Tom Patterson offered advice at a distance, he won't let me try that old trick again. Reminded me to follow the wires. What did they look like when I cut them? Maybe something was stuck inside which would cause the fuse to blow. So I did. Took it apart,
checked the little plastic impeller, cleaned it up and re-wired it. Blew another fuse.
Cooper, the whaler boss at RYC, bumped up against my stern in a RIB with a HUGE engine. He needs an adult along in order to take it out of the harbor. Did I want to come out for a ride? Hmmmm. Boat ride or bilge filth? Jumped on the boat, raced around Potrero Reach, over by KKMI, saw the Sugar Shack, went real fast, returned real fast.
Reconsidered the issues before me, drove to West Marine and bought a new automatic bilge pump for $85. I don't remember my previous bilge pump costing that much in .... let's see, 2013.
Brought it back to Dura Mater, wired it up and whoopeee!
Twas the fresh air and a ride with a fifteen year old that offered me the ability to think clearly.