I've been a mechanic for a long, long time; but most of my efforts have been in the highly regulated field of flogging airplanes. Boat work is left to the discretion of the boat worker, and..well...not intending to insult anyone; it appears that some boat workers are not as skilled? careful? intelligent? as others. Not to put too fine a point on it, some appear to be just plain quacks. Lack of skill or serious moral failing does not appear to dampen their enthusiasm any, thus the most entertaining of efforts can be found in the dark places of a 30 year old boat. My favorite from last weekend...
If a system incorporates some kind of sensing switch, (say a float switch) and said switch goes Tango-Uniform, just wiring around it as if the designer didn't really have a good reason for adding a switch there in the first place? Generally not the best of ideas. Without a sensing switch the only thing standing between the pump and self destruction is a humble human hand controlling the power. Sump tank full - flip power switch "ON" - sump tank empty - humble human distracted by some passing bauble - pump runs dry - shredded neoprene impeller bits everywhere - frozen and shorted motor - power tripped to "OFF" - humble human still staring at passing bauble in total daze; the natural, universal progression of order to disorder when things are left to their own devices.
The good news is that it looks to be an easy fix. Add a switch and install a new impeller (as soon as I figure out a p/n). The motor, its spinning end free of impeller bits and able to spin to its little heart's content once again, wasn't shorted any more. Cool beans. The bad news is I'm starting to wonder just what really got inspected for all the inspection money we spent? If I certified an airplane and missed something like half a freaking pumping system not working, someone would be knocking on the shop door...
"I'm from the FAA and I'm here to help."
2 comments:
It does sounds like your surveyor was not very good. :((
Bill Kelleher
True Bill, but I can't complain. Hiring someone to do something you can’t do for yourself is one thing. Hiring someone to do something you can probably do better yourself? No right to complain afterward. I have been inspecting and fixing airplanes for more than 30 years. The fact is I should have bucked up, taken a few days off work, put on my woolies, grabbed some tools, and done it myself. I would have done a better job than the ex-sub Commander; thrown every switch, tested every system, poked my nose into every dark corner.
But the boat floats, the systems are fixable, and I am learning about my soon-to-be home in the best way possible. I am a pretty happy camper.
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