Pump Repair - A Seriously Disgusting Aspect of Being a Liveaboard

Since you've been avidly reading my blog, you know I bought a 30' Sea Ray motorboat and am living on it in lieu of paying exorbitant rent in the Great Boston Area.  All is coming together nicely and I love, love, LOVE my two minute commute.  I'm actually living like a human being instead of an animal, especially after replacing the aerator in the head (bathroom) in order to make use of the hand held shower. This was, of course, after I got the new hot water heater installed.  Later, in the middle of washing dishes, the water slowed to a trickle and then just died.

Naturally, the location of the water pump was not part of my discovery period.  Since I could hear it run, when it ran, I knew it was on the port (left) side, close to the stern/aft (rear).  Exploration begins. Checked the lazarettes (storage areas) in the cockpit, but only found hoses. Then remembered a panel under the berth (bed) in the cuddy with about a hundred screws holding it down. Luckily, my husband had bought a drill when he visited and I was able to remove the screws fairly quickly. It took longer to pull out the junk that I had decided to store in the place (including a new toilet waiting to be installed) and find a place for all the cushions.

Well. I found the pump and the water tank. Yay! However...

When I bought the boat, the boatyard had left the doors open and the cabin was full of water in various storage areas.  The pump compartment was no exception. Trust me. That area is not supposed to be full of gross, sludgy water. Especially since the wires to the pump were submerged in it.

And, when I inspected the wires, I found the same level of abysmal hookup that I had encountered when I fixed the bilge pump. Even if you're not an electrician, you should know the following realities:

1.  Butt connectors should NEVER leave exposed wire (the insulation is what the heat shrink portion bites onto, leaving no bare wire subject to corrosion), 
2. Although tempting, never, ever, EVER twist two wires together and insulate them with electrical tape
3. Wire nuts are not meant to be used in a marine environment - THEY ARE NOT WATERPROOF! And humidity is water. Even if they're in a place where water is not typically found, it happens.  Don't use them!

Unfortunately, all three of these no-no's were used to hook up the pump. And the compartment was flooded, submerging the wires. Bad, very, very bad.  So I cut out the offending wiring and replaced it with professional level connections. And the pump ran!

For about a day...  And then it died while I was washing dishes.

Back to the cuddy, pull out all the junk, including the toilet and the cushions (luckily I hadn't screwed down the panel) and checked the wiring. It was good. Beat on the pump with a hammer. And it started! for about an hour. Died once again as I was rinsing dishes. Back to the cuddy.


The clear mushroom looking thing is a filter. From over a decade of being a liveaboard, I know that ~80% of all issues can be tracked back to filters. Removed the filter and - oh gross! This is the single worst filter I've ever encountered. And yes, I think those little squirmy things are maggots. GROSS!!!





I scrubbed it off, soaked it in hydrogen peroxide (the bleach was in a lazarette covered with cushions and a toilet) and reinstalled it. And the pump ran! Yay! For about an hour. No dishes this time; the filter was so gross I may never eat again.


This time, air was leaking into the pipes and causing air bubbles. After several trips to West Marine and Home Depot (three different types/sizes of plumbing connections), I replaced the semi-rigid pipe with flexible hose and fewer connections. And the pump ran! Yay! For about a day. And then, while washing dishes, it died.

Nothing revived it this time. No wiggling wires, no shaking out air bubbles, filter is clean. Notice the wiring is cleaner as well as the compartment is now dry.

Sooo... I bought a new water pump which will arrive in a couple of weeks. On our other boat, we went through a lot of ShurFlo pumps, which use as their quality control an admonition to buy the extended warranty and just replace them WHEN they fail. That's not an acceptable solution at the best of times, an absolutely horrible solution when blue water cruising. Sooo...  Enter a new type of pump that's a fraction of the cost, a Diaphragm Pump from Five Oceans. Wish me luck!


 And, I think I'm giving up on washing dishes.  The Inn at Bay Pointe delivers :) And this lovely restaurant ensures Lost at Sea is my new favorite rum punch and not my situation, pumps aside.

Living the Dream - in spite of bad pumps :)

Fried Plantains Filled with Pulled Pork and a Habanero BBQ Sauce
served with Lost at Sea (AMAZING  rum drink)