And all because we bought a new washing machine from Currys this morning, in the Boxing Day sale, reduced from £299 to £165 and got a bargain. Good energy rating, low water consumption, numerous programs and 1300 spin speed. I was really looking forward to seeing it working in the galley. Now one would think that installing a new washing machine would be easy to do. Well it would be if one lived in a house or bungalow with plenty of space. On a boat only marginally wider then 6ft, it's almost, but not quite, a near impossible task. First disconnect all the machine fittings, unplug and pull the machine forward. Then try to slide a mat under the feet so it can be pulled across the wooden floor. Next remove door handles on drawers because the machine is to wide to fit through the gap. That done, drag the machine to the front doors. Now to get the machine out of the boat. First pull the mud weight from the bottom (took both of us to do this as it was stuck in all the gluttonous mud ) then go fetch a ladder from the workshop so Ian could climb the tree where the mooring rope was tied to and release that.
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| Mud weight is in there somewhere |
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| Untie the mooring rope! |
Start engine and reverse FS back to the towpath. Man handle machine up and over the front door step and into the well deck. Then try to lift it over the gunnel and onto the towpath without doing oneself a mischief! With that mission accomplished carry to car and take the new machine out.
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| Moored on the bank |
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| Washing the mud weight |
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| New out and old in |
Now do it all again in reverse order without damaging the new machine. Get it to the galley and find this machine is slightly wider then the old. This time not just the door handles have to be removed but all the drawer fronts and cupboard doors including the handles on the cooker!
Finally connect the water hose and outlet to the waste pipe. Then slide into place, load the machine and let the wash commence.
Time taken from getting the old out and new in 2 hours 20 minutes!!!! Living on a boat???? No problem
8 comments:
No excuses now for getting dirty...
New washer, new shower...
New clean Irene πππ
Oooo Kevin....it does feel nice to be clean.(: Ian has also just told me that nothing on the boat is now original. Apart from the shower and washing machine, we have also changed the stove, cooker, prop and cratch. Don't think we will be getting rid of FS for some time to come (: Xxx
OK - a question. How do you power your washing machine?
Hi Andrew. We can only do a wash if we run the engine or we are on shore power. Without that it's hand wash only (: Xxx
Wow! While that was some chore--it is great to read and to see pictures of Ian feeling good enough to tackle it all.
Happy new year to you both. Here's hoping our paths cross at last!!
Jaq and LesXX
Happy New Year Jaq and Les. I do so hope that we will meet. We are heading south next year, Thames and K&A, so maybe somewhere on route? Xxxx
So do you have a travel pack or is it through a hefty inverter. I need to make a decision about a washing machine in the next year and in the absence of a travel pack I am looking at options.
Hello Andrew,
We have a 3Kva electrolux travel pack.
Note of caution several of our friends with large inverters have experience problems with running the washing machine on it, although they work okay on the land line!!!!These brands of inverters/ washing machine are unknown to us. Hope this helps Xxx
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