I suck at this

Well last weekend I did as I normally seem to do...accomplish nothing. I tried my hardest to get the impeller out of the engines raw water pump to no avail. The thing is stuck in there hard and much blood, sweat and curse words were spilled trying to get it out. I even purchased one of these impeller removal tools:

It is meant to easily remove impellers in tight and cramped spaces. Turns out, my space is extra tight and extra cramped...too much for even the tool. The bolt going down the center of the tool woul'dnt fit in the space I had to work with, but I was able to remove it and try to pull the impeller using the side clamps. I was able to get a good grip on the impeller with it, but no force I could apply would make it budge. I even had the PO come help me out and with some of his ideas, tried to apply more force using long screw drivers as leverage and such. Nothing worked, only seemed to destroy the impeller further.

When I decided it was time to start taking the engine apart to remove the pump itself, I was stopped short by the alternator's pivot bolt being frozen in place. At the time I was trying to free it, I dropped one of the only sockets that fit that bolt down the bilge. I didn't have the tools or the skill to get the bolt undone, let alone remove the water pump.

So I think I am done trying to do this repair. It takes me 2 hours each way to get to and from the boat on a weekend, and when I accomplish nothing like this it just makes me so much more depressed. I think it is time to call the mechanic and get this thing fixed once and for all.

The only thing I was able to accomplish was stemming the fast drip of water from the packing nut on the stuffing box. With some effort I was able to tighten it up slightly to stop the water from dripping. So now hopefully the bilge doesn't fill up with water and sink the boat while I am away from it.