Another Answer to The Question......

...."What do you do all day?"

While looking in the dark recesses for a suitable home for our new temporary back stay adjuster I came across a spare water pump. I had originally thought it was for our shower sump,which we never use anyway, but it is for our pressure water system. Bonus! Since our pressure water pump was displaying symptoms of needing service; spitting air and running on longer than normal, I decided to switch it out.   A couple of hose connections, two wire connections four mounting screws and some physical contortions, I said this shouldn't take long! ( Note to self: don't even think that! )

You will note in the first photo that the pump ( notice how new it looks) came equipped with nylon barbed fittings. One of which has a small valve to prevent back flow. The nylon fittings lying beside the pump are what was in use on the existing installation. Note that they are threaded. Which necessitated the removal of the other fittings lying there.  

Now for a bit of history. At the beginning of the season we had a water issue that led me to snug up the valved fitting. It snapped off at the pump with very little effort. Fortunately I had one spare which was carefully installed. Since this was the second to be replaced in two years I immediately set about finding replacements. No need to guess, there were none in St. Lucia and none in Le Marin, Martinique. What to do? Go online of course. There are lots in the U.S. but shipping would be a hassle and they are just for spares besides Cat Tales is coming down through St. Martin, the mother lode of all parts nautical! There are none in St. Martin!! No cause for concern. 

Back to the project at hand. You can probably see where this is going. I managed to get the new pump installed but broke the last of the threaded valve fittings and therefore had to modify the installation to accommodate the barbed fitting. The pump is ready to go. I had already tested the motor so with great confidence I threw the switch, the motor whirled, the pump jiggled, the water refused to flow? The instructions (yes I used instructions, after I had it installed mind you) suggested that air was getting in through a loose connection. So with nut driver and wrenches I went to snug up the connections. (See note in history regarding snugging) SNAP, the other fitting this time.  Fortunately a spare was at hand. Still no joy. By now it is Sun Downer Time, work is done for the day. Just have to sleep on it! Patience was in a bit of a deficient as well. We have a foot operated pump so we could get water just inconvenient.

Well, next day a plan is in place to get some brass fittings and hose and modify the installation. I also have a spare diaphragm to repair the old pump. It's off to town we go but first a stop at Salt Scar III (John and Sue from Toronto) is in order to say hello and welcome them back from their "vacation" in Vegas and Mexico. (It was Sue's sister's 60th birthday and they did it up well!) As we step aboard John remarks that he heard we were having pump problems and offered to let me rummage through his spare parts. (There are no secrets in the world of VHF radio communication) Wouldn't you know, John is better stocked than all the chandlerys in the Carribbean! His pricing was exceptional as well since he no longer had that style of pump aboard. So for the price of raising his water line we were all set. But now my plumbing supply box is too small for all my new spare parts. 

Back to the boat, new diaphragm in old pump, convert to barb fittings, heat hose and press on to nylon valved fitting, carefully thread into pump body, use brass barbed fitting on intake side, contort self to install assembly, connect electrical, throw switch, watch water flow, magic!

This photo shows the final installation. By the way, the black hose is the sink drain which had to be removed to do all this. Besides stinking,the gasket was in pieces and needed to be replaced. I was prepared to make one but John has one of those too! Bless Him!

This gives you an idea of the space available.

Just to wrap up this saga, I disassembled the new pump and could not find anything amiss. The only anomaly was that the diaphragm was somewhat thinner than the used spares that I have.  So I swapped it out and bench tested the pump.  It threw water all over the cockpit! Back to storage it goes.

Brian

Back in St Lucia

We decided to take the first available weather window back to St Lucia with Dawn (my sister) and Laurie on Cat Tales. Since the winds have been howling and we had a very small opportunity we sailed on Tues Mar 3 rd. The winds were about 15-20 knots and waves of about 1.5 -2 meters. It was a nice sail and only one small squall where winds hit 28 or so. Nothing broke and that was our most exciting news!  Once we anchored we have stayed put and let the winds blow around us. Dawn and Laurie will leave here tomorrow to head south to Bequia where they expect company on Mar 19. The weather is not perfect for their trip but not bad either. 

We have had lots of fun with them here where we know lots of people. The social life as always has been busy. We went for a great hike this morning to Cas en Bas on the north coast of the island. On that beach they do a lot of kite surfing,horseback riding and wind surfing. We then rewarded ourselves with a chicken roti and a beer to balance the calories we had expended. Last evening as we had sundowners on another boat Jimmy from Toronto drifted by on his dinghy to catch the sunset. As the season progresses the sun moves behind Pigeon Island so he has to leave his boat to see it. A funny sight indeed. 

We now have less than 4 weeks before heading home so the check lists will come out. Still lots of time for play. 

A walk to Saline Point

Eight of us went for a great walk on Friday along the coastline to Saline Point. It is about a one hour and fifteen minute walk one way. It is a very diverse walk with large shady paths, dry rough rocky paths with cactus and scrubby growth and lovely soft sandy beaches. At the end of the first leg you are rewarded with a great beach to swim and a choice of many inexpensive BBQ spots. The 8€ lunch of BBQ chicken is quite a deal. Michelle opted for a American steak sandwich which turned out to be a broken up hamburger patty in a large bun and the French fries also in the bun. Quite unusual but she ate it all. Sometimes you never quite know what you are going to get when you order in French. 

On Saturday we had some excitement. We had loaded up a lot of laundry and headed out to a large clean and modern laundramat. Normally I just do small bits in a bucket with a plunger but every now and again a really good wash is a must. We got the job done and had great wifi to boot. As we returned to the boat in a wild choppy sea a large catamaran that was anchored ahead of us when we left was drifting by us. At one point there was only a couple feet between us. There were four men on board manually pulling on the anchor chain in order to release the bridle which would allow them to let out more chain. The owners were not on board so they could not start the engines. We immediately started our engine and prepared to move if needed. Just as the cat was bearing down on another smaller yacht a dingy flew up with two guys on it and one of them immediately jumped on board the cat and opened the engine hatches. Next thing you know the engines are running and the boat is under control and we hear the anchor windlass working. According to Laurie on Cat Tales who had a view from the stern it's likely they hot wired the engines. Interestingly they pulled up a rather large Delta anchor and left the neighbourhood!  After some time cruising the anchorage and trying a couple of spots they settled down nearer the shore and in a somewhat sheltered area. I wonder if the owners were surprised? Fortunately we didn't have to up our very deeply buried  Manson Supreme anchor. The winds have been quite strong over the last few days with gusts of around 25-30 knots. So anchors do tend to drag even though you think you are set well. The wild winds do make for great energy though. The new wind generator is working well. 

So as we sit and wait for the weather to lighten up so we can sail we are enjoying our time here.