Hi,
Recently while flushing my water tanks, I noticed that the bilge pump was tripping the circuit breaker after 10 to 20 seconds of pumping. If I reset the breaker straight away, it would run for a few seconds and then trip it again.
So i started to check the pump. I could not find anything in the strainer, or in the pump intake.
So I removed the pump and tested it in a bucket of fresh water. The same thing happened. So I contacted Rule (its a Rule 2000), and they said they would replace it under warranty - great service.
But, while I had the pump out, I noticed a lot of rust around one of the keel bolts. I cleaned up the rust, but wonder why this bolt is rusty. Did they use an incorrect washer? As it was the bolt next to the pump, I wonder if the rusty material has got sucked into the pump and caused it to fail?
As the boat and pump are still under warranty, I will contact the Catalina dealer and get their comment and organise them to fix it.
But I would appreciate any informed comments from the group.
Cheers
Cat375 - Rock The Boat - Hull 54
Lake Macquarie - NSW - Australia
Simon,
It does kind of look like the washer that rusted is of inferior stainless. But remember, the metal is stain-LESS, but that doesn't mean not at all! It doesn't look bad, but there is some rust. I'm guessing cosmetic, but it's hard to tell from pictures. BTW, that is the cleanest bilge I have seen in YEARS! I think a solution would be to remove the offending washer, replace it with a new, higher-quality SS one, torque to factory specs, and then paint the washer and nut with epoxy. Don't paint the threads of the keel bolts, but do paint the nut and washer. If/when you need to re-torque the keel bolts, 100+ foot pounds will easily break the epoxy seal, but in the meantime, they will be protected from the corrosive salt water in the bilge. Just a thought.
Tom Sokoloski
C36/375IA Past Commodore
Noank, CT