Flooded!

I woke up this morning to about a half inch of water at the base of the companionway steps. This may not sound like a lot, but it covered a large area and included about 3 inches below the floor to the bilge area. The water was spilling in from the cockpit, and every time the boat pitched or rolled, another large mouthful of water would wash into the cabin. It rained heavily throughout the night and with the cockpit drain clogged, the water had no other place to go and decided to cause me some grief. After spending 30 or so minutes in the rain that was only slightly above freezing unclogging my cockpit drain, I turned my attention to the water that had made its way into my home.

I went to the electrical control panel and flipped the switch for the bilge pump. Nothing. Flipped it again. Nothing still. I checked the batteries next, since the pump runs on the DC power system and not the shore AC system, and they were both at nearly full charge. The damp feeling on my forehead that I noticed next was either due to the water fully soaking through the hood of my jacket or a cold sweat breaking out because I knew troubleshooting this thing in 34 degree rain would not be what I consider a good time. I grabbed my screwdriver and dove into the electrical panel. I removed the face, unclipped the wires from the back of the switch and scraped some of the corrosion off of the terminals. I touched the two wires together, said a little prayer (okay, a large prayer), closed my eyes and WHIZZZZ...the pump came on. :-) Happy Day!