Waiting for parts in Portsmouth Continues

APRIL 2, 2025

Yesterday, Brian figured out how to polish fuel. Both of the aft tanks have set unused for several years.  Each tank holds 150 gallons of fuel.  We were concerned that there may be water or junk in the tanks.  The polishing system cleans the fuel and removes any impurities that was left in the tanks.  He ran the system for 5 hours.  Today he did the same with the second aft tank.  Now we can fill those tanks knowing that there should be no issues going forward with fuel from those tanks going through the engine.  He drew out a diagram as to how the system works.

This morning, Brian called Spendide Headquarters explaining the issue that Matt, the technician discovered with our new washer/dryer unit. Apparently, Matt also called Spendide to confirm his findings and let them know what part needed ordering.  When Brian talked to a representative at the company requesting they reimburse us for the technician’s bill from last night’s services, they refused.  Their stance is that they do not pay for any labor for a laundry machine on a boat even though it is brand spanking new and hasn’t even been used other than our initial wash to make sure there were not issues and as noted, when we went to dry said laundry, a horrible screeching sound emanated from the machine.  Brian could not persuade a supervisor at Splendide to reconsider.  The supervisor told Brian that our machine was not defective – say what????  If it’s broke, it’s defective.  They wouldn’t budge.  NOT HAPPY!!!

A new regulator for our alternator was shipped today by overnight mail. Will have it tomorrow morning.  Brian should have no problems installing it.  Once installed, he has to check that the alternator is no longer getting hot to the touch when the engine is off and that the alternator is charging the batteries when the engine is running.

Since Brian spent a great deal of time on the phone this morning with the above issues, Lauren went and did several loads of laundry.  Late morning we took Heidi for a long walk around the historic district.

Mid-afternoon we took another long walk, without Heidi to the downtown for a late lunch/early dinner.  Afterwards, we poked through several shops.  We met a wonderful gentleman who owned an antiques store.  He was a pleasure to chat with.

April 3, 2025

Started the day by Lauren cooking us an egg and bacon breakfast along with homemade home fries and toast.  After taking Heidi out for her business, we went and toured the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum – interesting history of the Navy base here since the 1600’s.  Then we walked to the Portsmouth Art & Cultural center.  This month the center featured portraits of African American shipyard workers from Tidewater, VA.  This exhibit pays tribute to the resilience, skill and dedication of African American men and women who help keep the region’s maritime industry thriving.  The other exhibit this month was A Purple Patchwork Sewn in Sisterhood.  This display celebrates Black history through the artistry and storytelling of the Hampton Roads-based 54-40 African American Quilters Guild of Virginia.  Their latest quilt creations, were each inspired by the novel The Color Purple.  

Stopped and had a delicious deep-dish pizza for lunch.  Back on board, Lauren took Heidi out for a windy walk.  The winds have been crazy here; some gusts of so strong, it feels like our clothing is going to get ripped off.  Brian stayed behind to install our new regulator that was delivered this morning. After it was installed, Brian started the engine to test it out and discovered that the alternator was still not charging the batteries.  After activating the switches and button to shut down the engine, nothing happened.  The engine continued to run – yikes!!  After giving it some thought, Brian went down into the engine room and manually activated the solenoid, which shut down the engine.  He than called the marine electrician, Bob who will try to make it to our boat either tomorrow or Saturday to try and figure this mess out; so now instead of one problem with the engine we now have two.

Brian then texted Matt, who was the technician for our Splendide and was told that our blower motor did not arrive as scheduled due to weather – disappointing.  So, looks like we are not leaving anytime too soon.  Again, thankfully, we are in an area where there is a lot to discover.  Also, the winds finally died down – it’s so calm out there. After sunset, we sat out on the fore deck just enjoying the evening, it’s sounds and all the lights surrounding the marina.

April 4, 2025

Took a walk into town to Yoolks On Us! for breakfast.  After arriving back to boat, we decided it was a good day to provision for fresh produce.  Grabbed our backpacks and walked a little over a mile to the Food Lion, then hiked back.  It was so muggy; thankfully, cloudy and windy.  Today Brian ran the water maker for about 3 hours which will give us about 100 gallons.  Had a light lunch of yogurt mixed with honey (we still have some left from our own bees), fresh strawberries, blueberries and granola.  

A very humid day; read most of the afternoon. Dinner consisted of roasted thighs and potatoes along with carrots sauteed in butter and thyme – delicious!  Took Heidi out for a long stroll; just meandered as it was still so muggy and the winds have finally died down.