the way back to the cockpit combing, past the mizzen mast. A previous owner had attached heavy plastic hooks along the side of the combing and these made excellent attachment points for small bungee loops that I could put through the grommets.This part of the enclosure is large, so I didn’t want to have to take it down and store it somewhere. I wanted to be able to roll it up and tie it out of the way.

All rolled up at the back of the cockpit.

The side panels are held down by putting the grommets over stainless steel screws I put in the teak dodger in strategic places. This fabric is not meant to hold snaps. The weave is too open. Grommets work better.

The most challenging part of this project was the front, which I made in two pieces. Because we wanted the windows to be able to open, I had two different measurements for the length required to go around them. Looking more at getting something functional and fast to deploy rather than something with a tailored fit, I opted to cut two lengths of the fabric that would cover the windows on each side at their widest-open setting, then fold the extra away and secure with a bungee through a grommet if the windows were closed. It’s the least pleasing part of the project visually, but it works great and I was able to leave enough space at the top to be able to see over the top of the screen.

Openings left on either side to get in and out easily and for air flow. It feels a bit like a tent inside. Cozy and cooler than the outside.

We are very happy with the results. We store the large front pieces, which we use much less often than the other parts. The back pieces stay rolled up and out of the way unless we need them. The side panels are folded and stored in cockpit storage. The whole set up is versatile. I have no idea how long this fabric will last in the tropics, given that the sun there eats things fast. But at this price, I can buy more fabric in the states when I come to visit and remake the thing in a day if necessary. The bolt rope is protected from UV as it’s underneath the dodger. I wouldn’t have to buy that again. And the grommets are cheap.

Here’s a photo of one of the front panels. Honestly we do not use them very much up here because our cockpit seats are set well back from the windows and the dodger top has a generous overhang in the front. It has to be pretty hot to deploy these. It’s possible in the future if we end up using these front pieces a lot I may decide to make 4 panels for the front, making one panel each for the opening windows and one panel that covers the two fixed windows on each side. That would require more attachment points, which means more little holes in the dodger. But it would look better and might give us even more flexibility. The way I have it now, wanting the flexibility of opening the windows, which we almost always have open, means there has to be enough fabric to accommodate that. For now, I call this ‘good enough’. I did end up using large cup hooks tucked up under the dodger top so that I could put two little bungees on one attachment point.

Not great, but effective.

We’re still anchored here at Cabbage Island. It’s a great place and one of our favorites. S/V Galapagos, out.

Top Ten Game Changers

Posted on August 3, 2017 by Melissa

While we were anchored in Port Ludlow nursing our wounds after the headsail fail we met a fella that owns a new-to-him big old boat and is dreaming of his own cruising future. He was interested in our story, we were interested in his, and we ended up visiting for a long time and getting a tour of his extremely cool circa 1970’s Monk 50 foot sailboat. It’s going to be just stunning when he’s finished with all the projects. We sure remember those days of unlimited projects, since they’ve actually never ended.

Mike looking at the damage to our headsail in Port Ludlow. Another project.

One of the things we talked about was what things made cruising/living on a boat better for us, especially since he wants his wife to be happy cruising and she’s not the experienced sailor he is. In other words, what things have we added or bought that have really turned out to be totally worth the effort or cost in terms of making living aboard and cruising more comfortable and satisfying. I’ve been giving this some thought and here’s my current list of the top ten things we love. I’m not going to include safety items on this list; only things that improve the liveabilty of a boat, reduce tension in otherwise anxiety-provoking situations, or make things easier on us as human beings in the autumn of our lives. After all, living on a boat is not always an easy thing. All things take more effort and small comforts make a huge difference to both of us.

