Marina and I drove down to the boat Thursday afternoon after I got off work. Arriving at the dock we loaded up a cart with our gear, food, and water and proceeded to our slip. While moving stuff fr…

[John V. G. Mayton]

Marina and I drove down to the boat Thursday afternoon after I got off work.  Arriving at the dock we loaded up a cart with our gear, food, and water and proceeded to our slip.  While moving stuff from the dock to the boat Marina said she could hear a noise in the boat.  I guessed it was the dehumidifier running and told her so.  When we got inside it was clear that it was something else.  I quickly started down the electrical panel switching off everything one at a time until the sound stopped.  It turned out to be the fresh water pump.  Investigation, which I’ll talk about letter in this article, revealed a couple of things, first of all, the belt on the pump was broken and secondly, one of the fresh water lines was disconnected and would spill water into the bilge when the main water tank was full.  At any rate a fix was not something we could do without a new belt and that had to be ordered from West Marine. 

Marina took a nail and fixed the Propane shut off switch by pressing in the reset button which saved me from having the electrician come down to the boat.  That was a relief in as much money is very tight right now since we lost our business and have to make do on about $1300 less income a month.  I did get a raise from the Federal Government this month, because it seems that as long as I keep working the more they will pay me.  It was not a lot of money but it will pay for a month’s worth of milk so no complaints from this sailor.

The wind blowing through the companionway hatch was so brisk that it kept blowing out the flame on the stove so at Marina’s suggestion I pulled the hatch closed.  Then I got busy putting things away and not thinking started up the ladder forgetting that the hatch was shut.  BAM!  I slammed my head into the hatch top so hard that I could have navigated with a sextant with all the stars I was seeing.  I hit so hard I cut my scalp and the blood was flowing.  I poured some ice water on a paper towel and held it to my head until the bleeding stopped.  It was a minute my head quit spinning and I stopped laughing at myself for such a stupid move.

 After getting settled in and finishing supper it was pretty late so Marina suggested that we get to bed and get up in the morning to do the work we planned.  It was hot and muggy out even with the hatches and ports all open along with fans running at top speed.  I was up a lot going to the head, would read a bit, get an hour or so sleep and then do the head and reading thing again.  It was not the most restful night.  In the morning I let Marina sleep in an extra thirty minutes and then got the water heating up for breakfast.  After waking my daughter up I headed up to the Captain’s Lounge to take care of business and by the time I got back Marina had prepared the oatmeal.  We sat in the cockpit of the boat enjoying the early morning breeze while we ate and discussed the boat chores we wanted to get done.

First on the list was getting her up the main mast to reattach the spinnaker halyard as well as replacing the starboard flag halyard which had frayed and parted.  We got out the new boatswain’s chair and rigged it up.  Marina got into it and I slowly cranked her up the mast using the main halyard winch.  I had to stop several times even though she weighs less than a hundred pounds just to catch my breath.  Once she got to the top she led the halyard through the block at the mast head and lowered it down to me.  When I got a hold of the bitter end and secured it to a cleat I began to lower her to the spreaders where the flag halyard was attached.  A few minutes later she had that rigged as well and I lowered her the rest of the way to the deck.  We secured the lines and other gear, then took a short break and discussed how we had done with the whole process of going up the mast.  Marina went below and brought me our Seven Seas Cruising Club burgee which I attached it to the flag halyard and hoisted it back up where it proudly fluttered in the morning breeze. 

