Somewhere between Plymouth and Falmouth the heads (sea toilets) failed. Not completely, but they did not function as we would really wish. I tried to obtain a service kit of replacement valves and seals, with no luck. We proceeded to Milford Haven. I contacted a mail order chandlery, let's call them Postfast. I placed my order and was assured that the service kit could and would be delivered in a couple of days. As I had to go to Newport to do an exam I was expecting to be around MH for a week or so.
The first of my engineers, Bill, heroically dismantled the pump and tried to diagnose the problem. Sadly no spare parts arrived. I contacted Postfast who denied all knowledge of an order being placed, even though I had a record of the ten minute call I had made to them. I placed a new order with the parts to be sent to Dublin. My second engineer Colin also had a go at repair with no luck. We sailed on to Holyhead and thence to Howth, thence Dublin. Had the parts arrived? No. I discussed it with the officers of the Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club, telling them what to look out for. If it arrived they could give it to another boat heading for Belfast.
Toucando sailed to that fine city via Carlingford, Peel and Bangor. I contacted Postfast. Apparently the parts couldn't be delivered in Dublin because it required my signature to receive them. So they were returning to Crawley or wherever Postfast is based. I asked if they could send me a new set. Unfortunately they did not have another, but said they would redirect the returned one to Loch Melfort. I tried a number of other companies with names like PDQ, Force 8 and Poplars, all of whom had the same story: not in stock, there should be some available in July.
Toucando proceeded to Glenarm, Port Ellen and now Ardfern. We went into the office/chandlery to pay our dues. The assistant said, "is there anything else you would like?" "Have you by any chance got an RM69 service kit?" She looked it up on the system. "No, sorry."
I thought I'd look on the plumbing shelves. There was something called a universal kit looking suspiciously like an RM69. It's got to be worth a try, I thought. As I was returning to the till Anne followed me with a package marked RM69! At last. I was about to take possession of the last Raske and Van de Meyde service kit in the country... Perhaps the last in Europe except the one I already owned which was lost in the postal system. I got it back to the boat and commenced a seven hour process of dismantling, cleaning, investigating, repeatedly reassembling and taking apart the pump. Every time I put it back together it still failed to work. Eventually I came to the conclusion that another component had failed. Third engineer Simon suggested epoxying it together. Genius! I used marine filler and put the wretched thing back together for the final time. This time it worked perfectly! You may not be interested in this. I wouldn't be. It's just the sort of thing I skip when reading the yachting magazines, but it has been rather a dominant feature of life for the last month or so. It would be hard to estimate how much time has been spent on practically addressing the problem and on the phone to Postfast.
Mentions in despatches to Bill, Colin, Anne and Simon.
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Location:Ardfern,United Kingdom
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