The Proof Is In the Pool

If there was ever any doubt as to how effective 'Huey,' our Hayward Pool Vac Ultra was at doing his job in the pool, maybe these two photos will set your mind at ease.

Because the pool was too cold for several days, or weeks, I never ventured into the pool. There were some other problems like the main pool pump has been sucking air through a minuscule crack in its case (that I can't find), and other things like the solar heater pump not working, etc., etc.

Anyway, suffice it to say, that the pool didn't get the attention lately that it needed. As a consequence, we had an algae bloom that grew quickly. I dosed the pool with algicide. That was fine, but I needed to be able to vacuum the detritus from the algae to make the bottom and sides of the pool appear pristine once again.

Since the pump was sucking air, when it shut off, it tended to blow Huey off his hose, which meant I would have to go into the water to retrieve him and reconnect him to the hose.

The dead algae left an even coating over the whole bottom of the pool and the sides as well. I decided I needed to let Huey do his thing, and since he was working and showing how well he worked, I thought it behooved me to take a photo or two to show just how well he was working.

Huey Hard At Work

Yes, I still have to go around and brush down the pool sides, and hand vacuum the spa and steps, but that's like an hour job for the whole thing.

Different View, Still Working

After all that, I have to backwash the filter to get rid of the dead algae that becomes trapped in the filter. But, as soon as all that's done, it'll be all pristine again.

Huey Had Surgery

Our erstwhile pool boy, Huey, had surgery today. We knew for a few weeks that it was coming. Still when it arrives, it's exciting.

We'd been waiting for a package to come in the mail. Parts necessary to rehab Huey. For example, his shoes. his old ones had lost too much rubber and Huey simply could not run around the way he wanted to.

Of course, he was nervous as we carried him into surgery. But he's a strong boy. We knew he'd come out of it in fine fashion.

Huey Apprehensive About Surgery

We put him on the operating table, making sure we had all the necessary surgical tools immediately to hand.

Huey On the Operating Table

Just to help ensure there were no slip-ups, we had our written plans describing all the processes of the days procedures, all ready and available.

Surgery Requires a Plan

Surgical supplies and replacement parts were all present and accounted for, having made the 3,000 mile journey without a problem

Rehab Parts Shipped In

Surgery commenced with a quick incision to the main body cavity. This is one of those odd organs that we're not completely sure what function it fulfills.

Under the Knife

Immediately under that is the main 'rib cage' you might say. All of the components of today's surgery are contained in this region - flaps, wings, and shoes.

All Parts for Surgery Are Here

A rare glimpse into the 'heart' of Huey, his turbine. Sort of like Captain Picard's replacement heart, all turbine, no valves, no pumping in the traditional sense, just lots of power.

Open Turbine Surgery

First up, Huey's shoes. In the photo below, the old shoe is on the right. if you look closely, you can see just how much it has worn. So much so, that his forward movement had come virtually to a standstill, making surgery of paramount importance.

New and Old Shoes

They were a bit tight to fit, but once in place, looked fully capable for the job.

Next came Huey's side wings. These flexible appendages help extend the vacuum sensitive area as Huey traverses the pool. It's easy to see just how much the old wings had word . The wing on the left is just about half the size of the replacement on the right.

Wings Replaced-Old and New

Last came the flaps - front and back. These help Huey maintain suction as he glides apparently effortlessly across the pool.

His Flaps Get Replaced Too

Both the front and rear flaps are spring-loaded. You can see where they tie in through the two photos below. It was touchy getting them both reattached. Although the flaps are somewhat flexible, it was still difficult to make the reattachment.

This spring must rest on a flat part of the roller.

Ties in on a Flat Part

Whereas this one fits into a groove.

Where the New Springs Clip in

Finally, we reached the point where the surgeon can close up, feeling very good about his patient's prognosis and chances for the future.

Closing Up

Over in the recovery ward, a quick peek in shows us that Huey is raring to go. He's more than anxious to get back to work in the pool.

Looking Confident and Ready to Go

Speaking of pool, after a final exam by the surgeon, Huey gets the green light - he's able to jump back in the pool and get to work. In fact, here he is, chasing leaves and toes with equal abandon.

