Bilge Pump Saga

We were scheduled to launch at 1:00 on Sunday, June 7, a little late going in compared to previous years. We'd wrapped up all our boat projects by noon. While we waited for Brett at Hi-Seas to prepare the Harbor Hoist, we went through all our systems one last time. Wouldn't you know, we found an issue.

Dave had been messing around in our bilge a few days earlier, just cleaning things up and looking for structural issues. He found the pump hose was cracked so he shortened it enough to reattach it securely. I'm not sure why, but I asked him to test it again before we launched, which was a good thing. It was no longer working properly. The pump would run but it sounded different, like it had an air bubble.

It was an hour before launch. Dave began the process of troubleshooting. He unhooked the pump from the hose and dropped it into the water in the bilge. It kicked right in so the pump was not the problem. Dave took the check valve off to inspect it and found that it was very worn and appeared to have a bad valve in it.

Bilge pump with float

Since the hose was old and already showing wear, we picked up a new one, along with a new check valve. The repair didn't take long but getting the new hose in place was tough! We left the old one as our guide and ran the new one up, over, and behind small spaces until it reached the exit hole on the port side of the quarter birth. 

New check valve and hose

The new hose was more flexible than the old and kept crimping at the anti-syphon loop. Another visit to Menards and we had a PVC condensation trap that fit perfectly and guided the hose smoothly around the curve. By the time we were done it was 4:00 pm, too late to make the sail to Menominee.

Anti-syphon loop

The bad news is we are still on the hard. The good news is Mystic is in great shape and we've tackled some big repairs this spring. We'll try to launch after making a trip home to Minnesota. We're going to be a month late but we're not complaining. We've enjoyed spending spring in Oconto at Hi-Seas Marina.

Amazing sky

Beautiful sunset at Hi Seas Marina

Mystic under the flag pole