sore hands.................. from P

Stuff breaks. Stuff on a boat breaks regularly. Stuff on an old boat breaks almost every day. Especially if the systems on the old boat are under the strain of daily living for a year. It tends to run in groups, and right now we are going through a cycle of breaking lots of stuff. The most recent list: Broken water pump impeller, blank GPS navigation system screen (no power), a burst fresh water hose (onboard plumbing system), malfunctioning depth sounder, and a leaky raw water hose (engine cooling system). On a boat, one small problem inevitably leads to a much larger problem, so each seemingly unimportant malfunction must receive immediate attention. If it doesn't get the required attention, the dominos start to fall, and soon you are reduced to wimpering on the phone to TowBoat U.S. So I have been on a mission. The engine cannot run without a working impeller, and mine is in a location that is all but impossible to reach. And you need special tools such as ratchet screwdrivers and a dentist's mirror. So I had to call for help on that one. A marine mechanic and I, working for two hours, finally got the old impeller pieces out of the motor and installed the new one. On the GPS, I tracked down a loose connection at the base of the breaker switch, among the spaghetti of wires behind the breaker panel. I could not believe my luck when the GPS powered up again. So we got back underway, then I noticed that the bilge pump was running constantly. I opened up the engine compartment to discover a gush of water - and of course my first thought is "OK we are going to sink and die." I cupped my hand in the water, did the old taste test, and thankfully it was fresh water. I have sealed off the valve and pulled out the old hose. It was a feed to the hot water heater, and currently a new hose installation is "in process." No problem, we can sail fine a few days without hot water. I have checked all the connections for the transducer on the depthsounder, and even jumped overboard while under sail to clean it. Now I have just accepted the fact that once we hit 380 feet of depth (as is common off the coast of Florida) it just decides to quit. Once we get in more shallow water, it comes alive. Fine. I can live with that. The raw water intake leak required disassembling several fittings that lead from the through-hull valve, into the strainer, and to the cooling system. Just a matter of cleaning all the threads and re-seating everything with teflon tape sealer. Seems to be fine now. I guess it is all to be expected when living on a boat. We'll see what happens tomorrow.