It became an interesting start of the day, it was neither the sunrise nor the morning tea!
Bluewater rinsing into the bilge at the time I switch on the generator, which I normally do each morning to give the batteries an extra bulk charge before the solar panels take over. The whole story started already yesterday, when – by chance – I heard the bilge pump switching on after I switched the generator off. Wondering, why the bilge pump started, which should not happen. This tiny little bilge pump is only allowed to pump water out of the bilge after extensive use of aircon as the condensate from the aircon compressor units flows into our bilge. In other words, no bilge pump if no aricon and I have not used the aircon since we left La Gomera. Tasting the water made it clear, blue water = sea water.
Today morning I was on my toes after switching on the generator again as per the routine. A bluewater rinsing flow again into the bilge, not much but too much to ignore.
Therefore the day started with engine room yoga instead to identify the leak. I suspected the muffler, which sits below the generator and is impossible to access by all means. Nevertheless, my hands and eyes got into places on this boat they have never been. For the latter one I took the help of a small mirror, one of the important tools on a boat. No leak could be identified. No option then to remove the cover of the generator, which again is a balancing act but worked. I saw the culprit straight away: Seewater pump lid leaking and spraying water around! Damned.
There is no one else to blame than Jabsco and myself. I inspected the impeller before leaving from Lanzarote and did not perform a test run afterwards considering this to be a routine work, done often, never had a leaking pump cover. I should have tested as the design of this cover is not only cheap but also prone to fail looking at the paper seal, which should keep the water inside the pump. With double care and a kiss on the seal I installed a new one. Testing is ongoing over the next few days.
Nevertheless, I am happy that our adventure can continue as I saw myself and Susan already sitting in Mindelo with a broken muffler. No fun. It would be a deal breaker to proceed. Happy also, that I have the right spares onboard and got them handed out from the onboard warehouse (!) personal to fix this issue. Another hour happy yoga with some deep inhaling and exhaling breathing exercises at the end of the job.
We can now watch the ocean again and its deep blue colour outside our bilge.
Fair winds…
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