From Latitude 38
January 2002

Seayanika Update - Head Games

We returned from the Baja Ha-Ha in mid-November after a rocking good time.  (Thanks Steve, Angel & Doug.)  The cruise down to Cabo was helpful in many ways.  Aside from Erik getting some well deserved time off from the daily grind of building Seayanika, it was a good opportunity to experience the systems on a different boat.  What we learned is already being put to good use on the bare-hull Cal 49 we started building into a cruising boat almost a year and a half ago. 

 Above, 'Seayanika's' head passes the demanding

 'Latitude sit-down' test.  Below right, "and this pump here is for the tropical fish tank..."

I’m not sure if it’s a sign of being in Mexico for two weeks, but upon returning from the Ha Ha Erik went directly to work on the plumbing in general, and the forward head in particular.  (The first thing I did was purchase an ice maker -- one can never have too many ice cubes, or too many cocktails for that matter.)  Anyway, back to the head.  Upon return, Erik began frenetically placing orders for parts, and it seemed as if the Port Supply van was a permanent fixture here, delivering hoses, clamps, connectors, barbs, macerators, valves and pumps.  How many thousands of parts go into a marine plumbing system?  How many pumps?  I think we have now ordered more than 15 pumps, be they for the bilges, fresh water, salt water, pressure water, fuel,  macerators, spares, et al.  And not just your common, run-of-the-mill pumps either.   We’re talking marine pumps, and if you’re reading this magazine, I know you know what I’m talking about -- $$$$$.

Once we had all the various plumbing pieces and attachments, we arrived at a critical decision: the exact placement of the guest’s head.  This is not a subject to be taken frivolously.  Is it comfortable?  Is there sufficient elbow room?  Is there sufficient 'bum' room?  Is there something to hang onto?  Is it user friendly?  Is there adequate lighting (for reading, of course)?  Erik and I each took a turn sitting on the throne trying to imagine ourselves heeled to one side or the other.  Our good friends, liveaboards John & Rita Crial of the Cal 46 Sonrisa, also volunteered their experienced derrières for the comfort test.   After a short consultation and a few twists and nudges, we found the perfect position.  Another milestone!

We're now at the gratifying stage in the boatbuilding process where progress can be seen almost daily.  Every trek I take across the street rewards me with some new development to admire.  One day bilge pumps are installed in two of the forward separate bilges.  The next day one of the head cabinets is fabricated and installed.  Yesterday, Erik gave me a full rundown on the forward head’s waste system.  Now I  know why we ordered so many Y valves.  Every conceivable disposition of the waste’s storage, mashing, grinding, transfer, pumpage, and removal has been taken into consideration, and explained to me in gruesome detail by my loving husband.  "Thanks," I say out loud.  But in my head I'm thinking what my daughter Nika might say, "T.M.I." -- too much information!

What am I contributing these days, besides lots of moral support?  Well, thankfully my epoxy mixing duties are over -- at least for the moment -- and my new job description is 'slat varnisher.'  Wherever the hull will be visible inside Seayanika, mahogany slats will be installed.  Erik has informed me that each of these slats must be sanded and covered with at least six coats of varnish.  I guess I know what I will be doing this winter.