June Maintenance

This is the year of battery replacements. I always dread this, as it is drudgery. After 3 days of wrestling them in and out of the boat, up and down the dock ramps, in and out of the car at the battery store, and then reversing the process for 3 batteries my biceps are sore, my back has been stretched to the limit and even though I am older it seemed easier to get it all done.

There are always surprises and this year there were some that torqued my mind into maizes wondering how I was going to get myself out of the situation. But as usual, people popped up from strange places to bring order to chaos.

I have owned Shatoosh since December 1999. I have lived with the belief system that the starter battery was hooked to switch number 1 and the house batteries were hooked to switch 2. In hooking them up again it became clear that information  was not true. My batteries were wired to the switch with the starter battery being number 2 and the house batteries were wired to number 1. This means for 14 + years I have started my engine on the house batteries and ran all my house items off my starter battery. How did I not know this? This is the third time I have changed out my batteries and I am just learning this! I went to my original diagram that I made when I bought Shatoosh. This shows how each battery is connected and wired. I use it to follow when I hook the batteries back up. I realized that I have never really looked at the switch wiring and there it clearly stated the engine starter battery was hooked to #2 switch and the house batteries were hooked to #1 switch. Oh boy, I am surprised that I never ran into any load issues.

The other issue was I discovered a loose connection on an espar heater connector. I found my way to a local auto store and they did not have a part but another one did. The man standing next to  me said he lived close by and he could hook up the new connector in his shop. In minutes he had me back on track.

 The next day I checked the transmission oil and it was fine, but as I was screwing the dipstick into place it broke off at the neck of the handle( made from plastic). Now I am waiting for a new dipstick to come from Seattle and will need to extricate the remaining dipstick from its inner cave.

The diesel mechanic came to change the oil, filters and salt water impeller and was instrumental in sorting out the wiring problems. The diesel I had bought the previous day to fill the fuel filter turned out to be gas. Gads can this project get any more distorted. Well,  this has been quite a long weekend, but lots got done in addition to all the above. The guys on my dock are so great and helpful all the time. Thanks for all the people who just happen to show up and help me get out of tight situations.