The Easiest Thing I Ever Fixed

Hand drawn pic of Swell by my lil' friend Herenui.

And so, after a deceptively strong cup of coffee aboard ‘Sea Level’, I bid Kent and Jimmy farewell. That was just the extra kick I needed to attack the ‘new’ leak. I’d been feeling an overall lack of passion for fixing things over the last month, and the new trickle of water had nearly sent me over the edge. All my friends on their way to the beach, and I was going to hang out with my leaky toilet!?! But with the buzz of caffeine as added inspiration, I dove into it ‘head’ first. Hee hee…

After a few minutes of assessment, I was delighted to find a minor leak from the ball valve joint! I went to the tool bin and grabbed a few crescent wrenches. On a normal day, I’d have to try at least two or three before getting the right one…but that day I grabbed exactly what I needed on the first go?! Huh?

I noticed that there were no lock washers on the nuts, so maybe that’s why they had slipped loose…so I fished into my little assorted goods box before pulling out the entire tool box and spare parts collection under my nav table. Alas, two lock washers that fit!?! Impossible?

I slipped them over the bolts, cranked on the nuts, and flushed the whole area with a few buckets of seawater with simple green and bleach. I dried the pump and under the web of hoses that run around the area. As I lifted the hoses, I saw that there was a gap at the base of the head. The same fiberglass runner that was oozing water from the other side butt up against the back of the head. It made perfect sense….I’d been heeled on my port side on the passage over and so the water from the leaky pump had probably been trickling over this little ledge and appearing over on the other side! My detective work was done! I gave the head a few flushes, and stuck my hand under the joint to feel for drips…dry! Fixed! The agony was over! And it was the easiest thing I could remember fixing in a very long time…Every now and then, life gives you a break.

After high-fiving Jimmy on the way, I was off to the beach…