A few weeks ago, Dave tried to use the onboard washing machine for the first time. Yeah. Its not a happy washing machine. Melissa ended up having to take the laundry to the Laundromat while Dave cleaned up the water that poured all over the floor. Dave thinks the pump probably needs to be replaced. We've been debating whether this makes sense or not. The reason we've not used it previously is that we did use the dryer feature once and it filled the boat with a lot of moisture. That and the fact that when we do laundry often its more efficient to use the Laundromat at the marina because we can run multiple loads at once has caused us to let it sit idle this whole time. So a debate ensued about whether we wanted to reclaim the big cabinet space and remove the washer/dryer unit or whether we wanted to try to fix it.
Today we decided that since the car rental company had given us a big SUV at the same price as the economy car we reserved (they were out of economy cars) it was the perfect opportunity to take the unit to the dump. Getting it off the boat was non-trivial. We had to use the boom and the electric winch to lift it out through the bedroom hatch, and then down onto the dock.
When Melissa arrived at the scrap metal place that said they would take the unit off our hands, Melissa was shocked to realize they were actually going to pay her for the thing. A whopping $8.47. Hey, that'll buy a glass of wine at happy hour!
And there were a number of bonus surprises once we had removed the unit. First we discovered that all the boxes that contain the tools and spares (spare starter, water pump, bilge pumps, engine filters, you name it) fit perfectly in the cupboard so we don't need to add any shelving. This is hugely more convenient than storing all that gear in the storage compartments on the back deck - which aren't accessible offshore. This then made room for the spinnaker sail in the back trunk. And because there is electrical built into the cupboard, Dave can put all his hand tools that require recharging (like his drill) in the cupboard and get them out of the way. And then because the compartment is plumbed with water and the fitting is the same as a hose bib, we can hook up a hose that lets us wash down the head and the cockpit. Dave's been planning to add a hose bib, but hadn't gotten to it yet. So that's way cool.