Happy as a Clam and Hard at Work

Now for something just a little different. Have you ever had trouble finding I.N.K. Supplies here in Corozal? Some folks have in the past. Not any more, I'll bet. As I told Dianna, you could be blindfolded and in a dark closet and still be able to spot the store. They're new paint job is vibrant, alive and oh, so bright. Wow! We could've painted the inside of our house to match!

Trouble Finding I N K Supplies?

Under The Knife

Huey, who has been out of commission for about a month, was waiting for some replacement parts to come in and of course, for the surgery to be accomplished.

Sparing no expense, we brought in a noted natorius stagnum (swimming pool) surgeon, Dr. Ramon Seinfeld, to perform the delicate and time-consuming surgical procedure (the operation took just under two hours). This doesn't take into account the month of waiting for the necessary body parts to be specially couriered down here to Belize.

Anyway, after scheduling the operating theatre,Dr. Seinfeld was gracious enough to allow us to shoot the entire procedure for posterity.

Here's the good doctor (without putting too delicate a description on it) 'opening up' the patient.

Huey's Operation Underway

As you can see Huey's Access Cover (that's the technical term) was relatively easy to open. Although, to be sure, opening the cover had little to do with the surgery at hand. It was done more as an exploratory activity for those students of poolology in the audience.

Removing the Access Cover

As Dr. Seinfeld explained, there's two major systems in Huey - his propulsion system and his turning system. Of course they work 'flipper in fin', so to speak, but they are two completely separate systems.

Below, you can see the major organ of the turning system, the so-called cone gear and associated smaller gears. The hose that connects to the pool skimmer (stagnum espumadera - named after the Spanish surgeon who discovered its purpose) connects to the top of the cone gear.

Cone Gear (Controls Turning)

The cone gear is actually turned by the much smaller inner gears (interius anni - for those following in their textbooks).

Inner Gears (Also For Turning)

Here we see Dr. Seinfeld preparing to clean the intake screen, which, it is thought, allows a constant stream of water to keep the medium turbine (turbina de medio) and associated gears cool and lubricated.

Rear Intake Screen (For Medium Turbine)

The oval piece above  with the two small holes is the housing for the medium turbine, which you can see opened up below.

Medium Turbine (Controls Turning)

With the medium turbine removed, you can see the water inlet port of the housing. This provides the power to complete the turning system. It, in effect, turns Huey' entire body, more or less keeping the hose stationary, thus allowing Huey to turn as he moves effortlessly about the pool.

Medium Turbine Housing Showing Inlet Ports

The propulsion system is what allows Huey to actually move about the pool. The main turbine (you can see it a bit further along in the operation) has two large bearing assemblies, which are shown below. Both were in a sad state. As Dr. Seinfeld removed the main turbine the bearing on the left of the picture completely disintegrated.

Broken Main Turbine Bearings

The main turbine (turbina principalis) sits in and is supported by the so-called 'A-Frame', shown below. The bearings, that I had found in the leaf trap a month ago were the first signs from Huey that surgery was necessary, came from the completely broken bearing you see below. In fact, the other three bearings, Dr. Seinfeld reported were almost in as bad a state. We were able to secure viable replacements for all these parts.

Broken and Worn Out A-Frame Bearings

According to the Board of the Academy Natorius Stagnum Medicorum, the organization certifying Dr. Seinfeld, the lower bumper assembly is obsolete and is seen in fewer cases. However, the good doctor felt that since Huey's assembly was still in good order, he wanted to leave it in place, and felt that Huey would feel more complete with it.

Lower Body and Bumper Assembly

So, the surgery progressed. Finally, at the end, after all the screws and what-nots were reattached, here's all the old and worn out parts. You can see the main turbine (the black thing) so you have an idea of what it is.

Old Parts Replaced By New Kit

Here's Huey in the recovery wing of the hospital. Already he's getting fired up and 'rarin' to go' as they say.

Huey in Recovery

Yesterday afternoon, we took Huey from the hospital to his home in the pool, to see how he fared with the surgery. He took to it 'Like a duck to water', so to speak. The operation was a success in every sense of the word.

We owe a deep debt of gratitude to Dr. Ramon Seinfeld for his expertise and caring, and once again, we express our thanks to him for letting us photograph his excellent surgical techniques in rehabilitating Huey.

