s/v YOLO Swab's Log Blog Day 288 Entry 062 Housekeeping Aboard YOLO. Part 6 Non automatic clothes washer.

s/v YOLO You Only Live Once Swab’s Log Blog

Posting Date:  Friday, February 28, 2014
Day 288 Entry 062

Boot Key Harbor and Marina Mooring #W10  http://www.ci.marathon.fl.us/government/departments/marina-and-ports/

Actual Date:  January 27, 2014 Monday    
Weather:   Cold. Cold. Cold.  But no snow!   Temperature dropped to 52 degrees and the wind gusted to 30 mph.  But it is warmer here than most places in the country!

Housekeeping Aboard S/v YOLO  Non Automatic Clothes Washer  Part 6

One had a water pump and one did not!  I never heard of a washer that didn't have a water pump.  How is the water emptied with out a water pump?  I didn't even take the time to find out!  I made my decision:  the Panda electric non automatic with water pump clothes washer and spinner combo was for YOLO and me.
Most of these non automatic clothes washers are made by non US companies.  Now to find a US distributor.   I was able to locate 2 distributors.  Now would the delivery charge be more that the actual washer.

After showing Captain Steve my find, it was his job to figure out if the electricity/ generator/ batteries would support my new appliance and how!

Well we measured the shower stall and found that 2 of the combo models would fit. 

Sea u later.

s/v YOLO Swab's Blog Day 286 Entry 061 House keeping aboard S/v YOLO Part 5 The non automatic washing machine.

s/v YOLO You Only Live Once Swab’s Log Blog

Posting Date:  Friday, February 28, 2014

Day 286 Entry 061

Boot Key Harbor and Marina Mooring #W10 

http://www.ci.marathon.fl.us/government/departments/marina-and-ports/

Actual Date:  January 27, 2014 Monday    

Weather:   Cold. Cold. Cold.  But no snow!   Temperature dropped to 52 degrees and the wind gusted to 30 mph.  But it is warmer here than most places in the country!

Subject:  Housekeeping aboard s/v YOLO. Part 5.  The non automatic washing machine.

Electric, non automatic clothes washer.  OK, so what’s non automatic mean?  I learned that it means, the washer does not automatically fill the tub with water, agitate to wash, drain; fill; agitate to rinse; drain and spin.  Basically, each cycle has to be manually set.  

There is a tub for washing/rinsing and a separate tub for spinning the clothes dry.  I found some models where the washer is a totally separate unit from the spinner.  So the individual units are smaller than the unit with the washer and spinner side by side combo. 

Because of my space limitations this is a great feature!   Powered by electricity so no plunging (therefore no blisters); no cranking; no bicycle riding!   This electric non automatic clothes was looking better and better.  The washer holds 7 to 10 gallons of water and 2 to 3 pairs of dungarees or 5 to 7 shirts or 1 king size bed sheet.  That's doable!  

So what exactly is the 'non automatic' process?   Basically it is manually intensive but definitely not nearly as labor intensive as the crank, cause I will still have use of both of my arms when I am done!  The water is added by the operator (me);  the operator (me) turns the dial to agitate the clothes for 3 to 15 minutes; when the time is up and agitation is finished the operator (me) places the drain hose in the drain (most probably the wash basin) and stand there to make sure it doesn't over flow; add clean water  to the washer for the rinse cycle and turn the dial to agitate (rinse) for 3 to 15 minutes;  then place the drain hose back in the basin to drain the water again and again stand there it make sure it doesn't over flow.  Then the clothes are put in the spinner or centrifuge for 2 to 10 minutes to extract the water.   Then hang them on the line to dry.  Since it’s a sailboat we have plenty of ‘line’, so that’s not an issue!  This machine is definitely not like the one home but a great deal better than anything else I've seen thus far!   This is doable!

Sea u later!

s/v YOLO Swab's Blog Day 270 Entry 060 Housekeeping aboard s/v YOLO. Part 4 Peddle Power!

s/v YOLO You Only Live Once Swab’s Log Blog

Posting Date:  Tuesday, February  11, 2014   
Day 270 Entry 060

Boot Key Harbor and Marina Mooring #W10 http://www.ci.marathon.fl.us/government/departments/marina-and-ports/

Actual Date:  January 27, 2014 Monday    
Weather:   Cold. Cold. Cold.  But no snow!   Temperature dropped to 52 degrees and the wind gusted to 30 mph.  But it is warmer here than most places in the country!