Next up was the water pump problem.  Removing the cushions from the settees in the main cabin, I took up the boards and got down into the spaces below.  I found the broken water pump belt right away.  In addition there was some water under the intake and discharge connections to the pump so I got some tools out and tightened up the fittings.  Then Marina and I started clearing gear out of the port lazaretto so that we could find where all the water was going when we filled the fresh water tank.  The lazaretto is a catch all for big stuff that has no other place to be stored and I’m not always neat about putting stuff in there.  At any rate we filled half of the cockpit with mooring lines, spare anchor lines, buoys, boat hooks and other stuff before we had enough room for Marina to get down inside.  I passed her a flashlight and started pumping water into the tank when she yelled, “stop!  I found the leak.”  She poked her head up and she was all wet.  It seems a hose, which may have been attached to another fill hole in the deck, was not connected.  We have another fresh water tank under the aft bunk which we don’t use because of the water maker.  But I think I’ll trace out the lines and reconnect it because I haven’t re-commissioned the water maker yet and don’t plan on it until I move aboard next year.  I got down in the lazaretto to eyeball the situation and decided that it was a job for another day.  It was getting really hot out and we still had to restore all the stuff we had taken out plus cleaning up the main solon.  I copied down all the numbers off of the water pump to take with me to West Marine, put the cushions and boards back in place, collected up my gear, phone, shoes, and trash and moved it up into the cockpit along with Marina’s stuff.  We double checked the hatches and ports to make sure they were shut tight, turned off all but the battery charger on the electrical panel, climbed up and secured the companion way hatch and then loaded our stuff into a dock cart.  Back up to the car we emptied the cart into the car and drove to the Lounge to shower off the day’s sweat and dirt. 

It was beginning to rain as we left the marina to head into New Bern for lunch and to stop at West Marine to order the belt for the water pump.  We stopped at IHOP for a late lunch and then spent an hour at the chandlery ordering the belts.  James Bible, the rigger who helped me get my masts and shrouds straightened out, was spending his last day in New Bern, before leaving for Myrtle Beach where he will become the Manager of the West Marine there.  I hate to see him go because he is such a knowledgeable sailor and a nice fellow as well, but I’m happy for him and this chance to advance in his company.   It would be a week before the order would come in so we drove back home.  We didn’t get all done that we planed but we still got a lot done never the less.  Best part for me was spending time with my daughter.  Sweet!

Marina and I drove down to the boat Thursday afternoon after I got off work.  Arriving at the dock we loaded up a cart with our gear, food, and water and proceeded to our slip.  While moving stuff from the dock to the boat Marina said she could hear a noise in the boat.  I guessed it was the dehumidifier running and told her so.  When we got inside it was clear that it was something else.  I quickly started down the electrical panel switching off everything one at a time until the sound stopped.  It turned out to be the fresh water pump.  Investigation, which I’ll talk about letter in this article, revealed a couple of things, first of all, the belt on the pump was broken and secondly, one of the fresh water lines was disconnected and would spill water into the bilge when the main water tank was full.  At any rate a fix was not something we could do without a new belt and that had to be ordered from West Marine. 

Marina took a nail and fixed the Propane shut off switch by pressing in the reset button which saved me from having the electrician come down to the boat.  That was a relief in as much money is very tight right now since we lost our business and have to make do on about $1300 less income a month.  I did get a raise from the Federal Government this month, because it seems that as long as I keep working the more they will pay me.  It was not a lot of money but it will pay for a month’s worth of milk so no complaints from this sailor.

The wind blowing through the companionway hatch was so brisk that it kept blowing out the flame on the stove so at Marina’s suggestion I pulled the hatch closed.  Then I got busy putting things away and not thinking started up the ladder forgetting that the hatch was shut.  BAM!  I slammed my head into the hatch top so hard that I could have navigated with a sextant with all the stars I was seeing.  I hit so hard I cut my scalp and the blood was flowing.  I poured some ice water on a paper towel and held it to my head until the bleeding stopped.  It was a minute my head quit spinning and I stopped laughing at myself for such a stupid move.

 After getting settled in and finishing supper it was pretty late so Marina suggested that we get to bed and get up in the morning to do the work we planned.  It was hot and muggy out even with the hatches and ports all open along with fans running at top speed.  I was up a lot going to the head, would read a bit, get an hour or so sleep and then do the head and reading thing again.  It was not the most restful night.  In the morning I let Marina sleep in an extra thirty minutes and then got the water heating up for breakfast.  After waking my daughter up I headed up to the Captain’s Lounge to take care of business and by the time I got back Marina had prepared the oatmeal.  We sat in the cockpit of the boat enjoying the early morning breeze while we ate and discussed the boat chores we wanted to get done.