PS - As a sort of post-script, when we bought Huey as a re-manufactured item on Amazon, he cost about $250.00 US. Tallying up the parts list, if we were to purchase separately, each part needed to make a complete Huey, it would cost us over $793.00 US - shipping not included.

A Sunday Morning Grab Bag - On a Sunday No Less

Hoo, boy! Talk about being on the ball. It's been quite a while since I've done one of these Grab Bag postings, and the fact that it'll actually be posted on a Sunday morning, just gets one all a-quiver, y'know?

We're going to do it a tad different today. Starting with the most recent item and work our way back and we'll see just how far we get.

Right out of the bag is one of the new restaurants here in Corozal. La Louisianne, on  Seventh Avenue (Northern Highway), where Club Malibu used to be. Well, what can I say? I had written earlier with some hopes of Cajun cuisine. Near as I can tell, that'd be one dish on the menu, which is on the wall right outside their front door. We haven't eaten there as yet. Might give breakfast a try.

La Louisianne's Menu

I took both of these shots yesterday morning during 'walkies'. I was struck by the near silhouette presented by the guys here hauling wet concrete up a home-made ladder, two straight flights up to the roof. Keep in mind that a five gallon bucket of wet concrete weighs on the order of 100 or more pounds. And this is a fairly large building, making for a big pour. A lot of hours going up and down, up and down.

Two Flights Straight Up

This next one looks rather strange. Believe it or not, it's the newest boat launching ramp in Corozal. I'll take some more detailed photos of it when I pass by after the sun has come up. For now, I was quite taken with the jumbled look in the pre-dawn earliness. Looks like something got bombed to smithereens.

The New Boat Ramp

This long stretch of mauve, violet, aubergine, purple, or whatever you want to call it, is Dianna's pride and joy - at least when it's in bloom. It's garlic vine. The leaves and the flowers do have a definite garlic smell, but it doesn't produce any garlic. Dang it, and we love garlic too. Sure is gorgeous when you walk by. Unfortunately, now the flowers are going away, but for the month or so that they are here it's a great sight to see.

Garlic Vine Blooming

Now, this little devil, looks like he's under water, right? Well, he is! This is Huey, our automatic pool vacuum. He's named after the little 'droids' in the movie 'Silent Running' with Bruce Dern. Thanks to Vivien (our across the street neighbor) for bringing down the great eyes and foam material for the eyebrows.

I glued them on with silicone adhesive. Don't they just look terrifying? Huey loves to attack toes whenever they're on the pool bottom.

Huey's New Look

This shot is taken in the vicinity of the Hokol Kin Guesthouse. I thought the Visitor Center clock tower (which is being rehabbed) and the sunrise made a nice shot. the bright lights are the huge spots that light up the basketball court on the far side, right next to the Thunderbolt pier.

Pre-Dawn Down Town

This mural is on one of the little traffic islands at the intersection formerly known as 'Cannon Corners'. Basically, at the intersection where White Saphire Gifts and Technicell Cell Phone Repair are located. I'd like to get a better shot of it one of these days. I'll just have to take time to do that.

Updated Sign

Every now and then, we get RV's (recreational vehicles, for those who don't know) who come to town, stop along the waterfront for a day or two and then move on. Most seem to be doing rather extensive journeys, like Tierra del Fuego, Argentina to Barrow, Alaska or something equally strenuous. This one, looked like it had a lot of DIY modifications to it. I don't have a clue where they were from/bound. At the time of day I pass by most of the time, I'm sure the occupants wouldn't be inclined to engage me in conversation. I mean, they haven't even started their coffee pots yet.

Staying Along The Waterfront

Ok. Well, I guess that's about it for this session. If I find more of interest, I'll see about getting it up here on the Intertubes.

Till then, Cheers

A Helping Hand

Every now and then things happen. For instance, a couple of months ago, the floor drain in our pool somehow managed to make one of its two stainless steel screws come loose. It didn't go missing, it was just loose.

Well, then it did go missing. But that was only after we got Huey - our automatic pool vacuum. He cruised over the drain cover and sucked that screw right outta there. Of course, it shot on through his hose and into the filter. Which I don't really want to go through the process of opening that just to retrieve a screw.

