Shoutout to the guy who told me to keep a spare impeller on the boat

We were working the channel near Mobile, and the main pump just quit... no warning. Found the impeller had shredded itself into pieces. If I hadn't listened and thrown that spare in the toolbox that morning, we would've been dead in the water for hours waiting on a parts run. Got it swapped out in under thirty minutes and finished the shift. What's the one spare part you all won't leave the dock without?

2 comments

2 Comments

sandrap409h agoMost Upvoted

Yeah, that "dead in the water" feeling is the worst. My buddy's bilge pump switch failed on him last season, and he was scrambling with a bucket for a hot minute before he could get a new one.

paul_mason129h ago

Oh man, that "scrambling with a bucket" part hits home. I had a float switch stick in the on position once and it ran my battery flat. Total panic. What saved me was keeping one of those cheap, manual backup pumps in a storage box. It hooks right to the battery with clips. It's not pretty, but it bought me enough time to get back to the dock without having to bail by hand. I just won't go out without a backup plan now.