Since all of the existing bilge pump wiring was shot, we started to redo it.  We finished the main pump a few days ago and reinstalled it, but the float switch for the second needed to be replaced and the entire system rewired.  Those parts came in last night so that became the first priority for work today! (mostly so we can shove the second pump back where it belongs and close the giant hole in the floor…)

I didn’t get many pictures of the new switch and wiring because it’s boring.  We ordered a new float switch and mounted it above the pump on the aluminum mounting strap.  This is the second emergency bilge pump that should only turn on if the primary fails or if water is coming into the boat too quickly for it to keep up.  Hopefully we never have to use it! We also bought a standalone high water alarm system for the boat.  If water is above the secondary bilge pump I would very much like to know about it!

Previously when you opened this hatch it was just a huge mess of wiring.  It’s noticeably better now!  Still a few things to clean up in here, but it’s coming along nicely!

We took all of the safety rails off the back of the boat so the arch could be fit without interference, but we also removed half of the gate further forward.  It only had 2 screws in it instead of 4 and I really don’t want to trust my life to 2 little screws.  We got it removed, bought new hardware, cleaned everything up, and reinstalled it! One less set of holes in the boat!

Another tiny thing… our boat came with a spinning blade thing that goes on the prop shaft.  Its purpose is to cut any lines or seaweed that could get wrapped around the prop which is definitely a nice thing to have!  Our boat neighbors told us about how they had one that was worn out and got jammed and messed up their transmission, so we sent ours off to get rebuilt just in case.  It took 5 minutes to install, but that’s one less thing on the list!

Once I realized that the fuel pump I installed for the polishing system wasn’t going to work I went home and researched a new one and got that thing ordered! I hate redoing work and this will be the third time I’ve installed a pump for this thing!  Apparently third time’s a charm because I got the pump mounted and wired and it looks like it’ll work fantastic! Finally!

The surveyor who looked at our boat before we bought it was walking around at the yard surveying the boat next to us so we invited him over to see all the work that we’d done.  He seemed really impressed with everything, including our electrical system! It’s nice to hear we’re doing things right! 🙂