Sena bluetooth headsets. We have the SPH10 model. In terms of game changers, these are high on the list. We use them all the time and even with my hearing disability we can communicate clearly with each other from anywhere on the boat, or even when one of us is on the boat and the other on shore. Recently we avoided a grounding when pulling up to the crane to have our mizzen mast installed because I was on the dock and could relay information from shore to Mike at the helm. That day they might have paid for themselves. We bought ours used from other cruisers, but if we’d known how much we would love them we would have bought them years ago new. We wear them 100% of the time when anchoring or docking and it has made a huge difference. Sure, we can use hand signals, but sometimes it is hard to see the other person and these units make having a calm conversation a reality even in tense situations. Frankly, I just cannot say enough good things about them.
Although they fit fairly securely, I’ve put lanyards on them to avoid losing them should they blow off in high wind.
Our aft cabin mattresses. Long time readers will remember that we perseverated over those mattresses for months. It was such a hard decision. In the end, we have hands down the most comfortable bed we’ve ever had. The biggest payoff was that 3″ latex top layer. Our berth is three layers starting with dense foam, then medium foam, then the latex. The mattress is 8″ high, which is high by boat standards. We chose natural latex from Sleep On Latex for the top layer. They have an excellent product at a very reasonable price. We will never go back to memory foam.
That top layer is luxurious natural latex.
The Food Saver heat sealer. We bought ours at Costco as they have the best price and frequently put them on sale. We use it not only to vacuum pack meat and fruit for the freezer, but also to store entire cases of things like toilet paper and paper towels in a fraction of the space usually required. Mike bought a case of oil absorbent pads that took up almost two square feet of space. The heat sealer stored packs of ten of these almost flat, meaning they can be stored under the sole and out of the way. In addition, I can use this with our small inverter at anchor. The sealing bags are re-useable, cutting down on trash.
This is an entire case of toilet paper, two to each package, stored way in the back of the cabinet under the sink.
The latex seat cushions in the cockpit. Damn I hope these hold up to the heat in the tropics. I made these from the scraps of latex left over from the aft cabin mattresses. We have Bottom Sider type cushions in the cockpit, but I actually hate them. They are hard, hot, and do not add much to the comfort of the cockpit when we are at anchor or on an easy sail or motor trip. The latex cushions add a layer of luxury and keep my hind end from hurting at the end of the day. Of course, they must be stored below when we are sailing hard on the wind, but it’s a small price to pay for the comfort they provide the 90% of the time we can use them. Should they fail me in the tropics, because they are pieces of latex glued together, then I will be ordering a twin size topper and making new ones.
Cheerful and comfortable for sitting and sleeping.
The cockpit mat I made from an outdoor rug from World Market. One edge of this hasn’t held up that well over time, but if you have a walking foot machine you would be able to do a better job than I did. We still love it and it’s still making that cockpit cheerful and easy on the feet. We’ll take it up for ocean passages, but for coastal cruising, it’s great.
Stays in place even when on a heel.
The fold down countertop extension in the galley. This small project has paid huge dividends. We use this many times in a day. People who live on boats understand that to find what you’re looking for in the fridge, the rule is that you have to unload the entire thing because what you want will be on the bottom. This project offers us a place to unload the fridge without putting things on the stove or across the galley. Love at first use.
In the ‘deployed’ position.

In the locked down position. And it doesn’t budge under sail.
Hot water at anchor. Need I say more? Having a hot shower at the end of a long day of travel, on your own boat, is one of life’s greatest pleasures.
The Engle freezer. We have ice at anchor. Do you? Because if you don’t, you don’t know what you are missing. It’s quiet, efficient, and I can pack a ton of frozen food in that thing by repackaging with my Food Saver food sealer. But really, the ice is the main thing.
Our Magna Cart. We use this thing all the time. It made getting that heavy sail down to the dinghy from the sail loft dead easy. It makes grocery shopping a breeze.
The Magna Cart on duty carrying a full propane tank.
Our Nikon Prostaff 550 Range Finder. If I want to know, and I most assuredly DO want to know, how far our boat is from the next boat or from those crunchy rocks, I want an actual data point, not something like ‘far enough’. This little unit tells me exactly how many yards we are from the nearest boat eating object. We both love this. Our unit is no longer available, but there are others in the same line. If you live on a boat and travel, what things have you added that improve your comfort and ease of living? There’s a guy in Port Ludlow with a 50 foot Monk sailboat who wants to know!