Vegetable oil fixed one, the other remains
Issue 73 : Jul/Aug 2010
My usual motto, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” has served me well in many life experiences but has never been the best strategy to use in relation to boats. Comprised as it is of a series of interdependent systems, every sailboat requires a continuous preventive maintenance schedule to provide trouble-free service.
I have spent the past four seasons learning how to maintain the various systems on our 1981 Bayfield 32, Ocypete: propulsion, rigging, hull, plumbing, and electrical. As for our Jabsco marine head, except for winterizing it with RV antifreeze at haulout time, I had taken it for granted and neglected to perform any regular maintenance on it.
Early in the season, my first mate, Emily, brought it to my attention that our normally reliable head was making high-pitched squealing sounds when the flushing handle was pumped. I surmised that rubber gaskets were probably drying out and the squealing noises were the result of friction against the pump’s metal piston rod. My research in do-it-yourself magazines and books explaining how to dismantle and service a marine head suggested that this job would be another boating adventure to remember.
During a recent visit with boating friends, I mentioned my situation. The other skipper informed me that a cup of vegetable oil would solve my problem. On my next trip to the boat, I soaked a folded piece of toilet tissue with vegetable oil and lubricated the piston rod of the pumping handle when it was in the elevated position. I poured the rest of the oil into the head and flushed it through. The relief was instantaneous. This ritual will now be added to my annual list of maintenance tasks to perform each spring. If you choose to do likewise, use vegetable oil; petroleum oil will degrade the rubber gaskets.
Now, if I could only get rid of the noise in my other head — the one that keeps urging me to get a bigger boat.
Bill Van Allen and his first mate, Emily, began trailersailing on inland lakes in central Ontario. After progressing from a 24 to a 26 MacGregor, they now sail a Bayfield 32 out of Penetanguishene on Lake Huron’s Georgian Bay.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
