Passing Gas

At the flip of a switch the propane solenoid opens a valve that sends propane to the stove in the galley.  Kay made coffee this morning, then noted that she had forgotten to turn on the solenoid.  The valve controlled by the solenoid was apparently stuck open regardless of the switch position.

On the one hand this could be a good thing since the solenoid draws power from the battery while the valve is open. If it’s stuck open, no power is needed.  On the other hand it is safer to be able to turn off the propane when it’s not being used.

As it happens, I had a spare solenoid in my spares so I went to work this morning to replace it.  I had a feeling I would be replacing that thing at some point.  Thankfully the job didn’t turn out to be too difficult.

I also refilled the propane tank while I had it out.  Three weeks of cooking meals: 1 gallon of propane. Not bad.

Old and New Solenoids

Chula-juana

We’ve been settled into the Chula Vista Marina, close to Tijuana and south of San Diego, for a couple of days now and we’re feeling quite comfortable.  I’m happy that the marina is willing to rent the slip to us for a couple of months at a monthly rate.  Shilshole would never do that.  Of course Shilshole has a waiting list and Chula Vista does not.  That makes a big difference.  It’s also considerably more expensive than Seattle rates. Living aboard here costs about double what it does in Seattle.  Thankfully we won’t be living aboard and couldn’t even if we wanted to as there is a waiting list for that privilege.  Instead we’ll pay a lower non-live-aboard rate and fly home for a few weeks while we wait for the end of hurricane season before proceeding on to Mexico in November.

Yesterday we scrubbed Quijote squeaky clean and I did some engine checks, put biocide in the diesel, and fuel stabilizer in the outboard gas. Today Kay and I played tourists, visiting Old Town where San Diego was first settled.  Tomorrow I think I’ll change the engine oil so there’ll be fresh oil in her crank case while she waits for the next leg of this trip.

I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the brevity of the list of maintenance to be done.  The stern running light and steaming light both have bulb contacts that need to be cleaned.  They illuminate intermittently.  The compass light isn’t working at all.  And that’s about it.  It’s pretty amazing really.

Quijote Crew at Work