Compass

I took the compass out of the binnacle a few weeks ago to explore why the oil has leaked out. It turns out that the plastic dome has fractured around the joint to the bowl. The compass is a Ritchie D-615 which lists for around $1800 new. Soooo, I called the factory for replacement parts today. Cost so far: $55.

Bilge Pump Update

At this point I have replaced all of the bilge pump hoses and fittings, and rebuilt the pump with new gaskets, and cleaned everything up. The pump still won't prime. The pump in question is a solid vane type, and it's probably too high above the water level for it's specs (it's only rated at 20"). My next plan is to get a Water Puppy flexible vane pump which is reputed to prime up to 4 feet above the water level. This is the type of pump that was installed before I replaced it 3-4 years ago. Now I know why...

Bilge Pump

I checked out the bilge pump on my workbench this week, and it seemed to be working OK, but a little weak. I took it over to the boat today to reinstall, suspecting that that the real problem lies elsewhere. While I was attaching the pump to the bulkhead, one of the hose fittings broke off. The fitting is actually a garden hose that was cut up years ago to rig the pump. The fitting was corroded at the joint where it was hard to see. It might have been leaking air, so this might be the problem... off to West Marine for some new parts...

Silence is winterized as of last weekend. We've run the pink stuff through all of the systems and the sails are stowed away. The electric bilge pump isn't working right, so I've brought it home to work on. Another winter project...

As of April 6th, Silence is in her new home, down on the West River. We have a great view of the river from our slip. Last weekend, I took the boom off the mast, in order to service the furling motor which isn't working at the moment...

I went to check on Silence yesterday and noticed that the new rub rail has been installed. It's a beauty. There is still some work to finish the scarf joints and then there is the metal rubstrake to reinstall, but it's very close to being done.

Silence will be moving to her new home in a months time, down to the West River. We're looking forward to some fresh sailing adventures departing from our new home port.

On Sunday I turned on the de-icer. The whole creek is frozen over and the marina guys haven't bothered to install many of the de-icers along the dock... need to bug them about that.

The rub rail that was damaged this summer is now under repair, thanks to some unseasonably warm weather here. The woodworkers think they can have the work completed by the end of next week.

This week we decided on a new home for Silence. We plan to move her to the West River on the 1st of April, to Hartge's Marina. The view from our new slip is beautiful, looking north down the river out towards the Bay. We're looking forward to sailing in new territory next season.