Sailing Catalpavideo
Reunited and a big Surprise for Bella Episode 489
May 3, 2026 · 23 min · 15K views · Bona Island
What this video covers
Catalpa's crew, anchored off Bona Island in Panama, deals with a shredded generator impeller caused by dry-starting: the impeller sits above the waterline, water siphons back out of the cooling hose when the generator stops, and the unit spins dry on restart.6:05 Lee pulls the impeller apart, finds rubber residue confirming heat damage, and notes it failed at roughly 150 hours — well short of the 300–500-hour minimum he expects.7:22 His planned fix is a flapper-style non-return valve ahead of the seacock ball valve to stop the siphon-back.6:57 A replacement impeller arrives via the Amazon wish list just in time.7:53 Meanwhile, Ali spends two days sanding and applying multiple coats of Totoboat varnish inside Taj's cabin to suppress mould growth on bare wood — a problem she has already solved in her own cabin and the bathroom.9:20 Catalpa then pulls anchor and heads to Panama City to collect Taj, who has been away two months; Bella receives an unexpected new board he brought back as a surprise.19:01 A Mantus 125-pound galvanized anchor also arrives, along with alternators and Total Boat antifoul, with a haul-out planned once a new propeller is delivered.15:58
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