First on the list was getting her up the main mast to reattach the spinnaker halyard as well as replacing the starboard flag halyard which had frayed and parted.  We got out the new boatswain’s chair and rigged it up.  Marina got into it and I slowly cranked her up the mast using the main halyard winch.  I had to stop several times even though she weighs less than a hundred pounds just to catch my breath.  Once she got to the top she led the halyard through the block at the mast head and lowered it down to me.  When I got a hold of the bitter end and secured it to a cleat I began to lower her to the spreaders where the flag halyard was attached.  A few minutes later she had that rigged as well and I lowered her the rest of the way to the deck.  We secured the lines and other gear, then took a short break and discussed how we had done with the whole process of going up the mast.  Marina went below and brought me our Seven Seas Cruising Club burgee which I attached it to the flag halyard and hoisted it back up where it proudly fluttered in the morning breeze. 

Next up was the water pump problem.  Removing the cushions from the settees in the main cabin, I took up the boards and got down into the spaces below.  I found the broken water pump belt right away.  In addition there was some water under the intake and discharge connections to the pump so I got some tools out and tightened up the fittings.  Then Marina and I started clearing gear out of the port lazaretto so that we could find where all the water was going when we filled the fresh water tank.  The lazaretto is a catch all for big stuff that has no other place to be stored and I’m not always neat about putting stuff in there.  At any rate we filled half of the cockpit with mooring lines, spare anchor lines, buoys, boat hooks and other stuff before we had enough room for Marina to get down inside.  I passed her a flashlight and started pumping water into the tank when she yelled, “stop!  I found the leak.”  She poked her head up and she was all wet.  It seems a hose, which may have been attached to another fill hole in the deck, was not connected.  We have another fresh water tank under the aft bunk which we don’t use because of the water maker.  But I think I’ll trace out the lines and reconnect it because I haven’t re-commissioned the water maker yet and don’t plan on it until I move aboard next year.  I got down in the lazaretto to eyeball the situation and decided that it was a job for another day.  It was getting really hot out and we still had to restore all the stuff we had taken out plus cleaning up the main solon.  I copied down all the numbers off of the water pump to take with me to West Marine, put the cushions and boards back in place, collected up my gear, phone, shoes, and trash and moved it up into the cockpit along with Marina’s stuff.  We double checked the hatches and ports to make sure they were shut tight, turned off all but the battery charger on the electrical panel, climbed up and secured the companion way hatch and then loaded our stuff into a dock cart.  Back up to the car we emptied the cart into the car and drove to the Lounge to shower off the day’s sweat and dirt. 

It was beginning to rain as we left the marina to head into New Bern for lunch and to stop at West Marine to order the belt for the water pump.  We stopped at IHOP for a late lunch and then spent an hour at the chandlery ordering the belts.  James Bible, the rigger who helped me get my masts and shrouds straightened out, was spending his last day in New Bern, before leaving for Myrtle Beach where he will become the Manager of the West Marine there.  I hate to see him go because he is such a knowledgeable sailor and a nice fellow as well, but I’m happy for him and this chance to advance in his company.   It would be a week before the order would come in so we drove back home.  We didn’t get all done that we planed but we still got a lot done never the less.  Best part for me was spending time with my daughter.  Sweet!

Marina and I drove down to the boat Thursday afternoon after I got off work.  Arriving at the dock we loaded up a cart with our gear, food, and water and proceeded to our slip.  While moving stuff from the dock to the boat Marina said she could hear a noise in the boat.  I guessed it was the dehumidifier running and told her so.  When we got inside it was clear that it was something else.  I quickly started down the electrical panel switching off everything one at a time until the sound stopped.  It turned out to be the fresh water pump.  Investigation, which I’ll talk about letter in this article, revealed a couple of things, first of all, the belt on the pump was broken and secondly, one of the fresh water lines was disconnected and would spill water into the bilge when the main water tank was full.  At any rate a fix was not something we could do without a new belt and that had to be ordered from West Marine. 

