I am thinking that maybe I should not have made the service opportunity blog post. It seems to have prompted new service opportunities. The current one has to do with the… shall we say… sanitation system. Most of us living on land rarely give this topic a thought, but it is very important on a boat. In our home cruising grounds all Marinas have pump out stations, where we can remove waste that accumulates in our holding tank. That is not the case way up here. Therefore, boats are equipped with an overboard discharge pump, which does exactly what the name implies, of course only in locations (offshore, deep water) permitted by Coast Guard regulations (and common sense).
So, what to do if said pump does not appear to be in working order? Check all of the easy possibilities first… maybe the vent is clogged, maybe the through hull is blocked, maybe the tank tender is not reading correctly. When that is done, you recall that you had the system serviced in May, wanting to avoid just this situation… and you also recall that you do not have a replacement pump or spare parts on board. Uh Oh. Fortunately, we have both phone and data service where we are, so I was able to look up the model numbers for the relevant parts and call Piston and Rudder in Petersburg to see if they can order the pump and/or parts for me. I feel that I am getting to know them quite well, since they also ordered the generator fuel injector pump for me.
We should find out today if they can order parts, and we plan to be in Petersburg by Thursday or Friday. Then the real fun can begin…
Meanwhile we are enjoying beautiful Takatz Bay (post coming) and a couple of sunny days.
MV Miss Miranda 