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| New bling |
Oct 2nd 2017
Who doesn’t like new bling?
Who doesn’t like new boat goodies = gear, tools, toys, stuff? Combine the two and you have a winning combo
sure to please.
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| Old faucet |
Our old galley faucet was pretty rough. The environment we live in had taken its
toll. The surface was pitted and when we
returned at the end of this summer, the head was stiff and didn’t want to
swivel. Part of this was my fault. I don’t think I will ever get used to the
corrosion that takes place in this environment.
It still catches me by surprise.
Turns out many “marine grade”
things that are supposedly
maintenance free, actually need special care and on-going maintenance despite
the manufacturer’s claim. Additionally,
the design of this galley faucet was terrible…..as is MOST faucets. It makes NO sense to me that the majority of
faucets are designed so that once you are done using the water and reach to
turn the handle/handles, the water from your wet hands pools behind the faucet
leaving a mess to clean up each and every time.
What genius came up with this stupid design? Seriously, think about most public bathroom,
the sink area is a wet mess because the water shut off knobs allow water to
pool on the counter and eventually, (after enough people) run all over the
counter. Even high end, poshy posh
faucets do this if they are part of that design group. The best faucet in my opinion is single
lever, leaves no water mess.
Yeah, it is a pet peeve of mine.
I despise that water mess.
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| Ugly |
Anyway, we have been casually looking for a replacement
faucet for some time. A fellow Caliber
40 owner replaced his last year with a nice, modern, single handle faucet. Oh…..maybe we should get one. We never quite got around to locating
one. He sent a message at the end of
this season “Don’t bother. It was rubbish and it has began to corrode.” Bummer.
We would keep an eye out for one but this was not a MUST do project.
And then we found it, the perfect faucet. We took an extra day in Ft Lauderdale FL when
flying back to sv Honey Ryder in September.
I don’t like the stress of flying straight through, worrying about making
an international connection. It also makes
for a really long day. And we don’t have
a schedule, so why do it. Besides, the
extra day gives us a chance to do some last minute boat odds and ends shopping
on Marina Mile. *Yes, it is really called that!
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| Shiny |
We went to Sailorman in Ft Lauderdale. It is a huge warehouse place that sells
primarily second hand stuff, closeout items and open box items. All sorts of stuff in various condition from
new in the box to really beat up. You
just never know what you are going to find in there. We walked the isles slowly looking at all
things boatie. Near the end there was an
entire table of galley and head faucets - HIGH END faucets.
I mean really good stuff, top quality with a simple yet sophisticated
design. The perfect design – one handle,
no mess! This stuff looked like it
belonged on a mega yacht. NICE
stuff. I looked at the price. WHOA!
Yep, mega yacht stuff. Tom walked
up next to me. His eyes light up and he
looked at me. “I know! But this is NOT in our
budget, trust me!” His smile
faded. The Sailorman sales girl (that is
a mouthful to say) said “The manager Rob
over there just sold something off this table at a big discount. Make him an offer.” I turned to look at Rob thinking even
if……..there was still no discount that he would approve that we could
afford. Before I could say anything, she
said “Hey Rob. She wants this one. How much will you sell it for?” Oh boy, here we go. Rob came over, looked at the shiny, beautifully
designed galley faucet and said “Hum…..$50
bucks.” Wide eyed with mouth dropped
open as well, I looked at Tom. He
quickly said “SOLD.” Later we carefully wrapped our new galley
faucet in clothes so it wouldn’t get scratched and Tom put it in his carry-on
bag.
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| NICE |
A few days after our return home to sv Honey Ryder, Tom
installed the new galley faucet and we have been enjoying it ever since. It is perfect!! AND no watery mess on the counter
behind. YAY!!!! I would like to think I learn from history so
despite the high quality of our new fantastic faucet, I wanted to be sure I
knew how to take care of it – chrome plated brass. To my surprise – no paper or fibrous
towels. D-oh. On the old one, we usually wiped it down with
those blue & white fibrous,
disposable towelletes. Recommendation is
to use a soft, natural towel, no harsh chemicals.
The installation?
Don’t forget in 2013, Tom cut a big access panel behind the galley sink
area in the settee seatback. See here if you want a reminder. This made
removal of the old and installation of the new much easier.
