Well the feedback I’ve gotten on the rudder post has been encouraging. Overall it doesn’t sound like something to get too freaked out about. I’ll give repacking the stuffing box a try, and if that doesn’t work we’ll just have to make sure the bilge pumps keep working. The plan is to haul out at the end of this cruising season, so we’ll deal with things then.

Today I finally got to work on the raw water pump. I bought an awesome new pump about six months ago because ours was perpetually leaking both water and oil, and at some point in the past thirty years someone had gotten around to designing a pump that required no oil. Meaning, and this is huge, that at some point there is the possibility that my bilge may stop being a slimy black mess.

I bought the pump, but the idea of actually installing it never really appealed to me. It’s not an easy part of the engine to get at. And it’s not as if the boat was sinking. But today I finally gave in—in a vain effort to shorten the to-do list—and tackled the pump install.

Getting the old pump off was easy. Just three bolts, all amazingly accessible by both wrench and ratchet. Getting the new one on required some swearing, and some cuts, but in the end I managed to accomplish that as well. Two hours and I had a new pump in. Of course the new pump still needs a couple of 90 degree hose fittings, and I’ll need to replace the hoses as well, but hey, there’s a shiny pump on my decidedly non-shiny engine, and that’s a good start.