Our project list is shrinking as we dive into things.

Our shore power extension cord had a bad plug, that over-heated and needed replacing. Not a complex or difficult project, but an important one.

With that done, we attacked a couple of Rule #1 violations. To refresh your memory, the Three Rules of Boating are:

1. Keep the water out of the boat.
2. Keep the people in the boat.
3. Don’t hit anything.

All Amel boats are built with the expectation that they will always comply with Rule One. We strive to keep it that way, both for the good of the boat, and our own comfort. So any leak is an issue that needs to be addressed because we do not tolerate leaks of any size or location..

First up was the aft cabin hatch. The plastic lens was coming unglued from its frame, and had started to leak. Since this was right over the foot of our bed, this was a priority. The lens was removed, cleaned up, and reglued in place with silicon.

Next on the Rule One list was the overhead hatch in the saloon. This was replaced when we had major repairs made in this area two years ago. We have been happy with the style and function of the hatch, except in severe conditions the gasket leaked. Not good. See Rule One above.

We contacted Vetus, the manufacturer. As you might expect their first response to a warrantee inquiry was to claim that the installation was faulty. Rather than try to argue out that right off the bat, we figured we’d replace the gasket for a few dollars. We got the part number for the replacement gasket, and ordered it in.

Hmmm… the new gasket looks NOTHING like the original! The factory gasket was solid rubber with a shape molded to match the frame. It was held in place with a arrow shaped extension that fit into a matching groove in the frame. The new gasket is a round, hollow, stick down gasket. It looks like a generic replacement gasket.

After considering our options, I decided that we would try the new gasket. We’d surely be no worse off than we started, even if it leaked a bit. It took quite a bit of fussing to get it fit into the hatch frame, but it did go in. A test after the install with high pressure spray from the hose showed: NO LEAKS! Success! Hopefully it stays that way for a while.

Finally, we had two screws (from the 200+) that we installed as part of our window project that dripped a bit. We got those fixed up as well.

Now we charge on to other things, major and minor…