So today, we had what could have been a really bad ending to lovely day and night in a quiet little cove.
After raising the anchor this morning, we were motoring back to the main channel of the lake. I've gotten in the habit of leaning out to check the water exhaust every so often especially when we first get underway. Looked normal. We had motored maybe half a mile, checked again - water, though less than usual, but also some white smoke. "That's not right". Went below, engine seacock open, check. No visible blockage in the raw water strainer, check. No leaks from the water pump, check. Grr. Checked the exhaust again, water, but more white smoke. Grrr.
Shut the engine down. Fortunately we were not to the deep water yet, so dropped the anchor. Went back below. My first thought was "impeller?", hoping that was it 'cause I have spares for that. Got the tools out and went to work.
When we bought the boat there was a decent assortment of spare parts on board for our 2QM15 Yanmar:
Impellers (2) and gaskets (2), fuel filter, air filter, fuel pump, belts for water pump (2) and alternator (2), thermo switch, zinc, o-rings and a bonnet gasket (that's what's on the label).
Also oil, transmission fluid, and a supply of those petroleum blotters. Plus the original Yanmar toolkit which has wrenches to fit every fastener on the engine.
Well, it was the impeller. The broken vane was partially lodged in the water pump outlet.
Wasn't a big deal to replace, but I'm very glad that we were where we were and not a far more stressful location, but also - I had the right parts.
So what spares do you carry and how many?
After raising the anchor this morning, we were motoring back to the main channel of the lake. I've gotten in the habit of leaning out to check the water exhaust every so often especially when we first get underway. Looked normal. We had motored maybe half a mile, checked again - water, though less than usual, but also some white smoke. "That's not right". Went below, engine seacock open, check. No visible blockage in the raw water strainer, check. No leaks from the water pump, check. Grr. Checked the exhaust again, water, but more white smoke. Grrr.
Shut the engine down. Fortunately we were not to the deep water yet, so dropped the anchor. Went back below. My first thought was "impeller?", hoping that was it 'cause I have spares for that. Got the tools out and went to work.
When we bought the boat there was a decent assortment of spare parts on board for our 2QM15 Yanmar:
Impellers (2) and gaskets (2), fuel filter, air filter, fuel pump, belts for water pump (2) and alternator (2), thermo switch, zinc, o-rings and a bonnet gasket (that's what's on the label).
Also oil, transmission fluid, and a supply of those petroleum blotters. Plus the original Yanmar toolkit which has wrenches to fit every fastener on the engine.
Well, it was the impeller. The broken vane was partially lodged in the water pump outlet.
Wasn't a big deal to replace, but I'm very glad that we were where we were and not a far more stressful location, but also - I had the right parts.
So what spares do you carry and how many?
