Frankly! Your most sucking work onboard??

[Deltasailor]

Originally Posted by boden36

I detest having to dive and scrape the prop every two months. Have been doing it for years, now pay someone else.

Regards,
Richard.

Try anti fouling prop paint!

[akprb]

Calcified head hoses

[Mithril Bham]

Chasing rust in my 14 separate bilges on steel boat in upside down uncomfortable positions. Sanding and grinding steel in close quarters.

[Mischief_Inc]

There was the time my best mate "removed the fingerprint" on his index finger with his power planer. Right after telling the 3 of us hanging out in his shop, how dangerous of a tool it was, which was why we couldn't use it.
All 3 of us being marine professionals, & or, engineers. With decades of tool experience each.

Needless to say we about fell down, & or, pissed ourselves, from laughing so hard AT him. With no one so much as handing him a beer or a bandaid, let alone the 1st aid kit on the wall. Man did he make a mess, dripping everywhere!

He was famous for pulling stunts like that. LOL I genuinely lost track of how many times he zapped himself with 110v AC, 12v DC, & even 60v DC (long story). Never a dull moment.

Then again, when I first met him, we were going sailing on a friend's boat. One that had minor electrical problems. And his comment on finding & fixing said glitch was, & I quote: "turn on the breaker & then look for the smoke". Yep, & yet owner's routinely handed him the keys to their million dollar yachts with little thought.
It was better than being IN a Tim Allen TV show.

[inspectr]

When we bought our Dufour 35 Classic 10 years ago, the condition precedent from the wife was that the manual pumpout head had to be replaced with an electric one.

Couldnt be THAT hard I tHought

WRONG

Bought an electric marine toilet off ebay for a hundred $, cheap
Disconnected the old one and discovered that all of the three pipes were European 25mm or 20mm ID, but the pan fittings were Inch sizes - 25.4mm. No amount of heating, trimming, flexing or forcing could make the 25mm pipes fit the inch nipples. Had to change pipes, non return valves, fittings and nipples in the most inacessible places all while lying on my belly over the doorway to the bathroom. Forgot to mention that all this crap is connected to a holding tank

Then the dumb pan has the pump directly behind the pan, hard up against the bulkhead and no amount of re-engineering could get the base of the pan rotated 90 degrees to make servicing easier.

I have no idea why wifes girlfriends need to use 10 metres of toilet paper for a pee stop, but on occasions the macerator pump blade gets wrapped up in paper, then the whole pan needs to be removed. Happens so often that I have cut an access panel to get at the bolts, and fitted the studs with wing nuts.

When you remove the blocked pan you have to deal with 10 litres of yellow water or worse, sometimes brownish yellow water and part macerated paper, that fills up the shower well.

As I work on this wonderful little boat I often wonder about the complete lack of foresight by the designers and builders for ongoing maintenance, and upgrades. Why do they use cable ties to hold all pipes and cables run through the mast, and through ribs in the bilges so that no failed pipe or wire can be used as a messenger to run a new line. We have had to take down the mast to replace a wind instrument as the wires are taped together inside a 20m conduit inside the mast. They used domestic 240V three core cables for bilge pumps and the domestic water pressure pumps and of course the un-tinned copper dissolved to powder - what an ordeal dealing with impossible access

I just love my marine toilet!!!!!!

[bletso]

inspectr- Very funny from afar! But, at least your wife and friends are happy!!

[lifemiles]

once I had to get my perkins 4.108 out of the engine room on my centre cockpit Endeavour 40. that was fun..... :-)

Anything "toiletpump" is close second, although I have to say, I instruct vigilantly about those to guests, and I have not touched one for clogging in a long time.... I did now and then for stuck valves etc, but at least you can flush through with detergents first then.... :-)

the trick is to make guests understand if they clog it, they're fixing it and i'll just supervise and give instructions.... :-)

[Jd1]

Originally Posted by inspectr

I have no idea why wifes girlfriends need to use 10 metres of toilet paper for a pee stop, but on occasions the macerator pump blade gets wrapped up in paper, then the whole pan needs to be removed. Happens so often that I have cut an access panel to get at the bolts, and fitted the studs with wing nuts.

You are definitively using the wrong toilet paper! Proper RV/marine paper dissolves at the sight of moisture. No way can it wrap up a macerator blade.

[inspectr]

Originally Posted by Jd1

You are definitively using the wrong toilet paper! Proper RV/marine paper dissolves at the sight of moisture. No way can it wrap up a macerator blade.

Yes I have learned that lesson, 10 times the price like everything in the chandlery, but it has been a long time since I have had to confront the stinking mess of dismantling the macerator pump.

Still have trouble understanding how much of the stuff gets used, on the boat as well at the office and at home.

[bluewatervet]

As a "junior man on board" a U.S.Navy destroyer, the grim duties they could find for "late-sleepers" was amazing (er...disgusting...which, of course, was the idea) Builds character & all that rot. What most sailors of today do not realize is just how foul the waters of most all harbours were 'way back then.' Today, one can truly enjoy a tasty meal in a fine restaurant hung over a modern city harbor, with a killer view, sans the odors of old. Sure, below decks work can stink, always did. But what it was like just a few recent decades ago challenges all that, spoken first-hand. Imagine diving to repair underwater issues.....back then. Not well travelled anymore I would imagine these same gnarly conditions do still exist in many outlying harbors. So pick & choose your harbors to do maintenance wisely, eh..?

[inspectr]

In a previous life I served as an apprentice deck cadet (now a long retired FG Master's ticket and served as 3rd and 2nd officer on Australian ships)
We were on a bulk carrier in Whyalla South Australia waiting our turn to load iron ore and myself and the junior apprentice had been given shore leave the previous night, came back on board well plastered and the First Mate saw us as we staggered on board.
0600 the bosun wakes us and we have to fish oil the lazarette tanks, confined space, filthy, hand spraying rancid fish oil over the steel surfaces of the tanks with no ventilation - seriously hung over, sleep deprived, both of us emptied our bellies until we were dry retching, but the b......d first mate insisted that we complete the job. Overalls, Tees shirts and even our underwear had to be thrown out and despite showering twice a day for a few days after we still smelled of fish oil.
Same first Mate taught me the Colregs by rote and 50 years later I can still recite great slabs of the rules

[Panope]

Jack-hammering out lead and cement ballast.

Steve

[SSgtPitt]

Originally Posted by inspectr

Yes I have learned that lesson, 10 times the price like everything in the chandlery, but it has been a long time since I have had to confront the stinking mess of dismantling the macerator pump.

Still have trouble understanding how much of the stuff gets used, on the boat as well at the office and at home.

Toilet paper for septic systems - works the same and costs WAY less. I think most of the TP use comes from wrapping up their hands first so they don't get any stinky on 'em.

[senormechanico]

Sandblasting a submarine in July in Pearl Harbor in a drydock.
Having to duct tape neck, wrists etc to keep sand out of everywhere, but it doesn't help.
Worst two weeks of my life !

[thruska]

Truly has to be be that stuck y valve in the menagerie of plumbing that previous owner thought was the way to make the macerator , toilet, and thru hull wirk together in joyous harmony . Perhaps someday... maybe... or umm well hmm a picture might explain if i build up the courage to...
Not today tho , wifie has epoxy dreams and i need to move the stairway to heaven...