Mysterious Rules of the Universe

[TaoJones]

I've always gotten a kick out of one member's sig line, Erika:

"The best bilge pump is a scared sailor with a bucket."

TaoJones

[Bash]

I helped deliver a mega-yacht once where they had huge y-valves in the raw-water intake for all four Detroit diesels so that you could suck bilge water through the engines if the boat started to sink. Now THAT was a better bilge pump than a scared sailor with a bucket.

Not to quibble with local wisdom, of course.

[James S]

I set mine up that way...not a y-valve...two separate gate valves...seemed like a good idea....hope I never need to use it.

[sailorgal]

Originally Posted by Bash

I helped deliver a mega-yacht once where they had huge y-valves in the raw-water intake for all four Detroit diesels so that you could suck bilge water through the engines if the boat started to sink. Now THAT was a better bilge pump than a scared sailor with a bucket.

Not to quibble with local wisdom, of course.

Oh great! I just read this to the captain, and now he thinks we should set up a similar system in our boat! Add that to the list of things he wants to do before we finally take off!!

We are never gonna get out of here.

Is that another rule of the universe?????

You gotta have all this stuff repaired/replaced/installed before you can go?? We just replaced the heat/ac compressor, had fuel injectors repaired on our Cat 4208s. Had GPS installed (we didn't have one before). Installed long range WiFi setup. We still have to install the watermaker (Hi J.T.!!).

As a previous poster wrote -- as soon as you fix one thing, two other things break. He must have been talking about our boat!!

[bobfnbw]

Ah yes, the rules.
Rule number one, no one knows all the rules.
Rule number two, Just when you think you are starting to learn the rules, the rules change.

Measuring for instance. Measuring on a boat, with all those curved surfaces and cubbys to go thru makes it damn near impossible to get a accurate measure for installing wire, or new plumbing hose. Sure you might be able to pull out the old stuff and measure it, but chances are, it won't come out in one piece, or you decide to move it somewhere else..
So you measure as best as you can, add a foot for good measure, cut it, and yup, it is to short, to long, or not even the right gauge.
Or the hatch gasket. Took out the old one, measured not once but three times just to be sure, ordered it from mcmaster carr.... and of course its to small to get a good seal.
Next time it will be to large to fit. Maybe the third time.....
The rules are not meant to be broken. They are meant to break you, or to make you stronger......

[David M]

The rule I use for wire is to get about 20% more than the least amount I think I might need. I have plenty of scraps of short lengths of wire...which actually come in handy sometimes.

Another rule I have is to buy about 20% more fasteners than I need. You never know when someone threw the wrong size back in the bin and you did not notice, the fastener is screwed up, it gets lost in the bilge or gets dropped over the side. As a result of doing this for about 20 years now, I have one heck of a nice fastener collection, which has saved my butt numerous times and has saved me dozens of trips to West Marine. The same idea applies to hose clamps and electrical connectors.

The downside is my marina neighbors know I have all this stuff.

[senormechanico]

I measured and thought I needed 12 feet of 10/2 for a solar panel install.
I bought (and paid for) 13 feet just to be sure.
As I was leaving the WM store, I thought to myself, "did she cut 12 or 13 feet?"
We measured it before I left and sure enough, it was only 12 feet long.
I thought "ah, what the heck, I can make it." so I installed it.
Sure enough it made it EXACTLY with no extra at all.

Must'a been a fluke of the Universe.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by Ocean Girl

Rule #1 on OG - There is no such thing as a simple job.

Cheers,
Erika

P.S. As a Nurse working in the OR rule #1 - Never never never say it is a quiet night, it will make you very unpopular when the trauma code inevitably goes off.

25 years in the OR and I know both rules too.

LOL

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by Bash
I helped deliver a mega-yacht once where they had huge y-valves in the raw-water intake for all four Detroit diesels so that you could suck bilge water through the engines if the boat started to sink. Now THAT was a better bilge pump than a scared sailor with a bucket.

Not to quibble with local wisdom, of course.

Originally Posted by sailorgal

Oh great!

I was pleased to find that the Gemini comes standard with that.

[Ocean Girl]

A few days of bucketing every 45 minutes I had plenty of time to designed and redesigned in my head the back up systems for the pumps that broke down, including an engine driven one. But I'll also add that we did not have enough fuel to run the engine for three or four days (we ate most of our fuel during the storm that caused the boat to take on water). So the engine driven bilge pump back up has it's limitations too. We even had to tack away from port for a few hours till the winds were more favorable (that was probably my lowest point emotionally).. ahh thems were good times (says the girl safely tucked in her dry bunk taking on no water).
Erika

P.S sorry for the thread drift but I guess there are a few rules above..like in times of trouble the winds always blow from the port you need to get to.

[hummingway]

Congratulations on making it to your dry bunk. I guess sometimes the shortest distance between two points isn't a straight line (take that Sir Isaac Newton).

[sbenest]

Didn't Michael Bentine have a song about a piano........

[LexLocal]

Beaucoups of Mercis-- for all the fun jibes about the HARD n'dangerous world of boat fixin--

Recovering from three weeks of removal of deceased Self-contained Heat/Cool compressor--replacement with Bigger/Better unit...............We {me and FantaSea} had a complete experience-carpentry , plumbing, electric, engineering and my personal favorite--hanging upside down with a bag of screwdrivers..

Zen and the Art of........


Things THEY didn't tell about Boat Repair-

1. Have explanation ready for BBP--Bruises on Bony Points, ribcage, pelvis eye socket- after the Crawl-space Shimmy--

2. Go ahead and give yourself a little shock from Mr. Volt so the Mind, and general outlook.... at least are de-sensitised ....a little...

3. Have other Cruisen Mates ready to share the guts and glory!!!

How bout an AMEN!!--Others are thinkin about Cruisen--We are doin--

[S&S]

As a corrollary to "there is no simple job" :

No production item ever works for your application without significant modification.

[s/v Beth]

OG- I am writing from the OR (between cases). We have two rules: They can always hurt you more and No good deed ever goes unpunished. Your telling us about your OR rule is case in point. I have no doubt you would have had a quiet night if you would not have told anyone about your rule for avoiding trauma....