We were very excited about doing another overnight cruise in our C&C 27 this weekend, but when I went out to prep the boat on Thursday night I made the mistake of checking the water
pump. I noticed water beneath it on our last sail, and sure enough there was a fair bit of water coming out of its "weep hole" as I ran the engine, and more at higher revs.
In the dark that night, I removed and inspected the
pump without losing mission critical bolts into the bilge. I had two extra shafts and with mounted impellors, so I installed one and put it back in place. The result was that it leaked even more.
Wanting to cruise, I contacted Moyer Marine on Friday and had them overnight ($$$) one of their improved water
pumps (no grease cup, easy impellor access) and a rebuild kit for the old one (to rebuild and keep as a spare onboard).
Saturday morning, the
pump and rebuild kit shows at 11:15, but I finally notice that the right angle connectors for the in/out hoses don't come with the new
pump. I would have to remove and switch over the old ones. So much for my "slap it in and sail in an hour" plan.
I went to the boat and pulled the old
pump. As feared, the right angle hose connectors appear "one" with the
pump and won't budge. Drive to local marine engine shop for new ones, but they are closed. Drive to brother's house, and he helps me rebuild the old
pump (knocking out old internal seals, putting in new ones).
In the end, I have my rebuilt
pump in and running fine. We did a two hour sail, and the
pump is perfectly dry and pushing more water than ever through the system. The new
pump is untouched, but I think I'll locate the right angles and keep it as a brand-new spare on the boat.
Moral of story: it's hard to think about all the needed parts in advance, and having a spare
pump aboard for "at sea" repairs might be meaningless if you can't get everything switched over.
Next adventure: the
fuel pump. Again, I think I'll order the new and improved model from Moyer, along with a rebuild kit for the old one for a spare.
Jim H
p.s. the pain of being crushed under the lazarette to access the
pump was getting pretty extreme when I finished. I finally got smart enough to cram towels around the block to prevent tools or bolts from accidentally sliding into the bilge, and I should have had more padding under my shoulder that I kinda crushed when I had to use both hands on the job.
Linear Mode
