We’ve have a BIG barnacle problem here in the marina over the past few weeks. The good news is that means the water is very clean. Last year, the city sewer department dumped a bunch of sewage after a tropical storm because of overflow and the bay was ruined for months. This year, things are cleaned up. And, what does that mean? Healthy critters! Lots of ’em!!
“No Tan Lines” has three marine air conditioners. Saltwater is pulled in through thru-hulls (holes under the waterline of the boat) for cooling. That salt water travels through hoses under the floor, etc., and it’s then discharged through other thru-hulls. The problem is that all sorts of critters are sucked into the AC system during the process. We have a strainer but that doesn’t stop microscopic beings from passing through, planting themselves on the side of a hose, and starting to grow. And, while they’re adorable and all (hmmm…), they are completely filling up our hoses every couple of weeks. They’re flourishing like crazy!!
We’ve tried acid washes (that works for a couple of weeks) and putting bromide tablets in our strainer. Today, we added some old pennies to the strainers as well after reading that copper can impede growth.
The ACs were off most of today for the acid wash. It was extremely hot but the problem is now fixed and I’m back at work.
It’s supposed to be pretty brutal this weekend so I’m planning to keep my head below-deck, and I’m going to write, write, write!
If you want to write, too, please join us for the Summer, 2018 24-Hour Short Story Contest! Start-time is 12:00 p.m. (noon) Central Time on Saturday.
Prizes:
1st Place: $300
2nd Place: $250
3rd Place: $200
+ 85 other prizes!
Limits of 500 participants.
Read more (including all the past topics for the last 18 years!) RIGHT HERE.
It’s a real hoot and we hope to see you there!!
By the way, I can’t participate in the contest (since I’m a judge) but I will be corresponding with participants all day while working on my new book. 🙂
RELATED
- 24-Hour Short Story Contest Rules
- Past 1st Place Stories
- All Past Winning Stories
- All Past Topics
- Enter the contest!
Angela Hoy lives on a mountain in North Georgia. She is the publisher of WritersWeekly.com, the President and CEO of BookLocker.com and AbuzzPress, and the author of 24 books.
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Angela is the creator of the Original 24-Hour Short Story Contest!
Learn more here: https://24hourshortstorycontest.com/