More lessons from Nomad

Not in the watter yet but getting close, Nomad's off season refit goes on. The aluminum holding tank failed. A new plastic model is in the works. This makes sense. Since buying the boat we have struggled to get the "head smell" under control. I replaced the head to tank hose, we have tried endless different chemicals, but stink can escape from holes too small for liquid to flow through. There is hope a new tank will give our noses a break.

The water heater failed as well. This also makes sense. Nomad's little engine slowly lost coolant but I could never figure out where it was going. While trying to get the water heater working I discovered that insulation blanket inside the metal cover was completely soaked. A new 10 gallon unit has been installed in the place of the old 7 gallon model.

We gave up on the idea of replacing the head sink faucet and shower head with marine units. The cost was out of sight for what appeared to be the cheapest of plastic parts. Home Depot supplied better quality units at 1/10th the cost. All that was needed was a few adapters to splice the dissimilar plumbing together. (Boat plumbing still strikes me as the lowest of low rent solutions. Soft plastic fittings and hose clamps? Really?)

We have gotten pretty bold about tearing things apart. Boats, after all, are pretty low tech. Routine A/C wiring and fiberglass work appear to be as complex as it gets. The rest is bolt, unbolt, or refinish.