Subject:  Housekeeping aboard s/v YOLO. Part 4 Peddle Power!

Let me explain why the bicycle powered washing machine was ruled out right off the bat!   We have 2 folding bikes on the sailboat that we use for transportation - on land that is.  Granted, s/v YOLO has very good walk around.  Just that; walk around, not suitable for bike riding.  

I totally understand the health benefits of bike riding.  I agree that energy produced by ‘peddle power’ helps the environment.  That’s all well and good – but not my way of washing clothes!   I didn’t even discuss this type of washer with Captain Steve; I just refused!  As I said to Captain Steve – “Gilligan can keep his ‘peddle powered’ washing machine!

 No Way!  Not Happening!  Not In a million years!  Don’t hold your breath!   Not at this stage of my life!   I’ll just through the dirty clothes over board!”

Captain Steve made no attempt to counter my statements.  I guess he got the picture!  We moved on to the next type of washing machine!

Sea u later.  Housekeeping aboard.  The Non automatic washing machine.

s/v YOLO Swab's Blog Day 269 Entry 059 Housekeeping aboard s/v YOLO Part 3 Manual and the Egg.

s/v YOLO You Only Live Once Swab’s Log Blog

Posting Date:  Monday,  February 9, 2014   
Day 269 Entry 0059

Boot Key Harbor and Marina Mooring #W10 http://www.ci.marathon.fl.us/government/departments/marina-and-ports/

Actual Date:  January 27, 2014 Monday    
Weather:   Cold. Cold. Cold.  But no snow!   Temperature dropped to 52 degrees and the wind gusted to 30 mph.  But it is warmer here than most places in the country!

Subject:  Housekeeping aboard s/v YOLO. Part 3 THE EGG

The ‘egg’ which is about 2 feet tall, sits on a table top.  Therefore, it is pretty small and doesn’t hold much.  The clothes are agitated by electricity or manually turning a crank on the side of the ‘egg’.  

 After reading the fine print, I found that it can only handle only 1 shirt at a time!!!  I never found out how much water it holds.  Couldn’t be much, I guess.   Agreed, exercise is good for me but; the ‘egg’ has to be cranked 150 to 200 times, to wash the one item.  Then drain the dirty water, fill it again with clean water, and crank it another 150 to 200 times to rinse.   How long does 400 cranks take – 5 or 10  minutes?  How hard is it to crank??  Are they kidding??   Why bother??  To wash just 10 shirts, I would have to crank the egg 4000 times.  I don’t think it’s worth my arm falling off to wash just 10 shirts!   I guess it’s a good thing that a bed sheet doesn't fit in the egg, since I have no idea how many cranks that would take!   So, Captain Steve and I agreed that eggs are meant for the frying pan not washing machines.  There has to be other options. 

Sea u later.  Housekeeping aboard s/v YOLO. Part 4.

s/v YOLO Day 268 Entry 0058 Housekeeping aboard s.v YOLO Part 2.THE P!LUNGER

s/v YOLO You Only Live Once Swab’s Log Blog

Posting Date:  Saturday, February 8, 2014   
Day 268  Entry 0058

Boot Key Harbor and Marina Mooring #W10  http://www.ci.marathon.fl.us/government/departments/marina-and-ports/

Actual Date:  January 26, 2014 Sunday   
Weather:   Cold. Cold. Cold.  But no snow!   Temperature dropped to 52 degrees and the wind gusted to 30 mph.  But it is warmer here than most places in the country!

Subject:  Housekeeping aboard s/v YOLO. Part 2 THE PLUNGER!

   
Lets look at the pros and cons of each type of clothes washer! We’ll start with the very basic  ‘plunger.’  I’m not crazy about standing over a bucket on the bow of the boat with a plunger hand washer.  Since the buckets that I have hold a total of 5 gallons of water, I might be able to wash 2 shirts.   Using 4 gallons of water I would have to allow for splashing due to agitation so I would have to reduce the water to 3 gallons.  That’s not much water and I have no idea how many agitations or 'plunges' would be needed to wash 2 shirts.  I have spoken to women who started out with this type of clothes washer.  The few that have used it said that after using it a few times they got so many blisters they gave  up and threw it overboard.  Actually I was told that a regular toilet plunger can be used.  I do not think that I can be considered 'high maintenance' even though I am quite repulsed by the idea of washing clothes with a toilet plunger that looks very similar to one used to unclog the toilet.  OK what’s next?

