A 15-min job, Pt II
I'd like to thank you all for commiserating with me re the (temporarily) lost water pump cover. When I lost it, and finally realized where it was, my first few thoughts went like this: (1) I'll never get that sucker out from under the sole; (2) maybe the best thing to do would be to try to find/buy another pump cover. I actually called the engine guy at my marina. He said he'd look around the shop and call me back (bookmark this); (3) how much beer did I bring with me? (4) boats are made this way in order to challenge their owners; (5) I have to at least try to get the sole up. After a few heated hours of dealing with recalcitrant screws, I knew I would succeed. At that point, my cell phone rang and it was Craig Pringle, the guy who runs the engine shop. He said he would take an old pump cover off a salvaged engine in his shop and give it too me. I thanked him profusively and told him I was just about to retrieve my own lost cover. But what a nice offer. I plan to leave a 6-pack of beer on his workshop table when I'm at the marina next. In response to a number of other suggestions made here, I used tape to seal up that tiny crack as it is unseen behind the companionway steps and who knows, given my luck, I may need to pull up that sole again for some other reason in the future. I hope not, but did not want to seal it permanently. I also use liquid detergent to hold the water pump gasket in place when I tighten the cover (I also spritz it into the pump itself in order to ease the first few turns of the impeller at engine start up). I think the old soap is what held the cover on the old gasket just prior to it jumping off when I pried it up. The bottom-line: be prepared for the unexpected as anything can happen on your boat; the law of unintended consequences is always in force; and the most important thing of all is to always bring as many tools and beer with you as you can carry when you set out to do boat chores....
I'd like to thank you all for commiserating with me re the (temporarily) lost water pump cover. When I lost it, and finally realized where it was, my first few thoughts went like this: (1) I'll never get that sucker out from under the sole; (2) maybe the best thing to do would be to try to find/buy another pump cover. I actually called the engine guy at my marina. He said he'd look around the shop and call me back (bookmark this); (3) how much beer did I bring with me? (4) boats are made this way in order to challenge their owners; (5) I have to at least try to get the sole up. After a few heated hours of dealing with recalcitrant screws, I knew I would succeed. At that point, my cell phone rang and it was Craig Pringle, the guy who runs the engine shop. He said he would take an old pump cover off a salvaged engine in his shop and give it too me. I thanked him profusively and told him I was just about to retrieve my own lost cover. But what a nice offer. I plan to leave a 6-pack of beer on his workshop table when I'm at the marina next. In response to a number of other suggestions made here, I used tape to seal up that tiny crack as it is unseen behind the companionway steps and who knows, given my luck, I may need to pull up that sole again for some other reason in the future. I hope not, but did not want to seal it permanently. I also use liquid detergent to hold the water pump gasket in place when I tighten the cover (I also spritz it into the pump itself in order to ease the first few turns of the impeller at engine start up). I think the old soap is what held the cover on the old gasket just prior to it jumping off when I pried it up. The bottom-line: be prepared for the unexpected as anything can happen on your boat; the law of unintended consequences is always in force; and the most important thing of all is to always bring as many tools and beer with you as you can carry when you set out to do boat chores....
