Sinking!

Yes, I really am!

During the week, I was woken up with my bilge pump running flat out. I switched it off 'till the morning but in the morning I discovered that my engine room was flooded with about 6-8 inches of water across the bilge under the engine. I phoned in to school and began the task of pumping it all out and drying out. No sooner had I pumped it out than the pump was running again and it was full of water again. Alarm bells started ringing but as we have recently had a lot of rain, I assumed that water was getting in via a blocked drainage hole somewhere and so left Keith in the marina to keep an eye on it before going into school. Well, that was about Wednesday. In the past few days I have had to pump out around a bucketfull every hour and the pump has run almost continously over some nights. Today, I began the task of investigating. The freshwater system was fine as the pump wasn't running, the engine coolant level was fine, all the drainage holes are fine..... I then decided to dry out the entire bilge including the recessed pump sump and the counter above it

Within a few minutesof drying it all, water had appeared in the sump but none had run over the counter as you can see in the picture above. Major alarm bells were now ringing and whilst staring wonderingly at the slowly rising water level, I noticed the water was moving in one corner - I have a leak! As you look at the picture below, the left hand corner of the square sump must have a pin spot leak in a weld and water is rising from there.

Confirmation from several other boaters in the marina before a panic phone call to Rose Narrowboats. So far, they have been fantastic and Anthony has pulled all the stops out to try and get me seen to as soon as possible. They currently have a boat on the slipway with paint drying that is due to go back in Monday - the plan is for me to take Khayamanzi down tomorrow afternoon/evening and they will weld me up Monday morning in between 'booked' boats. I don't know, but expect they won't need to pull me right out; I would think it could be done with just the back end pulled up a bit and out. It's that kind of 'panic' service that stands boat yards apart. I was half expecting to have major hassle over this but if all goes to plan and it can be sorted Monday and back in - I will be seriously impressed.

I have now joined the elite and small number of people who I have met who have had similar problems in boats that are still relatively new - a pin spot hole in a hull just under 5 years old?? I don't think so - I'll leave you to guess the quality of the original work!!

In rushing through the boat with an oil soaked old towel, I managed to rub it along one of my best work shirts that was hanging up having just been washed and ironed. Try as I might, I haven't been able to get it out so that shirt has just been consigned to the dustbin.

Fed up, I decided to sit down for 5 minutes before getting dinner. I sat in my recliner, pulled the lever the put the foot rest up and the cable snapped - I've just spent over an hour bodging a repair.

My objective in life right now is simply to repair things at a rate that is at least equal to but ideally faster than the rate at which they keep breaking - I guess that sums up the objective in boating!!

In between all that, I did manage to get Simba groomed, pop into town to buy dozens of birthday and thank you gifts/cards that needed then to be written, wrapped and in some cases posted, clean the boat, get some more giant mealworms for the lizards, (they have developed a taste for these which is good as they don't escape in the boat so much!) and feed/dead head the flowers.

Right now it's 7.00 and I think it's time to start getting dinner - as long as nothing else breaks!!