Marina took a nail and fixed the Propane shut off switch by pressing in the reset button which saved me from having the electrician come down to the boat.  That was a relief in as much money is very tight right now since we lost our business and have to make do on about $1300 less income a month.  I did get a raise from the Federal Government this month, because it seems that as long as I keep working the more they will pay me.  It was not a lot of money but it will pay for a month’s worth of milk so no complaints from this sailor.

The wind blowing through the companionway hatch was so brisk that it kept blowing out the flame on the stove so at Marina’s suggestion I pulled the hatch closed.  Then I got busy putting things away and not thinking started up the ladder forgetting that the hatch was shut.  BAM!  I slammed my head into the hatch top so hard that I could have navigated with a sextant with all the stars I was seeing.  I hit so hard I cut my scalp and the blood was flowing.  I poured some ice water on a paper towel and held it to my head until the bleeding stopped.  It was a minute my head quit spinning and I stopped laughing at myself for such a stupid move.

 After getting settled in and finishing supper it was pretty late so Marina suggested that we get to bed and get up in the morning to do the work we planned.  It was hot and muggy out even with the hatches and ports all open along with fans running at top speed.  I was up a lot going to the head, would read a bit, get an hour or so sleep and then do the head and reading thing again.  It was not the most restful night.  In the morning I let Marina sleep in an extra thirty minutes and then got the water heating up for breakfast.  After waking my daughter up I headed up to the Captain’s Lounge to take care of business and by the time I got back Marina had prepared the oatmeal.  We sat in the cockpit of the boat enjoying the early morning breeze while we ate and discussed the boat chores we wanted to get done.

First on the list was getting her up the main mast to reattach the spinnaker halyard as well as replacing the starboard flag halyard which had frayed and parted.  We got out the new boatswain’s chair and rigged it up.  Marina got into it and I slowly cranked her up the mast using the main halyard winch.  I had to stop several times even though she weighs less than a hundred pounds just to catch my breath.  Once she got to the top she led the halyard through the block at the mast head and lowered it down to me.  When I got a hold of the bitter end and secured it to a cleat I began to lower her to the spreaders where the flag halyard was attached.  A few minutes later she had that rigged as well and I lowered her the rest of the way to the deck.  We secured the lines and other gear, then took a short break and discussed how we had done with the whole process of going up the mast.  Marina went below and brought me our Seven Seas Cruising Club burgee which I attached it to the flag halyard and hoisted it back up where it proudly fluttered in the morning breeze. 

Next up was the water pump problem.  Removing the cushions from the settees in the main cabin, I took up the boards and got down into the spaces below.  I found the broken water pump belt right away.  In addition there was some water under the intake and discharge connections to the pump so I got some tools out and tightened up the fittings.  Then Marina and I started clearing gear out of the port lazaretto so that we could find where all the water was going when we filled the fresh water tank.  The lazaretto is a catch all for big stuff that has no other place to be stored and I’m not always neat about putting stuff in there.  At any rate we filled half of the cockpit with mooring lines, spare anchor lines, buoys, boat hooks and other stuff before we had enough room for Marina to get down inside.  I passed her a flashlight and started pumping water into the tank when she yelled, “stop!  I found the leak.”  She poked her head up and she was all wet.  It seems a hose, which may have been attached to another fill hole in the deck, was not connected.  We have another fresh water tank under the aft bunk which we don’t use because of the water maker.  But I think I’ll trace out the lines and reconnect it because I haven’t re-commissioned the water maker yet and don’t plan on it until I move aboard next year.  I got down in the lazaretto to eyeball the situation and decided that it was a job for another day.  It was getting really hot out and we still had to restore all the stuff we had taken out plus cleaning up the main solon.  I copied down all the numbers off of the water pump to take with me to West Marine, put the cushions and boards back in place, collected up my gear, phone, shoes, and trash and moved it up into the cockpit along with Marina’s stuff.  We double checked the hatches and ports to make sure they were shut tight, turned off all but the battery charger on the electrical panel, climbed up and secured the companion way hatch and then loaded our stuff into a dock cart.  Back up to the car we emptied the cart into the car and drove to the Lounge to shower off the day’s sweat and dirt. 