Sea u later!  Housekeeping aboard s/v YOLO Part 3.

s/v YOLO Swab's Log Blog Day 267 Entry 0057 Housekeeping aboard s/v YOLO Part 1

s/v YOLO You Only Live Once Swab’s Log Blog

Posting Date:  Friday, February 6, 2014   
Day 267  Entry 0057

Boot Key Harbor and Marina Mooring #W10  http://www.ci.marathon.fl.us/government/departments/marina-and-ports/

Actual Date:  January 25, 2014 Saturday   
Weather:   Cold. Cold. Cold.  But no snow!   Temperature dropped to 52 degrees and the wind gusted to 30 mph.  But it is warmer here than most places in the country!

Subject:  Housekeeping aboard s/v YOLO.

Performing basic housekeeping chores on a boat is pretty much just like home but with a few exceptions.  I don’t have a dish washer so I wash the dishes by hand – no biggie!  (Yes some sailboats have dishwashers.)   Cleaning the heads (bathrooms) are the same except for flushing the toilet.  On the sailboat, you just press the red button!

Dusting and sweeping is the same.  But vacuuming is a little different though.  I have a small hand held vacuum, so instead of standing up while vacuuming the rug and floor, I vacuum on my hands and knees!  Not great , but do-able.  I must admit that I do tend to ‘postpone vacuuming’, as much as possible!   But when trying to figure out how perform more involved housekeeping chores, such as laundry, I read multitude of magazine articles and spoke with women (crew) who were ‘live aboards’.  All said, “if you have room for a clothes washer, get one!”   I never really paid any attention to clothes washers; I’ve only bought 4 or 5 over the years.  So, I basically bought the one that was the least expensive and handled the biggest load of wash.  I really didn’t understand exactly what an ‘automatic washer,’ I thought all washers were automatic.  Well now I know that they are not!!  After looking at so many, over 20 types – really no kidding I had no Idea!  Actually I think I am an expert now!!!  There are so many different types from the manual stick type that looks more like a toilet plunger than a clothes washer;  

to a manual hand crank tumbler; 

to an electric ‘egg’ thing; 

to a washer agitated by bicycle power, just like the one on Gilligan’s Island

to built in apartment size automatic washer – dryer combos designed specifically for sailboats.  

The clothes washers ranged in price from $20. to $3,000.

We really didn’t want to go through the trouble of having the plumbing, and electricity reconfigured in order to accommodate a built in clothes washer.  These clothes washers were the most expensive and most expensive to install: so we ruled them out.  

Sea u later.  House keeping chores on YOLO.  Part 2.

s/v YOLO Swabs Log Blog Day 254 Entry 0056 OMG 2000+ people!!!!!!!

s/vYOLO You Only Live Once Swab’s Log Blog

Posting Date:  Friday, January  24, 2014   
Day 254 Entry 0056

Boot Key Harbor and Marina Mooring #W10  http://www.ci.marathon.fl.us/government/departments/marina-and-ports/

Actual Date:  January 24, 2014 Friday  

Subject:  2000 people!

YEPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YOU MIGHT NOT BELIEVE THIS, BUT 

2000+ PEOPLE, WORLD WIDE

ARE READING THIS BLOG!!!!!!!!!

Our pictures are listed here - give it a click!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

https://www.google.com/search?q=yolo+sailing+blogspot&num=20&newwindow=1&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=EoHZUoClJdLnsASUkYHADg&ved=0CLsBELAE&biw=1366&bih=653

THANK YOU!   THANK YOU! THANK YOU!  THANK YOU!  THANK YOU!  THANK YOU!

To all of our readers and advertisers!!!!!!!!

Sea u later!!!

s/v YOLO Swab's Log Blog Day 253 Entry 0055 No Man Is An Islan But Our Boat is! Part 4

s/vYOLO You Only Live Once Swab’s Log Blog

Posting Date:  Thursday, January  23, 2014   
Day 253 Entry 0055

Boot Key Harbor and Marina Mooring #W10  http://www.ci.marathon.fl.us/government/departments/marina-and-ports/

Actual Date:  January 17, 2014 Friday. 

Subject:  No Man Is An Island But Our Boat Is!  Part 4

So basically the boat is set up as its own island!   We can live ‘on the hook’ (translation for land lubbers - at anchor, or not attached to shore electricity) for 3 months. Based on Captain Steve’s calculations the diesel fuel should last more than 3 months, but we don’t want to get caught short!   There are so many remote places that we want to visit and in order to go there we knew we had to be totally self sufficient!   

