So what do you find to do all day?

So, back in Turkey after our first "holiday" (yes, honestly!) for five years. We went to check out the Caribbean with some friends. Two weeks sailing on a 'dog of a Beneteau' and then a week in a friend's villa on Bequia (St Vincent and the Grenadines). If we needed it this was the clincher to cross the pond this coming winter - blue seas, blue skies but most of all the winds. 20k-25k consistently and the most fantastic sailing.

I'm back in Kas and I've left Gill in Istanbul visiting some of the Turkish friends she met last year in Teos Marina. While she's away I've started back on the hard graft.

"What do you find to do all day?" How many times have I been asked that. Here's a typical two days.

Day 1: Get up, have breakfast, catch up on correspondence. Decide it's time to address the leaking diesel lift pump. This is the manual pump for purging the fuel line of air after a filter change. It's always leaked and it's getting worse. Eventually air will get in while the engine is running and then "poof", no engine. So, check the internet for the diesel Mercedes vehicles that used the same engine as we have (OM616 for you mechanical geeks). Find a couple of YouTubes showing how to make the change. I already had a new pump ordered and collected in the UK. Need to take off the fuel in and fuel out lines to get at the pump itself. One comes off easily but the hose is stiff and needs to be replaced - the end I've removed looks like it needs a 10mm hose. Walk into Kas. Chandler only has 8mm. Try auto shop. Yup, they have it though not marine grade. Purchase 2m so I have spare for next time it needs changing. Back to boat. Remove other end of hose from pump. Bugger - that's a tiny hose barb, actually need 8mm instead. Walk back into Kas. Buy 8mm from original chandler (at least it is marine grade this time). Back to boat. Can't get other hose connector unscrewed. Have a cup of tea to assess situation. Meet Will and get invited to BBQ in his lovely apartment overlooking Kas. Eat sausages, drink beer, chat about Caribbean. Go home to boat. Now it's dark. Go to bed.

Day 2: Get up, have breakfast. Spend 1.5 hours trying unsuccessfully to remove second hose connection. Only suceed in burring the nut a bit. Need a new approach. Have cup of tea. Talk to Steve on Whitestar across the pontoon. "Take the entire unit off to give yourself more space to work" he says. Good idea but that means draining the engine oil first which I only changed a few weeks back. Consequently I want to re-use this oil but I don't have a clean container. Walk into Kas to buy a container. Walk back to the boat. Drain engine oil. Remove pump unit, remove old lift pump by building complex mechanism to hold the odd shaped unit using mole grips, vice and adjustable spanner. Yippee! It's all to bits now. Fit replacement lift pump after finally removing tiny 'O' ring and fit inlet and outlet connectors back on. Hope it won't leak anywhere when it is reassembled. Fit entire unit back onto engine block. Getting dark again now and I can't see to connect up the hoses again. Shower, happy hour and dinner with Rose and Brian on Alixora.

So, there you have it. A pretty typical couple of days to still not complete a job that the YouTube videos said would take 10-20 minutes. Still, I've learned some new stuff, I've had fun in an odd sort of way, the job is nearly complete and as Kevin on Sailaway said "what would you have to do if there weren't these little jobs to keep you busy? You would be bored" Thanks Kevin, and I'll see you for dinner on Sailaway tomorrow evening.