A good week for Fixin' Stuff!

This first week back has been a very good one for getting things done.  It's hard to believe that just last Monday we were in Patrick AFB driving down to the Keys.
We set Tuesday aside for the Cinco de Mayo party at the marina with our Missouri friends Justin and Athena Albright.  I guess the old saw that says it's better to be over-dressed than under-dressed is true.  I was little concerned when I saw Athena dressed in a cute short frilly dress, full make-up and open-toed wedgies that she would enjoy climbing up on ISLAND PRINCESS nor wading sand for a beach party, but she's a trooper!  She climbed the boarding ladder and swung over the forward rail with no squawks!
The party was huge success with Tequila Jello-Shots by Jay, Roast Pig (the whole thing), Goat on the grill, and a beef brisket.  Micky made Mexican-Danish-Italian-Swedish Wedding cookies from scratch.  We all had a fine time!
Wednesday was move-the-boat day.  After relocating the Coach to our semi-permanent spot on the waterfront in the Rock Pile, we moved IP from the seawall to A dock and got her tied down.  The windlass gearbox was the wrong part!  We  hooked up power, started discovering the boat, turned the AC on and left for the night.
Thursday was commissary in the morning and then out to the boat.  Before leaving I emailed pictures to John in Scotland about the problem with the windlass.  He replied promptly, will take the incorrect part back and recognized the part we needed.  I ordered it at 0952 EST.
The boat was hot! Spent the rest of the morning reading the manual, troubleshooting and finally giving up!  Called Dwight Engelhard of Safe Harbor Diesel (he's on the official list for the base) and he said he could come right then!
The Cruisair STX-16 we had was installed in 2010 and Mark Tobin had just had Dwight out to "recharge" it in March.  I was not surprised when he found that the controller was bad and the unit needed refrigerant.  He explained that the new unit used 410a at a much higher pressure and that the unit we had was one of the first and prone to leaks.
Micky and I think that IP will be the last boat we ever buy.  That means we intend to enjoy this boat and will upgrade and fix as necessary.  We had Dwight order a replacement unit.  The surprise is that the new unit will be here the next day and installed in two hours.  Yay!
Friday morning was spent on the internet researching and pricing new electronics and mounts.  Friday afternoon, Dwight called and would meet us at the gate with the new AC!  I went to the PX and checked our mailbox and the new motor/gearbox for the windlass was already there!  I love Fedex!  Scotland to Key West in less than 24 hours and delivered in 30 hours!  The new AC went right in and started cooling the boat down.  Micky and I went out that evening and made Reflectix covers for hatches and ports to cut the sun.
Saturday, the boat was cool, the parts were in hand and the windlass was cleaned and ready to install.
The windlass is a heavy-duty winch for anchor chain.  Consequently, is is just plain heavy!  The deck unit weighs around 25 pounds while the motor and gearbox add another 30 pounds below deck.  I removed the vee berth ceiling and scoped out the wiring.  I sealed the deck unit with 3M 4200 and dropped it in the holes.  Micky started the nuts on the studs while I held the heavy gearbox assembly against the ceiling.  Good job, Micky!  Wiring was straight-forward and the testing was good!  Closed the ceiling and done!
Next major job was the bilge pump switch.  IP has three bilge pumps.  A smallish 1100 gallons-per-hour (gph) for everyday casual water like the condensate from the AC, then a major 3000 gph unit mounted higher with a high water alarm including a remote in the cockpit and finally a Whale manual unit with a handle in the cockpit for no power situations.  The 'Sure Bail' switch had failed and was running the pump constantly.  Mark had clipped the ground lead to stop it ( A favorite trick of his).
I bought a new switch and reinstalled it in the bilge correctly.
I also found both CO alarms in the staterooms disabled the same way.  Since the wire ends were never taped or insulated (even the freezer lugs) I'd guess that Mark thought the ground removal meant no power ever!  Replaced both CO alarms with battery units and capped the wiring.
The Princess is shaping right up!