So we can be totally independent for as long as 3 months or as long as we are still talking to each other – which ever comes first! 

 We are ready to set out to find those remote places.

Sea u later!  Now when and where to go! 

s/v YOLO UPDATE WITH TREE PICTURES Day 237 Entry 0046 Party like a local! 7

s/v YOLO You Only Live Once Swab’s Log Blog

Posting Date:  Tuesday, January 7, 2014   
Weather:  53 degrees   Sustained winds of 20 to 25 mph with gusts and up to 35 to 41.     

Day 237 Entry 0046

Boot Key Harbor and Marina Mooring #W10  http://www.ci.marathon.fl.us/government/departments/marina-and-ports/

Actual Date:  December 31, 2013 Tuesday  

Subject:  Party like a local. 7  UPDATE WITH TREE PICTURES!

Moving on we headed towards the center of town to search out the great Bed and Breakfast  we stayed in previously.   We found the Old Towne Manor, on Eaton just off Duval Street, right were we left it!  This place is great!!!  http://www.booking.com/hotel/us/eatonstreet-keywestfl.html?aid=347990&label=sppctrip-hotel-577503_xqdz-_pool-com_slice-99999&utm_source=tripad&utm_medium=SPPC&utm_content=images&utm_term=hotel-577503&lang=en-us&utm_campaign=US&trip=UswE-wreAnYAAEbZFDAAAAAT;inj=1

This is the actual room we stayed in, but the best part in not in the picture though!

http://www.oldtownmanor.com/Rooms/Lime-tree.aspx  The bathroom was added on to the guest room.  Because the owners did not want to cut the very large tree down to accommodate the bathroom!    They built the bathroom around the tree – literally!  The tree is over 4 feet around, over 60 years old and grows through the floor boards and right through the roof!   You have to side step between the tree and the wall to get to the toilet!  The funny thing was that when I booked the room the clerk did mentioned that there was a tree in the bathroom  but didn't mention the size or height so I thought it was something similar to a potted palm.  OK not a problem.   So I never mentioned it to Captain Steve.  Well when we got there, he was bringing in the bags and immediately noticed the tree.  I was on the patio talking to the manager, when he came out and asked if I new there was a tree in the bathroom.   

The manager immediately replied for me, saying that he told me about the tree!  I guess other guests have had a problem with the tree!  I looked at both of them and asked what the problem was, as I walked into the room! 

Upon seeing the tree, I declared that I was under the impression that I thought it was a potted palm and this is definitely not a potted palm!  Then Captain Steve asked, ‘Did you pay extra for the room with the tree?’   I guess he knows me all too well – I didn't but I would have have paid extra – it was GREAT!!!!!!  Well we checked - the tree is still there! 

s/v YOLO Swab's Log Blog Day 251 Entry 0054 No Man Is An Island But Our Boat Is! Part 3

s/vYOLO You Only Live Once Swab’s Log Blog

Posting Date:  Tuesday, January  21, 2014   
Day 251 Entry 0054

Boot Key Harbor and Marina Mooring #W10  http://www.ci.marathon.fl.us/government/departments/marina-and-ports/

Actual Date:  January 17, 2014 Friday. 

Subject:  No Man Is An Island But Our Boat Is!  Part 3

Since we have a reverse osmosis system (aka water maker) we don’t need to go to a dock to fill our water tanks.  I was very leery about desalinated water – really very leery.  I thought that we would just use it only for washing and not drink it.   While on the dock at Boot Key Harbor I met a man from Point Pleasant, NJ (no less).  During the conversation he mentioned that he worked for the water department at Ft. Dix.  So I asked him about the desalinated water systems – he said that it works great!  He said that the armed forces use reverse osmosis systems extensively for drinking!   He has a system on his boat!  After mentioning the system we had – he volunteered that your system is much better than mine!  So drink up!  Well I thought I would give the reverse osmosis water a try!   I was very surprised that it is crystal clear!   We conducted our own taste test using 2 identical glasses (yes I had to 'barrow ' form a restaurant) 2 glasses (OK 2 small brandy snifters) for this test  since we only have plastic glasses on the boat!   We each took a turn filling one glass with the bottled water and the other the desalinated water and then the other would drink it.   Neither Captain Steve nor I could tell the difference!  Can you tell the difference????

Sea u later!  
Subject:  No Man Is An Island But Our Boat Is!  Part 4