The wind picked up again south of Kaena Point, straight into our teeth, and we started pounding into the seas. On the next bilge-check, it was again plumb-full after only a couple of hours! It MUST be the anchor locker taking in water. It should drain directly into the sea, but maybe there’s a crack or something in the water-proof bulkhead allowing all that water to drain into the bilge instead. In any case, we pumped it empty, motored all the way around the island, and tied onto the pier at Ala Wai at 5 am, July 21, 2014.
In summary:
First the fridge broke right after buying all our provisions.
Then the water rose over the cabin sole north of Oahu.
And finally, the propane system failed.
Some lessons learned:
1) Live on the boat, unhook shore power, and use all items to be used on the trip starting one week before departure. This would have shaken out the fridge issue and many small problems not mentioned early with time to fix them on a stable platform at the harbor.
2) Check all through-hulls before departure (duh)
3) Screw propane sniffers! It’s just an extra complexity that can fail. Also, ensure there is an alternate way to provide fuel to the stove. I’m thinking a simple system such as: Propane tank to switch-activated shut-off solenoid to the stove. Carry a backup solenoid. Make sure you carry fittings to bypass the solenoid as a last resort. Or maybe just an emergency camp-stove…