Sometimes things break

Here is the assortment of of broken items we've been collecting during the trip;

1. The macerator pump broke way back in Rhode Island Sound after two uses. After getting around to taking apart the Shurflo Macerator 3200 in Hampton, VA (I put it off as long as I could), the problem was diagnosed as a burnt out impeller. We ordered a replacement that we had sent to a marina in Beaufort, NC. It looks like something from the tank ripped a couple blades off and there is wear from running it dry too long. We're curious to see how the replacement holds up survives. 

2. The black thing at the bottom left was from our manual bilge pump. The neoprene diaphragm ripped in Ocracoke rendering the pump useless. I ordered the repair kit alongside the macerator impeller and the new one was installed in Beaufort. The old diaphragm probably lasted 5-10 years and took about 30 minutes to fix so I wasn't too upset about this breakdown.

3. The alternator has been a real black eye this trip. The belt has been slipping off, either due to pulley misalignment or the alternator shaking itself loose. Between Cape May, NJ and Beaufort, NC I must have put it back on at least 8 times. Putting it back on involves emptying out the starboard size cockpit locker and laying upside down in the locker while tightening everything down. I went up to a larger bolt size, but the belt didn't want to stay in place. I reverted back to the original bolt size in Ocracoke, to improve the alignment and it's lasted to Beaufort... so far so good (knock on wood).

4. The screen of our C70 Raymarine Chartplotter was starting to flash half way through the trip. We wrote it off as a loose power connection... In Ocracoke we turned it on and the screen was blank white. After troubleshooting the problem, I narrowed it down to the LCD screen. Raymarine only has a 1 year warranty on the screens (as opposed to a 5 year warranty on their hardware) and after testing out the functionality of the system (basically just pushing the man over board button) I think everything else is still working. At this point I am going to take the gamble and order a replacement LCD screen for $174 (PN T-517506D065J-FW-AFN) and have it sent to Charleston to see if it fixes the problem. In the meantime we'll be using the Nexus 10 with for navigation and start practicing with the sextant. 

Update: We picked up the LCD screen in Charleston, I took the old screen out and inserted the new one... still had the white screen of death. Seems to be something more serious :-(. 

Drinking a "Don't worry about it" in the face of an expensive repair.