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Larry's LogBy the time I got back, Diane had finished making her phone calls and we decided to have dinner with Tom and Steph and Mike from Just Dessert. We also dropped off the propane tank with the CrewsInn dockmaster so it would get picked up and refilled the next day. The one tank was empty and it was very easy to get it filled this way, rather than taking it in the dinghy and trying to find a place to fill it, as we did in Bequia. Tuesday was again very busy (and expensive). I helped Diane after breakfast with an article she wrote and wanted to present to the writers group, and then I took the water maker pressure vessel off the bulkhead and brought it to Echo Marine. I wanted to watch it tested but the technician was busy with another unit when I got there so the owner asked if I could come back after lunch. I left my unit and said I would be back at 1pm. I had brought the unit there by dinghy but went to the Peake's boatyard dock rather the one nearest Echo Marine because it was a really rough concrete dock that I was afraid would rip up the dinghy. It was meant for the small ferry that runs to Gaspary Island so it wasn't designed for dinghy use and was also in need of some repair. But, since I went to Peake's, I had to walk the remaining ¾ mile to Echo Marine, and it was hot (as it always is) but especially carrying an awkward, 40 inch long watermaker. I walked back to Peake's after dropping off the unit, did some more shopping for supplies and went back to the boat to drop these off before going back to see about my watermaker. I also had some pieces of 1/8" stainless steel plate I have made into some small backing plates for new cockpit locker hasps I bought. The old ones looked pretty bad and when I removed them, I found that they weren't attached too well either. Funny how a small project turns into a larger one. I made it back to Echo Marine a little late and he had already tested the unit but had the same results I did - the membrane was not able to make good quality water anymore (if it ever did). I called Diane on the radio and told her the results and she agreed we needed a new one so I asked that they replace the old one. As I watched, the pressure vessel was opened (with some difficulty even by someone who knew ho to do it) and saw the old membrane. It looked a little brownish in places. The technician took a new one from its bag and placed it inside my unit - and it didn't fit. It was about an inch too long. Fortunately, they had a complete unit that Village Marine had sent to them and he took the membrane out of that one and put it in mine. I was very glad that I had asked them to do the replacement other wise I would have been really upset that the new membrane wouldn't fit, particularly since they are supposed to be standard sizes. I got some money off since it was a "not out of the box" part also, which was fair. I saw the new/old membrane make water and its quality met or beat the WHO standard so I was satisfied. I also got some money off because the sales clerk had accidentally overcharged me the day before on the aluminum flat bar I bought. She had caught the mistake and told me about it when I came in. She said she was about to call CrewsInn to leave a message about it but she saw me in the store instead. That was a pleasant surprise. They drove me back to the CrewsInn marina with the watermaker so I could drop it off and then back to my dinghy that I had left at a different marina. Except for the expense, it was a very positive experience. I reinstalled the unit when I got back to the boat and went out again to get some more supplies. We still wanted to get ready to leave and getting the watermaker fixed was a big project off the list. Wednesday morning I did the net again and Diane went shopping once more to PriceSmart. I worked on my logs and getting the web site ready for another update. When Diane got back, we finished up another cushion slipcover and I then went to check email at the Internet place right across from the boat. I have to check email that way sometimes because we have several email accounts and only one comes to the boat directly over the SSB. Thursday, while Diane went to PoS again I picked up the woodwork pieces that were finally finished and got some more supplies. The insert piece for the v-berth didn't have the notches needed to clear the bulkhead molding so I had to get the carpenter to cut the piece again and glue on a strip of teak to hide the plywood edge. It fit fine but the shelf under it didn't fit for the same reason. The drawings I left clearly showed the notch but they didn't build them that way. Maybe they figured it wasn't "really" necessary. Although the insert piece needed it to hold the cushion properly, it wasn't "absolutely" needed for the shelf below - but now it had to be recut anyway at the back and sides since it wouldn't fit the space. When I got back to the boat, I checked the fit of the shelves and then