Summer begins with "Puppy Pads"

A couple of weeks ago, we noted that during our trip from Portland, Conn. to Norwich, we developed a pin-hole leak in one of our hydraulic steering lines. The tubing had rubbed against the arm that connects the two rudder posts for 33 years and the hose finally wore through.

The fittings on the ends, we learned, are reverse flair fittings and although everyone told us that any good hydraulic shop could make a new hose with these fittings on it, that turned out not to be true. We visited three companies that make hydraulic lines all day long and not one of them had the parts to make up a new section of line.

Then we called boaterstore.com, also known as Southern Charm,  and in three days we had a new section of hose and right fittings for the ends. We knew boaterstore because they rebuilt our upper helm a couple of years ago. They are really a good source for parts and service for the Hynautic steering systems used on so many Silvertons and other boats.

It took about five minutes to  make up the new hydraulic hose.

We added a short section of plastic water hose over the nylon hydraulic hose to protect it from chafing after it was installed.

The new hose was a pain to install and we won't bore you with what it takes to bleed the air out of the lines after the new hose was in place and a full quart of new hydraulic fluid was added. It took us more than an hour but ti was worth it. Our steering is back to normal and we learned a lot about how it works.

After all of that, we were left with the hydraulic fluid that had leaked out from the old hose into our bilge.  Our bilge always has some water in it because that's where the water from our air conditioner goes. (Note to self: fix that next winter.) We needed to soak up that oily water with something and we discussed a number of alternatives. Bill suggested buying 50-60 sanitary napkins. They soak up stuff, right? Frances pronounced that they would be much too expensive. Then we came across Puppy Pads and  for $10, we bought a bunch at a nearby Ocean State Job Lot.

We packed a number of them into the well around our aft bilge pump and some along the stringers where the bilge water was oily. Then we left them to see what would happen.

This weekend we opened the engine covers and there they were, every Puppy Pad full. We used plastic gloves when we pulled out each pad and put it in a large, waterproof garbage bag. We've taken them all home for disposal at a site that accepts oil-contaminated material.

Our bilge has never been cleaner.

This weekend, Pooka, our boat cat, returned for another summer of fun. He jumped out of his carrier as though he had never left and took up watch at the door.

Boating is all about having fun and this guy knows how to do it.