Posted by Monty
We spent a second day on Cumberland Island, after waiting out a stormy day on the boat. I spent the time trying to fix our wash-down pump, which had stopped washing things down in Pine Island. This pump pulls seawater through a strainer and pumps it into a garden hose type nozzle in the anchor locker, so I can wash the mud, weeds, and shells off the anchor and (more importantly) anchor chain (which goes below decks through a hawse pipe and resides, basically, just under the foot of our bed.) Not washing the primordial ooze off of it creates a very unique scent. Maybe one day I can tell where we are from the smell of the bottom mud.
I was unsuccessful in getting it going, after cleaning the strainer and verifying a clear path to the suction side of the pump. I also disassembled the pump itself and could find no fault with it, so I shelved the project for another day.
Back to Cumberland Island. We were blown away again. Here are some more pictures. They don't do justice. Again.
I was unsuccessful in getting it going, after cleaning the strainer and verifying a clear path to the suction side of the pump. I also disassembled the pump itself and could find no fault with it, so I shelved the project for another day.
Back to Cumberland Island. We were blown away again. Here are some more pictures. They don't do justice. Again.
The next day, we left our anchorage behind Cumberland Island and motored the short distance back south to Fernandina Beach Marina, where we picked up a mooring ball. We were waiting for some weather to move through, and we wanted to explore this town. So we did. It's a really neat little town with shops and some good restaurants (and some not so good ones.) We also needed to wash clothes and provision for the trip north. We did that, too. And, I needed to fix the wash-down pump problem.
Before we left Oriental, we were visited by my good friend Rob. A sailboat owner himself, he brought several things with him that he never used on his boat that he hoped would prove useful on mine. Thanks, Rob!
Among these were a diaphragm pump that he bought as a deck wash-down that proved too cumbersome to use in his application. The pump has been sitting in the deep recesses of Sea Bird's bilge since then. So I went bilge diving. It turns out it is the exact same model number as the pump I now suspected of being bad. (I have three copies of this pump on board, doing different things.) So I swapped the pump out, thinking that would solve the problem.
No joy.
OK. No way two pumps are bad. After double checking everything else, I finally did the hardest thing a mechanic does. I sat down and thought. (This is much less rewarding than doing things with screwdrivers and wrenches, but sometimes is more efficient.)
Not much suction on the inlet side. It's a diaphragm pump. Hummm. I took the pump back off and poured some water in it to prime it. That was all it needed, and it now works like a champ. So now that's done, too.
We have had some wild thunderstorms roll through here, complete with tornado warnings attached. Winds have been clocked at over 45 knots, boats have been blown ashore, and I watched as a dinghy took a Walter Middy and went off to pursue a secret life. It was returned.
Before we left Oriental, we were visited by my good friend Rob. A sailboat owner himself, he brought several things with him that he never used on his boat that he hoped would prove useful on mine. Thanks, Rob!
Among these were a diaphragm pump that he bought as a deck wash-down that proved too cumbersome to use in his application. The pump has been sitting in the deep recesses of Sea Bird's bilge since then. So I went bilge diving. It turns out it is the exact same model number as the pump I now suspected of being bad. (I have three copies of this pump on board, doing different things.) So I swapped the pump out, thinking that would solve the problem.
No joy.
OK. No way two pumps are bad. After double checking everything else, I finally did the hardest thing a mechanic does. I sat down and thought. (This is much less rewarding than doing things with screwdrivers and wrenches, but sometimes is more efficient.)
Not much suction on the inlet side. It's a diaphragm pump. Hummm. I took the pump back off and poured some water in it to prime it. That was all it needed, and it now works like a champ. So now that's done, too.
We have had some wild thunderstorms roll through here, complete with tornado warnings attached. Winds have been clocked at over 45 knots, boats have been blown ashore, and I watched as a dinghy took a Walter Middy and went off to pursue a secret life. It was returned.
So tomorrow, the plan is to escape the confines of Florida and indeed, North America, and head out into the Atlantic for the journey northward to Charleston, SC. Should be about a 24 hour trip on the outside, providing the weather holds. We will drop the lines that tie us to the mooring ball (and the earth), fuel up, water up, and pump out. And with the tanks full and empty, as is appropriate, we will head out.
No storms are predicted. Hopefully it will be smooth sailing.
As the saying goes, Red sky at night...
No storms are predicted. Hopefully it will be smooth sailing.
As the saying goes, Red sky at night...
