Good thing we got to Rome early to work on some of our boat projects. Here is a list for all you want-to-be boat owners. After all, they say owning a boat is just fixing it in Cool Places:
First project was the Refrigerator Boxes. We thought it was just a freon (R-134A) charge problem. We get the local Frigoboat man here who says the “Gas is good”…I think that is the only English he knows. So John now thinks it is an insulation problem. Off we go to the local Home Depot which is really nothing like a Home Depot…they only have a “few” items…but we do find insulation board and a roll of insulation tape (not the width or cushion that we want but it will do). Now we have foam dots and pieces all over inside the boat but the refrigerator seems to be cooling again. Next night, it completely stops. So we have the Frigoboat guy here again for a whole day pumping in gas, taking out gas, taking measurements with the gauges, etc. Finally John tells him to just buy the bigger evaporator and we will install it on the other side in the other refrigerator. So now we wait for the evaporator to come from Milan.
Second project was the generator. It has been a thorn in Johns side since we bought Jay Sea Dee. It has a small oil leak that we can’t find the source of and it now is putting out black smoke from the exhaust on the side of the boat. We have three local diesel mechanics here taking apart the generator and looking over the side of Jay Sea Dee. John is eager to find out the problem but with his limited Italian and their limited English it is anybody’s guess. We finally determine it is something in the water pump and they take it away. The next day it is back and rebuilt and everything is working great. Just remember to have lots of cash on board because they don’t really know what an “invoice” is and they shake their heads no when you ask for “Il Conto Por Favore” (which means the bill please). Get out the calculator and they will show you the amount by punching in the numbers.
Third project was to repair the washing machine. Soaking clothes in a sink works OK but doesn’t get the grime out that the washing machine does. But to get to the washing machine you have to clear out the aft lazerette (another project). John pulls it out, repairs it, and replaces it…Thank God for small favors. We thought we might have to purchase one locally but didn’t quite know how to connect it to the US voltage yet.
Fourth project. The DVD player died over a month ago but we have a portable one that can be used for now. Daughter is bringing new DVD player to Rome with her. But then the Television dies this week. We don’t use it to watch TV but use it to watch DVD’s some nights as entertainment. John is excited though as our neighbor in the marina tells us that the European TV’s allow you to pick up over 200+ channels for free. So off we go to Euronics (similar to Best Buy) by bus and train. We found a TV with the multi-voltage transformer on it so that it could be hooked up to our USA voltage. We were successful and John now has his 200+ stations…all in Italian except for one…BBC World Report. I guess at least now we’ll get some news aboard. It was kind of nice before not knowing what was going on in the world but ignorance is bliss, right?
Fifth project was to polish all stainless and chrome with 3M Polish…we swear by it. It also worked to polish the ships Bell.
Sixth project is to wax the decks with Collinite…also a product we swear by.
Other Misc. projects…too many to list…but items are being brought to Rome by our kids…God Bless Them.
2 comments:
If you leave the TV on while you sleep, maybe John will learn to speak Italian thru Osmosis.
Just make sure it's not Animal Planet. You don't want him to wake up barking.
Great idea! We could certainly use more Italian but we get by.
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