Thursday, August 16, 2007

The Reluctant Refrigerator...




New Refrigerator and Washer/Dryer are Finally Aboard!

This has been a very busy week! Among other things, I was losing sleep, trying to figure out how we were going to get the new appliances aboard. I should preface this by noting that anything as large as a refrigerator coming into the Salon (living room) level of this boat has to be lifted first from the dock, over the transom to the cockpit (about six feet), then lifted again over the aft deck weather rail (another seven feet), and then fit through the aft salon door that is only 26" wide.

We purchased the appliances at Lowes, and paid for delivery and installation. Monday the delivery manager called and told me they had arrived, and would be delivered and installed on Wednesday. On Tuesday, he called again and told me they don't install appliances on yachts! We explicitly told the sales person at the time of purchase that they were to be installed aboard our boat. Now, their position was that they couldn't accept liability for damaging the boat while doing the install, and the best they could do was deliver them to the dock! I argued that we had a valid, enforcable contract, and that I was willing to sign a waiver and assume responsibility myself for any damage. Their store manager is a S-head, and would not budge.

The appliance salesman saved the day. He volunteered to bring a crew over on his day off and load the appliances aboard and install what he could, since he had done it before. He is a great guy, and was as good as his word. The washer/dryer was a piece of cake. It was aboard and installed in less than an hour. However, the refrigerator was hell! First of all, we struggled for two hours to remove the old one. It was wedged into its cutout, and had unseen screws bolting its frame to the deck. That thing was going nowhere. We finally beat it into submission and got it out of its hole. Even after removing the refrigerator doors, it barely fit through the aft deck door. The new one is bigger. We finally took the starboard aft deck window out and lifted the new one through it. That took another two hours. Now, in order to install it, along with the new microwave and dishwasher, I need a carpenter to make significant modifications to the galley cabinetry. The refrigerator is working, but is sitting on one side of the salon!

Tomorrow afternoon, I have a carpenter coming to size the job, and he is available next week to do the work, thank goodness!

At any rate, Lowes is crediting me for the installation fees they charged me. They are not high on my favorites list just now, or at least the manager of the Bradenton store isn't.

Good news is that Susan has shipped our household goods out from Arizona, and she will be back aboard with me on Tuesday! I really miss my sweetheart!

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