"Leoma" 30 K underway..

[JD-MDR]

Arrived at Monterey in thick fog.We have no electronics and crew member is freaking.He 's offering to pay for a tow. I'm trying hard not to get mad. .He can't even help steer.He won't sieep or eat just chain smokes.I hate cigeretts..I waited outside till daylight ght and the harbor was right where it was supposed to be..Her is a photo of the "Orca" I hope you all read there story "Orcas Log".Now my question. The boat is leaking bad the pump barely keeps up. I can't find where it's coming from I suspect from the rudder post,but I only see a little dribble.leaking stopped when we got in the bay.Photis of the shaft log.I see there is no packing gkand.I am gonna make a boot or wrap with silicon tape and press on our next stop Morro Bay 120 mi +/-

[tjr818]

Have your crew mate taste the water to see if it is fresh water or salt. A leak that the pump cannot keep up with is serious and must be resolved. Best of luck, with the leak and the crew.

[JD-MDR]

It was the bilge pump.no check valve or vented loop.The guy from the yard was great.He only charged me $45 . He put silicon tape on the rudder post an spent the rest of an hour looking for things to correct. I love Monterey .The waiting list for a slip 10-15 yrs.I hope my crewman is gonna be ok .He doesn't know I can't stand him

[Steve Laume]

It was the bilge pump.no check valve or vented loop.The guy from the yard was great.He only charged me $45 . He put silicon tape on the rudder post an spent the rest of an hour looking for things to correct. I love Monterey .The waiting list for a slip 10-15 yrs.I hope my crewman is gonna be ok .He doesn't know I can't stand him

It would be a lot less stressful to send him home and continue on alone. You might even salvage your friendship if you do, Steve.

[JD-MDR]

Thanks.I need to be carefull. He is an acquaintence from 12 step program. I would be regretting it if he fell off the wagon. Yesterday he tried to be helpful and dropped my outboard in the water. A diver was right there Nd I got my Nissan 5 running. He went to urgent Care cuz his fingernail was ripped off when he and the motor went in. I delayed my departure one day. He woke me in the night and offered to bus home. I feel sorry for him. The other night sailing he was standing ,smoking I imagined him falling over .I thought he was more capable in the yard he knew about the maintainence and rigging. Lucky I'm a person of faith my "higher power is looking out.

[tjr818]

More points in your Black Box. Thoughtful and nice.

[JD-MDR]

I can't say the leg to Morrow Bay was uneventful.The weather forced me and the crew to overcome our character differences.Started picking up and revised forcast 30 kt nw.I went to reef and found the boom was almost off .the nut gone and the bolt half way out..then the catch that keeps the slides in seems broken several sliders came out.Also the shackle on the halyard came off and up.Doug managed to hold her into but not without Dre nching me . Anchored at San simion, a serene cove.We are now in control ,passing Morro Bay. Winds sposed to settle down this she's sailing like a champ now . I sure have a lot of things to fix

[Sea Hunt Video]

Morrow Bay is on my "Top 5" list of places to move to so I can get out of "hurricane alley". From all I have read and seen, Morrow Bay is beautiful; they have a great sailing club there as well.

Best wishes on your sailing trip.

[JD-MDR]

Anchored at pt conception,'s cojo Anchorage.Everything I fine .It's still leaking. Not as bad but enough to worry about running the batteries down.It only leaks when we are moving I looked everywhere I can't see it coming in.Makes me wonder if could still be the shaft log.Its only 60 mi home to Ventura .I hope they have some kind of leak detection expert.I can't find it. Now that I'm home I have a couple years to work on things and I can still fool around at the channel islands and Catalina

[Ben Thomas]

You may want to check the bilge pump hose. it needs to be looped up as high as it can near the center line before it exits through the thru hull. when motoring the stern squats, when that happens the bilge hose outlet may be under the water line. If so, it could be syphoning back into the bilge. When you slow down stern lifts, thru hull is again above water line. flooding stops.
Cheers, Ben

[JD-MDR]

Thanks Ben, I sure hope it is something so simple. I routed the hose up high onth inside cockpit locker but didn't loop it

[Steve Laume]

I had an "issue", a few years ago, after pumping out my bilge while on a starboard tack. I had just installed a big electric bilge pump with an inch and a quarter hose looped up high and as far inboard as it would go. On starboard the through hull is under water with that pump and if you pump the bilge while healed it will siphon no matter how many loops you put in it. A tack to port or even just rounding up until the boat stops healing will break the siphon. You need to install a vented loop to break the siphon. A check valve would also stop it but that is a very bad way of dealing with the problem. They can jamb, plug, or otherwise fail.

My manual diaphragm pump discharges on the other side, with the same hose configuration but it will not siphon because the pump itself acts as a check valve.

The good thing about this problem is that you need to set it in motion. It is not an issue if the boat is sitting in a slip or even on a mooring and the pump were to cycle. I set mine up without an automatic switch so this was never an issue.

A vented loop will solve your problem an not restrict the flow, if it is the bilge hose causing the problem, Steve.

[Steve Laume]

Thanks Ben, I sure hope it is something so simple. I routed the hose up high onth inside cockpit locker but didn't loop it

Is the bilge pump through hull underwater when you are motoring? Do you have a check valve in the system? Do you take on water while sailing? It doesn't sound like the bilge pump is the problem if it only happens while motoring.

That rudder shaft looks bone dry. That leaves you back at the prop shaft. I would take a good look at the packing gland on the shaft, while the engine is running and in gear. You should only be seeing a few drips per min. when it is turning.

Snug up that packing gland just a bit and your problems will be over, if it is the shaft, Steve.

[JD-MDR]

I'm hoping it's the vented loop. The prop shaft and log look perfect. The rudder post is high enough they don't use a packing gland just some type of bearing which feels a little sloppy but that water all goes in the cockpit . We seemed to have fixed for the time with tape. I'm in Ventura now .The crewman took off like a bat.Thanks everybody for the help and letting me vent.

[JD-MDR]

Safe at Harbor . getting things taken care of.Flushing cooling system and fixing a oil leak from the sending switch. I now remember what happened with the bilge pump problem. I took out a bilge pump ,a jabsco water puppy mounted high on the bulkhead with a float switch in the bilge. I guess the pump was the check valve and it was high up. I've never saw a bilge pump like that I put in what I'm used to, but I decided to try one of the new Rule 750gph pump and float switch combination units. I now have the hose up high and I put the loop. I haven't tried it out yet. I hope it is OK or I will put a check valve. Other than that I will be re-uping my cash for a month or two. So I can finish the chain backing plates and get the windlass. Sails are torn and running rigging is bad. I will work on those little by little.