Hanging out

I spent the day cleaning and consolidating all kinds of things on board. I started at the pointy end known as the bow and started working my back. I didn’t know I have 14 fuel filters an 5 oil filters and so it went all over the boat. I even found 7 brand new Yanmar belts, I guess every time I was out I was afraid I might need one.  I threw out 4 bags of trash when I was half way done to amidships, the work continues today. I started the generator only to smell a strange hot odor. After checking the temp it was at 220F, not good, so I shut it down to investigate.  I saw some antifreeze was all around the front end and decided to start with the thermostat.  Of course it’s like everything on a boat you soak it in PB blaster and wait.  After disassembly I could see where it was leaking from the bottom part of the casting where the gasket failed.  Having just organized all the parts I knew just where to find a new thermostat. The problem was the new one was bigger around and had a lip on it.  After using my Dremel Tool and a cut off wheel for an hour I was able to modify it to fit perfectly. The Dremel is the number one most used tool on board and I have two with tons of accessories.  Not having any gaskets is no problem as I have all kinds of gasket material in bulk and made two new gaskets with a box knife, this means I never have to wait on the exact gasket to fix things. I put things all back together and fired it up, she came up to 165F and just stayed there, so problem solved. Well not completely, after 30 minutes or so it was again leaking slightly and I could see it was coming from the weep hole on the water pump.  Possibly the overheating and pressure caused the seal to give it up, not sure.  At least it only uses about a pint for a one hour run which I can live with till I get a replacement.  I have spare Alternators, Starters, Impellors, and Sensors, you name I may have it but I got cheap on the water pump and didn’t stock one, you can’t have too many spares. Today after a little more boat work I am hiking up to the old fort here in St Ruperts Bay, they have restored it into a museum and should be a great trip and good exercise.