Another nice day. Mother nature can't make up her mind. Friday was great, Saturday rainy and drizzle and today another nice day. We had lots of outdoor things to do so I'm glad it was nice.
For the past week, we have had problems with not only a stinky head but a stinky bilge. Today we went exploring to see why. Boy what fun? We figured that the tank for the forward head was in the storage locker in the bow of the boat. We have referred to it as the "garage". Big and deep with lots of storage. First we had to move the 100 pound dingy that was on top of it. Then dig in. Lots of stuff. Paint, varnish, ropes, halyards, standing rigging for the inner forestay, even more finders for the boat. Down we went to the bottom. Finally found the tank for the waste from the front head. Several tubes going in and out. Tracy went to the head and pumped the toilet. Suddenly water came spouting out the side of the tank. Voila, problem found. It was spouting waste water out of the tank and down into the bilge where it stunk up the boat. Now we have a decision to make. Have the tank fixed--fiberglass over the crack, or replace the tank. Fixing it would be easier but there is always the possibility of it cracking again. Replacing the tank would solve the problem but requires cutting the old tank out of the boat. It was fiberglassed right to the hull of the boat. We have to talk to a fiberglass man tomorrow( if we can find one). We also found that the pump that is used to pump out the waste works but doesn't pump anything. It goes up and down but nothing goes off the boat. I took off the hose on the downside of the pump(lots of guts) and had Tracy hit the pump switch. The pump went up and down but nothing passed thru it(thank God). The tank got so full, it finally broke. I'd hit the switch several days ago trying to make sure the tank had space in it for more "stuff". Since it ran, I figured it was fine. The odor that followed was not. Since more "water" had gone into the bilge, we had to clean it out. We poured in lots of water down into the "garage". It went right into the boat and straight to the bilge where Tracy pumped it out with the bilge pump. I took the hose from the bow to the bilge hosing out the passageway of the water all the way to the bilge and then hosed out the bilge with even more water and pumped it out. Now the boat smells a whole lot better. We're down to one head but we can always walk up the hill. God bless duct tape. It's covering the split as we speak. Should hold till we can get it fixed. With the tank full, it needs to be pumped out but we can't start the engine till the mechanic gets here. Need to make sure that the filters are clean before we try and start her. Then we can get to the tank pumped out at the pumpout station and get it fixed. Tomorrow--order the new pump so at least we will be ready.
The rest of the day was spent deciding where to put the things we took out of the garage. What to keep and what to throw. The bow is still too heavy so we had to move some things to the stern. Measured line we found in the garage and stowed it. Finally got it all stowed.
Off to the showers and a nice birthday dinner--steak and salad with a nice bottle of wine from the Flying Dutchman Winery--right up the road outside of Depoe Bay. Desert of Strawberry Shortcake. Watching the finally of Survivor. Dishes still to do before bed time. Tomorrows another day.
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