As I walked into the cabin last night I noticed the carpet was wet outside the doorway to the head. I asked Brian if we spilled something and he was not aware of anything being spilled. I shrugged it off and went to sleep. This morning I woke up and thought I heard water splashing (not unusual on a boat) and thought of the wet carpet. The wet spot seemed larger so I laid on the floor and put my ear to the wet carpet. It sounded like a waterfall under the floor. After a cup of coffee we moved the carpet and removed the wood flooring to find the Gulf of Mexico doing it's best to enter my stateroom. The packing nut on the stuffing box had come completely unscrewed allowing water to pour in around the propeller shaft. My poor bilge pumps were fighting outside their weight class. I threaded the packing nut back into place and tightened it until there was just a drip of water coming through ( a small amount of water is needed to lube the shaft). I swear I heard the bilge pumps sigh. Later in the day Brian confided that he could tell I was nervous yesterday when I kept checking the bilge for water. Brian's exact words were "When your OK, I'm OK. When your nervous, I'm terrified."
The bilge stayed high and dry throughout the day. With calm waters we had a pleasant cruise and docked at Destin Florida just minutes before a three hour thunderstorm blew in.
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First cup of coffee before starting repairs. |
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The threaded brass collar is supposed to be inside the fixture on the right. You can see the water gushing in. Poor old bilge pumps, way beyond the call of duty. |
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Our neighbors left port just before us. |
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Tom is piloting and explaining to Ed the importance of slowing down when near other vessels. Ed appears to be paying more attention to his damn IPAD. |
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Ed piloting the ship. |
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This sailor wishes Ed had paid more attention to Tom's advice. |
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View of our hull cutting through calm seas. |
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5 minutes after we got tied down at our dock the skies opened up. |
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