Yesterday was a semi-productive day, filled with alot of "O-Crap!'s"

First order of business was to install the new 2000 gallons-per-hour bilge pump. I knew it was a tad bigger than the old 800 gph pump, but it was Longer and not much wider... so I thought! Have you ever tried to put your foot into a shoe that was two sizes to small??? Well, that's what I was attempting to do with the pump and bilge. ugh! I could not figure out why the pump was hanging up on something under the motor, so I had to dive deep into the engine room and almost on my head peer into the bowels of the bilge. 1st "OH CRAP!" I ended up pulling all the floor board, the aft water tank and tying a line to the pump from the front and pulling it as close to the water tank as I could. This seems to work, but it's really not right. OK, finally got into position, threaded the new discharge hose up and toward the rear of the boat.... 2nd "Oh Crap!!" my hose isn't long enough now that I moved the pump forward... sigh! Time for a beer!

Project number 2: removing the OLD hotwater pluming from the motor. I was able to remove the old fitting from the pump with relatively little hassles and install the new plug. Then it came time to remove the top tube. The only way to get at the nut was to cut the copper tube and then hope the socket will not stip out the old fitting. The cutting worked fine... (see photo) however; I didn't have a 21mm socket anywhere on the boat..... so, that one is on hold.

Project 3: Engine tune-up. The fuel filter came off easily enough, but decided to spit out diesel fuel everywhere! The oil filter was not gonna budge... The filter wrench would only contact a fraction of the filter, so after alot of slipping off and cussing, I got the darn thing off! The fresh water pump was another new project for me. Looked simple enough... remove five bolts holding the cover plate on, pull old rubber thing out and insert new rubber thingee, put cover plate back on-DONE! Well, it didn't quit work out like that! I had about a 1/2 gallon of water spraying everywhere, the rubber thing didn't want to let go and I couldn't find the paper-thin gasket. I ended up taking a beer break... looked in the box again and there was the gasket. Goes to show, that frequent breaks lead to better project success! :) especially when it's close to midnight!!!

Next thing is to change oil, adjust the engine valves and go buy a 21mm socket to remove that pesky fitting. Then top off the coolant, prime the fuel lines and light the fire! I sure hope she starts!!! I also have to go back into Seattle to get that special size hose. ugh!

Here's to good Aussie Beer and project completion!