It was beginning to rain as we left the marina to head into New Bern for lunch and to stop at West Marine to order the belt for the water pump.  We stopped at IHOP for a late lunch and then spent an hour at the chandlery ordering the belts.  James Bible, the rigger who helped me get my masts and shrouds straightened out, was spending his last day in New Bern, before leaving for Myrtle Beach where he will become the Manager of the West Marine there.  I hate to see him go because he is such a knowledgeable sailor and a nice fellow as well, but I’m happy for him and this chance to advance in his company.   It would be a week before the order would come in so we drove back home.  We didn’t get all done that we planed but we still got a lot done never the less.  Best part for me was spending time with my daughter.  Sweet!

Marina and I drove down to the boat Thursday afternoon after I got off work.  Arriving at the dock we loaded up a cart with our gear, food, and water and proceeded to our slip.  While moving stuff from the dock to the boat Marina said she could hear a noise in the boat.  I guessed it was the dehumidifier running and told her so.  When we got inside it was clear that it was something else.  I quickly started down the electrical panel switching off everything one at a time until the sound stopped.  It turned out to be the fresh water pump.  Investigation, which I’ll talk about letter in this article, revealed a couple of things, first of all, the belt on the pump was broken and secondly, one of the fresh water lines was disconnected and would spill water into the bilge when the main water tank was full.  At any rate a fix was not something we could do without a new belt and that had to be ordered from West Marine. 

Marina took a nail and fixed the Propane shut off switch by pressing in the reset button which saved me from having the electrician come down to the boat.  That was a relief in as much money is very tight right now since we lost our business and have to make do on about $1300 less income a month.  I did get a raise from the Federal Government this month, because it seems that as long as I keep working the more they will pay me.  It was not a lot of money but it will pay for a month’s worth of milk so no complaints from this sailor.

The wind blowing through the companionway hatch was so brisk that it kept blowing out the flame on the stove so at Marina’s suggestion I pulled the hatch closed.  Then I got busy putting things away and not thinking started up the ladder forgetting that the hatch was shut.  BAM!  I slammed my head into the hatch top so hard that I could have navigated with a sextant with all the stars I was seeing.  I hit so hard I cut my scalp and the blood was flowing.  I poured some ice water on a paper towel and held it to my head until the bleeding stopped.  It was a minute my head quit spinning and I stopped laughing at myself for such a stupid move.

 After getting settled in and finishing supper it was pretty late so Marina suggested that we get to bed and get up in the morning to do the work we planned.  It was hot and muggy out even with the hatches and ports all open along with fans running at top speed.  I was up a lot going to the head, would read a bit, get an hour or so sleep and then do the head and reading thing again.  It was not the most restful night.  In the morning I let Marina sleep in an extra thirty minutes and then got the water heating up for breakfast.  After waking my daughter up I headed up to the Captain’s Lounge to take care of business and by the time I got back Marina had prepared the oatmeal.  We sat in the cockpit of the boat enjoying the early morning breeze while we ate and discussed the boat chores we wanted to get done.

First on the list was getting her up the main mast to reattach the spinnaker halyard as well as replacing the starboard flag halyard which had frayed and parted.  We got out the new boatswain’s chair and rigged it up.  Marina got into it and I slowly cranked her up the mast using the main halyard winch.  I had to stop several times even though she weighs less than a hundred pounds just to catch my breath.  Once she got to the top she led the halyard through the block at the mast head and lowered it down to me.  When I got a hold of the bitter end and secured it to a cleat I began to lower her to the spreaders where the flag halyard was attached.  A few minutes later she had that rigged as well and I lowered her the rest of the way to the deck.  We secured the lines and other gear, then took a short break and discussed how we had done with the whole process of going up the mast.  Marina went below and brought me our Seven Seas Cruising Club burgee which I attached it to the flag halyard and hoisted it back up where it proudly fluttered in the morning breeze. 

