The StarLink has arrived, but the local broker is unreachable. All that needs to be done is that the broker I hired needs to clear it. But the broker is not answering calls or e-mails. <sigh>. The day began with my PC acting up and giving me frequent BSOD while videoconferencing. That frustration was tempered by a morning e-mail from DHL saying that the package is here on St. Lucia.
Noon
I gave up on work as the latency on the internet connection is now very long and working is just frustrating. That means I needed to look at my toilet project again. I’ve got the pipe removed and my arms bandaged from the sharp edges and awkward positions needed to access things. Without an auger I’m not sure how I’m going to go about checking the 1 1/2-inch diameter hose for blockages.
After e-mailing the marina where the broker works, I finally got an answer from him but he’s stating he didn’t get any notification. Even though the StarLink has arrived I can’t get it. That’s certainly a prevarication as I e-mailed him 10 minutes after i got the notification with an update and a question. Once again, I get the feeling that they are willing to accept payment for expedited service, but then switch back to “island time” once they’ve been paid and don’t care. I’m certain I’ll get some excuse about why this didn’t work out, something which I can’t check. Sort of like the “wrong kind of snow” in the U.K.
Afternoon
The first couple of feet on the sanitation pipe produced copious amounts of limescale. With that kind of buildup, I knew I would need to replace the pipe. A new length of 10 feet was procured at Island Waterworld ashore along with some food. Back on board I tried to remove the old pipe, but it was solid and not pliable; I don’t know how they got it into that tight space in the first place. And since this is thick tubing with steel wire reinforcement, it resists cutting.
I took a break and at a lamb roti ashore at Jambe de Bois and then continued my work. I worked for a good 2 hours just getting the old tubing out. Fortunately, I didn’t break anything doing this, but my arms are scratched from bending around sharp corners in order to wedge that tube out.
Evening
No clubbing ashore for me, I decided that I was going to complete the toilet project before doing anything else. The new tubing is slightly less massive and certainly more pliable than the old, but still unwieldy. After considerable effort I got it installed and used a saw to cut it to length. That first test flush gave me great gratification.
The shower sump must have ingested some particulate, as it wouldn’t pump anymore. I looked under the sink and saw a small metal filter and assumed that had clogged. I removed it and, much to my dismay, water started flowing out a high rate. It turns out that this was the toilet saltwater pump, and it was below the waterline. I’d dropped the filter cap between shower pan and hull and was out of reach, and in the heat of the moment I couldn’t remember where the through-hull for it was.
Night
I managed to plug the opening with a rag to slow the ingress rate and fished around in the hidden recess to find the cap, which I replaced. The next 15 minutes were used in getting the manual pump out and sucking out the water, as I don’t think that this section has a bilge drain. Then I had a beer. And located the correct pump, which I took apart and cleaned. After replacing it the first test was a dismal failure, with water coming back out of the shower sump instead of being drained. Being the Sherlock Holmes that I am, I deduced that I’d installed it backward and soon had the pump running.
Another hour of putting everything back together and cleaning up gave me a pristine bathroom and I took a celebratory shower before patching up my scalp and going to sleep.
The StarLink has arrived, but the local broker is unreachable – what a day. But now, even the pounding bass beat of the Friday night party didn’t disturb me.