This week has been not the best for sailing at Lake Tahoe, with lots of monsoonal thunderstorms in the area and random, gusty winds and big chop in the late afternoons. So, I went up to the boat on Sunday morning to tear into a project that had been on my mind for a while: Replacing the automatic bilge pump. Now, the existing “bilge pump” when I bought the boat was actually just a Shurflo® Blaster™ wash-down pump that you’d roll out from under the sink, stick the hose in the bilge, and pump until it was dry, then store it back under the sink. Not the best solution, for a number of reasons. So, I tore into the bilge and tried to figure out where the “real” bilge pump used to be, which is not a pleasant experience, especially for a germaphobe like me. After an hour of poking around and trying to figure out where to install the new pump in the Catalina 270’s very narrow bilge (answer: evidently, you put it under the fiberglass “bridge” (see photo), apart from the fact that you can’t use a standard drill there to mount the base…and then there’s the issue of where to put the float switch. Aargh! (Frustration, not pirate-speak.)

Moving on, I found the end of the “old” bilge pump hose hidden under the sole to port. It took 45 minutes of tugging and cajoling the hose to come all the way out, as it was sort of decrepit and nasty, and besides, it was too small to fit the new Attwood® Tsunami™ 1200 gph pump I wanted to put in the bilge. I was hoping to find some convenient “weep” holes to put the wiring through to the main panel, but those remained elusive. So, as the afternoon chop was starting to build and I was getting a little dizzy from the rolling of the boat, I opted to tidy up below and then wash down the decks. Amazing how much dust and pollen collects on a boat on a buoy 200 yards from shore at Lake Tahoe. Afterwards, I stepped off the sugar-scoop transom and plunged into Tahoe with my swim goggles on, hoping to spot the missing fork from our dinner part last week. The lake was so churned up, visibility was only about six feet, so I abandoned that idea and dried off in the wind and sun while I waited for the water taxi to come get me. Another trip or two to The Home Depot, and I’ll have that new bilge pump in, I’m sure of it.

 

Fair winds and smooth sailing. DB