Next up was the water pump problem.  Removing the cushions from the settees in the main cabin, I took up the boards and got down into the spaces below.  I found the broken water pump belt right away.  In addition there was some water under the intake and discharge connections to the pump so I got some tools out and tightened up the fittings.  Then Marina and I started clearing gear out of the port lazaretto so that we could find where all the water was going when we filled the fresh water tank.  The lazaretto is a catch all for big stuff that has no other place to be stored and I’m not always neat about putting stuff in there.  At any rate we filled half of the cockpit with mooring lines, spare anchor lines, buoys, boat hooks and other stuff before we had enough room for Marina to get down inside.  I passed her a flashlight and started pumping water into the tank when she yelled, “stop!  I found the leak.”  She poked her head up and she was all wet.  It seems a hose, which may have been attached to another fill hole in the deck, was not connected.  We have another fresh water tank under the aft bunk which we don’t use because of the water maker.  But I think I’ll trace out the lines and reconnect it because I haven’t re-commissioned the water maker yet and don’t plan on it until I move aboard next year.  I got down in the lazaretto to eyeball the situation and decided that it was a job for another day.  It was getting really hot out and we still had to restore all the stuff we had taken out plus cleaning up the main solon.  I copied down all the numbers off of the water pump to take with me to West Marine, put the cushions and boards back in place, collected up my gear, phone, shoes, and trash and moved it up into the cockpit along with Marina’s stuff.  We double checked the hatches and ports to make sure they were shut tight, turned off all but the battery charger on the electrical panel, climbed up and secured the companion way hatch and then loaded our stuff into a dock cart.  Back up to the car we emptied the cart into the car and drove to the Lounge to shower off the day’s sweat and dirt. 

It was beginning to rain as we left the marina to head into New Bern for lunch and to stop at West Marine to order the belt for the water pump.  We stopped at IHOP for a late lunch and then spent an hour at the chandlery ordering the belts.  James Bible, the rigger who helped me get my masts and shrouds straightened out, was spending his last day in New Bern, before leaving for Myrtle Beach where he will become the Manager of the West Marine there.  I hate to see him go because he is such a knowledgeable sailor and a nice fellow as well, but I’m happy for him and this chance to advance in his company.   It would be a week before the order would come in so we drove back home.  We didn’t get all done that we planed but we still got a lot done never the less.  Best part for me was spending time with my daughter.  Sweet!

Marina and I drove down to the boat Thursday afternoon after I got off work.  Arriving at the dock we loaded up a cart with our gear, food, and water and proceeded to our slip.  While moving stuff from the dock to the boat Marina said she could hear a noise in the boat.  I guessed it was the dehumidifier running and told her so.  When we got inside it was clear that it was something else.  I quickly started down the electrical panel switching off everything one at a time until the sound stopped.  It turned out to be the fresh water pump.  Investigation, which I’ll talk about letter in this article, revealed a couple of things, first of all, the belt on the pump was broken and secondly, one of the fresh water lines was disconnected and would spill water into the bilge when the main water tank was full.  At any rate a fix was not something we could do without a new belt and that had to be ordered from West Marine. 

Marina took a nail and fixed the Propane shut off switch by pressing in the reset button which saved me from having the electrician come down to the boat.  That was a relief in as much money is very tight right now since we lost our business and have to make do on about $1300 less income a month.  I did get a raise from the Federal Government this month, because it seems that as long as I keep working the more they will pay me.  It was not a lot of money but it will pay for a month’s worth of milk so no complaints from this sailor.

The wind blowing through the companionway hatch was so brisk that it kept blowing out the flame on the stove so at Marina’s suggestion I pulled the hatch closed.  Then I got busy putting things away and not thinking started up the ladder forgetting that the hatch was shut.  BAM!  I slammed my head into the hatch top so hard that I could have navigated with a sextant with all the stars I was seeing.  I hit so hard I cut my scalp and the blood was flowing.  I poured some ice water on a paper towel and held it to my head until the bleeding stopped.  It was a minute my head quit spinning and I stopped laughing at myself for such a stupid move.