Anyway, the remaining screw managed to work itself loose as well. Huey, on his travels, managed to swing the floor drain cover almost 180-degrees out of kilter. If nothing else, it looked bad and dangerous too. Of course, we have the floor drain turned off, but visitors don't know that and assume it's just careless management on our part. Which I guess it is.

So, that was why Cody and I braved the 80-degree water the other day to do a couple of things.

1. Retrieve the remaining screw, so I could take it and see if there was a comparable screw to be had at Lano's or National (a couple of hardware stores in town),
2. Purchase the replacement for the missing screw.

Cody had no problem removing the remaining screw. I took it and lucked out finding a replacement stainless steel screw at Villa's Hardware.

On my return, Cody was going to install the missing screws. At first, he tried using a screw driver and just himself to install the screw. No go. As soon as Cody put any pressure on the screw, it forced him back away from the screw.

Complicating the process, was Huey, our automatic pool cleaning specialist. Right after Cody positioned the lid over the drain, he came up to grab a couple of screws. While he was on the surface, Huey cruised over and attempted to make off with the cover. Cody had to chase him down and retrieve it from the little thief.

That's where I came in. Cody said he was having trouble zeroing in on the screw anyway. What with his one good eye and all, it's no wonder (he is missing an eye, just in case you're wondering) - and he's always talking about his "one good eye".

So, I braved the frigid waters and jumped gingerly from the last step completely into the water. I did have a snorkel mask with me, which I promptly put on. I asked Cody to hold me down under the water as inserted and tightened the screws.

As soon as I was underwater, I sensed an alien presence. Sure enough, out of the corner of my eye, I spied Huey, once more attempting to horn in and make off with the screws and/or the lid again. As you can see below, he's pretty persistant.

Huey Getting In On The Action

Eventually, this gambit worked quite well. Even though I had to come up for air a couple of times, it was no problem to communicate that fact to Cody (frantic thrashing around worked well) and he let me up to catch a quick breather.

Cody Holding Me Under

At the end, we managed to keep Huey from stealing everything and we got the two screws back in place, thus securing the drain cover, ensuring safety for all who use the pool.

A Job Well Done

That is, as long as you stay away from Huey. In addition to trying to steal screws and the lid, he loves to nibble on your toes and otherwise sneak-attack when you lease expect it. For a simple mechanical tools, he sure has developed a definite personality and has become quite popular in the pool - in addition to being the primary thing responsible for the sparkling nature of the pool.

Monday, Monday

I looked up 'busy Monday' on Google and it came back immediately, as it does, with fifty-two million hits. Fifty-two million busy Mondays all at the same time? Just a little overwhelming. One was enough for me, thanks.

So, what was the first thing you thought of when you read the title? A quick flash of the Mamas and Papas, perhaps? If that's the case, you can be confident you're dating yourself. That was a hit in 1966. It was the only number one hit they ever scored.

All right, it was a busy Monday, but I didn't say I was busy all day.

First thing this morning, I had to go down to the pool and see our new arrival, courtesy of Roy and Son's Trucking. It was a brand new Hayward Pool Vac Ultra - a pool vacuum. Cute little thing too. It reminded us of the three little poker-playing (and cheating) robot drones in Silent Running with Bruce Dern.

Huey At Work

He named them Huey, Duey and Louie. We picked Huey as the name for our little drone. He's happy to spend his day just cruising around the bottom of the pool.

One of the other things we got (seemed like Christmas) was a weather station. I spent part of the afternoon figuring out how to put it together.

Weather Or Not

As promised yesterday, here's a shot of our new guesthouse stove. It's almost ready to be hooked up. It's just waiting for me to finish hooking up the gas lines. We decided to only go with one tank, so I had to run a gas line under the pool deck around to the utility room to supply gas to the water heater.

The Stove

I spent a good deal of time this morning under the deck hooking up the gas line. Of course it wouldn't be right if no glitches appeared. We have one - the gas line is too short. So, tomorrow or Thursday, when I go get the gas tank from Cinty's, I'll pick up another length of gas line.

The last thing on the list to tell you about was that Cody was busy building a small pad for the gas tank to sit on. Here he's getting ready for the last bucket-full of concrete.

Cody Building the Pad