quickly brought them back with the rental car we had just gotten for tomorrow's errands. They cut the shelf and it fit perfectly when I tried it again. Now I just had to install the cleats and door. That evening we went to Jenny's Restaurant in PoS with Tom and Steph. We had eaten there several times before and the food was still very good. Friday was a very busy day, starting with a visit to the dermatologist to get my stitches removed. The wound from the removing the cyst was healing nicely although the doctor said I still shouldn't get it wet. I had been putting a plastic bag over my leg to keep it dry while taking a shower but it was getting to be a PITA, and I really wanted to be able to stop but she said to do it for another 5 days. Oh well, I suppose it was better to have it heal properly. After that, we brought our little TV/VCR into a shop for service. It would stop working periodically but after talking with the technician, he said it would be impossible to diagnose the problem since it was currently working and we couldn't reproduce the problem. We described when it seemed to happen, which was that it seemed to stop after I used the SSB for transmitting email. It wasn't always the case but generally that was the precursor. He suggested that it was the radio interference (RFI) and that we try unplugging the TV before we use the SSB. Leaving it plugged in meant it was still "on" since it's the kind that always draws current to stay "warmed up." It had stopped working the night before so I had hoped he would be able to see the problem and so be able to fix it. But when we got to his shop, it was working again. He offered to run it all day to see if it would stop again but would have to charge us $50 as a minimum. We decided to try his suggestion and bring it back if we continued to have a problem. As it turned out, after about 10 days of unplugging the TV before email and plugging it in again when we want to watch it, that does seem to be the problem. The RFI must interfere with the ferrite chokes inside and the reason it stops and then starts again, seemingly at random, depends on when the chokes can return to their normal function. The TV didn't always quit because it would probably depend on what frequency I used and how long it would transmit. Problem solved (hopefully). After the TV repair shop, we went for a drive to Maracas Bay on the north coast. It was raining pretty heavily (rainy season) but we decided to go anyway since we wanted to try the local "shark and bake" there. This was a local food that we hadn't tried before but everyone said was really good. I drove up the mountain road and enjoyed the scenery even though it was cloudy and rained occasionally. We got to Maracas Bay and found "Richards", which was the place most people recommended. It was just a small roadside restaurant (no tables) and dodged raindrops under their small tent. It was excellent! The dish was real shark, baked and fried inside dough that you then put condiments on. I was really pleasantly surprised. We also had a potato pie that was also good. We drove back to the boat but stopped at our favorite bakery on the way, Linda's, and got some "real" bagels and some pastries for dessert later. We also stopped at the TTPost office in Carenage, the small town just past Chaguaramas on the way to Port of Spain. It was a very bad area but the Customs officer had suggested we look there for our mail. The package Diane's father sent at the end of March was still not here and we didn't even know where it was. The clerk there was very helpful and made several phone calls. She said she would call on CrewsInn on Monday and let us know if they found out anything. We weren't too hopeful but thanked her and left. We stopped to see Tom and Steph and then went back to the boat with Steph, so she could go for a swim with Diane in the pool at the marina. Well, we found out that there was free wine tasting at the local liquor store so that's where we went instead. The weekend was occupied with small things like updating my logs and putting away some of the supplies I had bought. To put away the engine oil and 2 cycle oil, I had to take up most of the items from the starboard cockpit locker so I could reach the shelf under the deck where the rest is stored. I also put some plastic hooks on the lines from the awnings to see if they would hold. These made it easier and faster to take down the awnings and put them up again when I had to either launch or hoist the dinghy near the boat. Not even dominoes on Sunday since we still wanted to try to leave Trinidad fairly soon and so finish all the things we wanted to do. Monday though, we had scheduled to go see the Leatherback Turtles again, as we did on our last visit. This time though we rented a car to stay overnight. We got our car, did some errands, ate an early lunch and left with Steph (Tom wasn't going - he preferred turtles in soup) for the town on the north coast known for watching turtles, Grand Riviere. |