Tightening Up Our Act

The level of praise The Bloke is getting of late is commensurate with his awesomeness. On returning to Zofia after 7 weeks ashore we had to recommission everything; reactivate breaker switches, open closed seacocks, check the bilges and so forth. It was during this process that The Bloke observed a tiny wee bit of water at the foot of the sea water through-hull fitting in one of the bilge compartments. Mmmm? This was something new and unprecedented. The water was salty too. Not a good sign. We weren't sinking but this change was duly noted for investigation. We were about to stay a week in a marina so this could be added to everlengthening 'list'.


Since the hose on this fitting had been removed during the impeller mayhem of last November, The Bloke decided the clamps might require tightening. Thought bubble - "Let's get a bigger spanner to fix it once and for all". In an instant, all apparent calm was lost as the tailpipe of the through-hull crumbled. Pulse rate? A big number, so don't ask!

Part of the broken tailpipe.
Dezincification? We'd already earmarked the through-hulls for attention at our May haul out after the broken ball-valve lever incident at Rosslyn Bay. This event seals the deal and they'll be top priority. Fortunately, the ball-valve was closed prior to theis clamp tightening attempt, else this would have turned into a water-spout of the boat-sinking kind.

Top and side view of the corroded and now severed tailpipe - OMG!

The broken parts and the replacement.
Predictably, this all unfolded at 4:30pm causing The Bloke to dash into the chandlery before the end of the business day. I knew what he was thinking. "Boat broken. Must fix right away". For once though, we stood back for a moment and thought it through. Was the boat in imminent danger of sinking? No. Would it be dark soon? Yes. Would it be wiser to leave the repair until the morning? Yes. Should we deny Mr Murphy the chance to apply his Law? Yes. So that's exactly what The Bloke did. From potential chaos he stayed cool and calm, demonstrating how we've tightened up our act.

New tailpipe fitted. Phew!