Alongside the engine saga, I began working on the yacht’s electrics.

Alongside the engine saga, I began working on the yacht’s electrics. On day five of the passage from Sweden to Germany, the bilge pump failed and nearly took the batteries with it. Most likely, something had knocked its switch in the motion, leaving it pumping air for hours.

Tracing the circuit, I found a melted fuse, an unusually small size too. I decided to redo the whole bilge-pump installation. From Amazon: a new pump for €18, a fused control panel for €20, a float switch for automatic operation for €18, a wood hole saw for €5, and chemically and electrically protective gloves for €24. The hardest part was working out the float-switch wiring and finding the pump’s positive and negative supplies. Otherwise, installation went smoothly, giving me confidence in my electrical abilities.

Another flaw was that all the yacht’s equipment ran directly from shore power. After discussing it with Alexei and Vadim, I bought a ready-assembled distribution board for €97 and connected the shore supply through it. Its most expensive component was the electricity meter. I remembered how important it had been in England to Aubrey that we always used a metered shore-power lead. Perhaps mine will come in useful too.

#maintenance