Two years ago I acquired Beagle II (then "Afternoon Delight"- a cheesy song from the eighties) from the estate of the original owner, a feisty seventy-something gal who loved sailing and sports cars and who died too young. At that time, wishing to placate any ghostly presences on the boat, I volunteered to distribute Ginnie's cremains from her old boat. As these things usually do, it took almost two years to coordinate with all the parties and actually come up with a definite date and time. Yesterday at 11:30 AM, her cousin and her husband, as well as one of Ginnie's best friends- not to mention neighboring slipholder at Mariner's Marina- and her husband showed up with a box containing not one, but four individual containers of cremains- Ginnie, her partner, and their two pet dogs! We packed the cooler with snacks, subs, water, champagne, and other goodies, fired up the mighty diesel and motored from our dock out to the bay. As we were passing through the markers into the bay, I noticed the distinct smell of burning rubber. Not good. I raised the engine hatch and immediately noted that the fresh water cooling pump had seized and the belt was doing a fine imitation of Cheech and Chong back in the day. Those on board started mumbling things about TowBoatUS, are you paid up this year?, etc etc. Not to be.........I had raised the main as we were motoring out of our lagoon, so I decided the the Pardeys did not need an engine, nor did I. We slowly sailed out to deeper water- most of the Barnegat is notoriously shallow- pointed south, unfurled the jib, and tacked our way five miles down the bay to Conklin Island- the area where Ginnie did most of her sailing. Along the way, we recognized two other boats- a big Beneteau and an Oday of about thirty two feet that were both friends and slip neighbors with Ginnie. We contacted and ended up with a fleet of three to tend to this task. One last tack as we approached Conklin- might I mention that the Beagle was not giving up a whole great lot to the other two boats- and we furled the jib, hove to with the main, as the other two boats hove to nearby. We slowly poured the ashes into the waters as I read two Christian prayers of sea burial, added the two doggy ashes, then cast six roses into the deep (actually, seven feet). We all un-hove and had a great and straight downwind ride back to Forked River. Munchies, lunch, a small champagne toast were the order of the day. I sailed into our main canal, getting blanketed occasionally by big houses and dropping under two knots, hung a right into our lagoon (downwind now), swung a 180 at the end of the canal, and put the now cool engine on for thirty seconds and glided right to the dock, bow into the wind. It was a fitting conclusion to a perfect sail and touching ceremony on Barnegat Bay. Of course, this morning I removed the pump, found it was not made to be rebuilt, and have been checking a couple sites to order a new one. Three hundred bucks seems a little pricey for what appears to be a seventy dollar Kubota part, but hey, we gotta keep the old Beagle on the hunt!!
Great story, thanks. Now about that pump. I had to replace the same pump, yes they are expensive. We were in Canada when ours gave out and found one very reasonably priced. Give me a day or sot o find the receipt. It may be cheaper to buy from the Canadian shop and pay shipping.
Edit: It was this place,
http://www.gartsidemarine.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/ (http://www.gartsidemarine.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/)
Thanks for the tip- am awaiting a reply from them. I also went back in the CP27 archives and found a Kubota part number that should also be a direct replacement for half the Torresen price. I hope to have the part here within a week and get back on the water- winter's coming!!
Have not had a burial at sea in either my 27 or 35 as I am waiting for my own burial at sea to be made on my 35. HOWEVER, I have had to replace a water pump and found this tip from a mechanic. If you notice your water pump is leaking a little it is about to go. they build them that way on purpose to give us a clue as to the fate that is awaiting us before it actually its.
Peter,
Care to share the pump part number that crosses to the Kobota?
Phil
Yacht Supply Depot has the fresh water pump for 99 bucks- 50 better than the Kubota dealer.
http://www.yachtsupplydepot.com/engine-parts-and-supplies/marine-diesels/kubota-diesel-parts/kubota-15852-73030-pump-water-assembly/prod_47579.html
They were also able to supply the Oberdorfer RW pump for a price better than the other suppliers.
Also, there was no tell-tale leakage on the FW pump prior to failure- it simply seized up and smoked the belt. The RW pump started dripping ever so slightly, so I replaced it as a matter of preventative maintenance.