The Old Man Returns From the Sea and a Broken Fresh Water Pump

Over the next couple of weeks I will be posting my journals along with some photos of our 5-week adventure cruising through the islands of the west coast of British Columbia. It was an amazing journey through pristine waters, lush islands and forests, wild life sightings, wonderfully endless days with choices to do absolutely nothing or to take a hike, swim in the Salish Sea, sleep late, all totally off the grid.

I look forward to sharing my stories, the many lessons I learned about what my boat was capable of doing as well as myself.

We arrived back in our home port of Bellingham, Washington on 10 August 2014 around 1200. Our first stop was the pump out station where we docked on a starboard, bow in tie. Perfect landing in a 5-7 knot wind. Before this adventure I would never have attempted that docking maneuver in anything other than a calm day. The dock is too beat up with water spigots sticking out and the wind always does tricks around that dock that frustrates me. But I've learned a few things about close in maneuvering over the past weeks that I'll share with you in those upcoming blogs.
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Today Leslie and I went down to the boat to do a deeper cleaning--especially the inside. I shampooed the outside really well yesterday when we arrived home from Canada. I'd also refilled the fresh water tank. As we began cleaning I turned on a faucet aboard to clean a sink. I noticed that the water pump was making a noise other than the one it normally makes and not a drop of water came out. Strange. It had run flawlessly the entire time we were away for five weeks.

I opened the hatch cover to the tunnel running down the starboard side of the boat and peered in. I could see the water pump. It wasn't leaking or hot or anything else except that it wasn't pushing water through the water lines.

I carefully disconnected the two water lines (intake and outflow) and out of the intake line came a moderate stream of water--steady and making a wet mess in the tunnel. I didn't panic too much since I knew it would all eventually wind up in the bilge and empty overboard, but the flow did need to be stopped so I didn't any waste water. I crimped the hose and wrapped it with tape to stop the flow.

Disconnecting the 12-volt power to the pump, I next unscrewed the four screws holding the rubber vibration suppressors to the floor. Out came the pump. It looked fine from the outside. A little corroded and rusty but not bad for what remarkably turned out to be the original water pump.

I took it over to Tri-County Diesel to have them look it over and bench test it. Their conclusion was that it was shot and all they could do was order a new one.

I took it to Redden Marine up the street and they told me they hadn't seen a pump that old for some 16 years. They were astounded that it had lasted so long. Their conclusion was that replacement parts were not available and I needed a new pump.

The new Jabsco fresh water pump in place.

The new one, a Jabsco Sensor Max 14 Variable Speed Water Pump is sooooo much quieter. Due to its variable speed it doesn't automatically use 5 amps every time it runs. It senses the pressure needs of the water system and responds with only the amps needed to power the pressure the system requires. It also provides a stronger flow. 

$250 minus the 10% Power Squadron discount and I was out the door. Back at the boat I connected the outflow and intake hoses, wired up the 12-volt power supply and powered up the system. The pump hummed quietly down in the tunnel. Leslie turned on the galley sink faucet and out came water! It works and I did it! NO LEAKS!

It was a bit of a rush job but we still have a lot of summer left for boating and that will require we have an operating water system that provides dish washing, showering and cooking water. So it needed to happen. the new pump will provide us with years of service.