 After getting settled in and finishing supper it was pretty late so Marina suggested that we get to bed and get up in the morning to do the work we planned.  It was hot and muggy out even with the hatches and ports all open along with fans running at top speed.  I was up a lot going to the head, would read a bit, get an hour or so sleep and then do the head and reading thing again.  It was not the most restful night.  In the morning I let Marina sleep in an extra thirty minutes and then got the water heating up for breakfast.  After waking my daughter up I headed up to the Captain’s Lounge to take care of business and by the time I got back Marina had prepared the oatmeal.  We sat in the cockpit of the boat enjoying the early morning breeze while we ate and discussed the boat chores we wanted to get done.

First on the list was getting her up the main mast to reattach the spinnaker halyard as well as replacing the starboard flag halyard which had frayed and parted.  We got out the new boatswain’s chair and rigged it up.  Marina got into it and I slowly cranked her up the mast using the main halyard winch.  I had to stop several times even though she weighs less than a hundred pounds just to catch my breath.  Once she got to the top she led the halyard through the block at the mast head and lowered it down to me.  When I got a hold of the bitter end and secured it to a cleat I began to lower her to the spreaders where the flag halyard was attached.  A few minutes later she had that rigged as well and I lowered her the rest of the way to the deck.  We secured the lines and other gear, then took a short break and discussed how we had done with the whole process of going up the mast.  Marina went below and brought me our Seven Seas Cruising Club burgee which I attached it to the flag halyard and hoisted it back up where it proudly fluttered in the morning breeze. 

Next up was the water pump problem.  Removing the cushions from the settees in the main cabin, I took up the boards and got down into the spaces below.  I found the broken water pump belt right away.  In addition there was some water under the intake and discharge connections to the pump so I got some tools out and tightened up the fittings.  Then Marina and I started clearing gear out of the port lazaretto so that we could find where all the water was going when we filled the fresh water tank.  The lazaretto is a catch all for big stuff that has no other place to be stored and I’m not always neat about putting stuff in there.  At any rate we filled half of the cockpit with mooring lines, spare anchor lines, buoys, boat hooks and other stuff before we had enough room for Marina to get down inside.  I passed her a flashlight and started pumping water into the tank when she yelled, “stop!  I found the leak.”  She poked her head up and she was all wet.  It seems a hose, which may have been attached to another fill hole in the deck, was not connected.  We have another fresh water tank under the aft bunk which we don’t use because of the water maker.  But I think I’ll trace out the lines and reconnect it because I haven’t re-commissioned the water maker yet and don’t plan on it until I move aboard next year.  I got down in the lazaretto to eyeball the situation and decided that it was a job for another day.  It was getting really hot out and we still had to restore all the stuff we had taken out plus cleaning up the main solon.  I copied down all the numbers off of the water pump to take with me to West Marine, put the cushions and boards back in place, collected up my gear, phone, shoes, and trash and moved it up into the cockpit along with Marina’s stuff.  We double checked the hatches and ports to make sure they were shut tight, turned off all but the battery charger on the electrical panel, climbed up and secured the companion way hatch and then loaded our stuff into a dock cart.  Back up to the car we emptied the cart into the car and drove to the Lounge to shower off the day’s sweat and dirt. 

It was beginning to rain as we left the marina to head into New Bern for lunch and to stop at West Marine to order the belt for the water pump.  We stopped at IHOP for a late lunch and then spent an hour at the chandlery ordering the belts.  James Bible, the rigger who helped me get my masts and shrouds straightened out, was spending his last day in New Bern, before leaving for Myrtle Beach where he will become the Manager of the West Marine there.  I hate to see him go because he is such a knowledgeable sailor and a nice fellow as well, but I’m happy for him and this chance to advance in his company.   It would be a week before the order would come in so we drove back home.  We didn’t get all done that we planed but we still got a lot done never the less.  Best part for me was spending time with my daughter.  Sweet!