My sea water strainer sits well above the water line if you lift the boat out you have to remember to turn the seacock off , remover the seawter strainer top and fill it with water other wise the pump will not pick up and she will run dry.
Of if you forgot to open the seawater cock the same problem will a rise. Its sort of a problem that could have grave consequence
with a result of over heating the motor and possible seizure.
Whats a really good sea strainer or who make one??
Hi HG
Have you seen this www.speedseal.com/SpeedsealLife/SpeedsealLife.html
It doesn't sound like a bad idea and protects the impeller if you forget to turn the water on or the supply gets blocked
Regards Don
Select to expand quoteDonk107 said..
Hi HG
Have you seen this www.speedseal.com/SpeedsealLife/SpeedsealLife.html
It doesn't sound like a bad idea and protects the impeller if you forget to turn the water on or the supply gets blocked
Regards Don
I just changed the link to the correct one
Regards Don
Select to expand quoteDonk107 said..
Hi HG
Have you seen this www.speedseal.com/speedseal.html
It doesn't sound like a bad idea and protects the impeller if you forget to turn the water on or the supply gets blocked
Regards Don
Like that one Donk Oh Yes I certainly do 
theres a nice lathe at work 
I think that the tricky bits are inside to stop the impeller frying if run dry
There is a australian agent and I don't think the price for the complete kit is too expensive at $169 it would hardly be worth the time to try and make it yourself http://www.abetterwaytogo.com.au/product-categories/marine/speedseal.aspx
Regards Don
Here is a application chart http://www.abetterwaytogo.com.au/f.ashx/Speedseal-Life-campatibility-chart_2.pdf
The red rockets are on page 2
Regards Don
Select to expand quoteDonk107 said..
On the website it looks like a nice bit of engineering
Regards Don
I would still like to lower the sea strain below the water line doing that should over come any problem other than forgetting to open the engine sea-cock
I do internd to have a decal with that written on it
But that upgrade is well worth looking at also Donk
The advantage I can see with having it mounted above the water line is if the sea cock was open or jammed open and you wanted clean the strainer or the strainer sprung a leak that you were not aware of the ocean would not want to come in
Regards Don
YoSelect to expand quoteHG02 said..Donk107 said..
On the website it looks like a nice bit of engineering
Regards Don
I would still like to lower the sea strain below the water line doing that should over come any problem other than forgetting to open the engine sea-cock
I do internd to have a decal with that written on it
But that upgrade is well worth looking at also Donk
You could probably store the ignition key beside the sea cock handle as a reminder to turn it on before starting the engine
Regards Don
I think that the oring seal on plate instead of a gasket and the knurled thumbscrews instead of the countersunk originals would make it a heap easier to replace the impeller without the need for any tools
Regards Don
Select to expand quoteDonk107 said..
I think that the oring seal on plate instead of a gasket and the knurled thumbscrews instead of the countersunk originals would make it a heap easier to replace the impeller without the need for any tools
Regards Don
Yes that was my thoughts to Donk would not be to hard to spin up a piece of bronze with an o ring groove even studs with wing nuts would work ok
Yep you could but for $169 including the bearing thrust plate and Teflon washer inside would it be worth the time it would take to source the stuff needed and then make it on the lathe
Regards Don
The cheapest way is to have your engine start key on a yellow and red tag. When you finish for the day, shut off the seawater seacock and hang the starter key on the seacock.
Little sea strainer story. Before the time of enlightenment (and my boat was out of the water) I connected the garden hose (mains pressure) to the skin fitting for raw water intake and blew my plastic Vetus strainer to pieces. I was very lucky not to be injured, because when the strainer gave way to the pressure, I had my face over the top of it. I replaced the strainer and reconnected the hose similar to what I did prior to enlightenment but this time I put a cut in the hose so it had a bad leak and then regulated tap to what I thought the engine would require while running. Hopefully others may learn by my 'near miss' (Maybe this could make a good thread, ''My learning curve")
I prefer to train my brain so that it does not forget important issues - rather than create a complicated mechanical backup system.
The the raw water intake is just one of several things that must be in order.
We use an acronym system and recite it (and act on it) every time we step on the boat or off the boat. It's FWWBEBIL and stands for Fuel (turn on tap), Water (turn on seawater inlet valve), Water (turn on galley water tap), Batteries (switch on start battery and house battery isolation switches), Epirb (place it in cockpit), Bung (check rear gas compartment bung), Instruments (switch on instruments circuit breaker), Log on or off (log on or off with local sea rescue group).
Although relatively new to the yachting scene we have never yet forgotten anything important.
To remember the acronym FWWBEBIL just make it sound like a word and recite it until it sticks in your brain.
Select to expand quotezilla said..
I prefer to train my brain so that it does not forget important issues - rather than create a complicated mechanical backup system.
The the raw water intake is just one of several things that must be in order.
We use an acronym system and recite it (and act on it) every time we step on the boat or off the boat. It's FWWBEBIL and stands for Fuel (turn on tap), Water (turn on seawater inlet valve), Water (turn on galley water tap), Batteries (switch on start battery and house battery isolation switches), Epirb (place it in cockpit), Bung (check rear gas compartment bung), Instruments (switch on instruments circuit breaker), Log on or off (log on or off with local sea rescue group).
Although relatively new to the yachting scene we have never yet forgotten anything important.
To remember the acronym FWWBEBIL just make it sound like a word and recite it until it sticks in your brain.
Eventually my sons will use this yacht also so I am trying to make it user friendly as possibly But I wil be placing a decal next to the ignition switch
"Open engine sea cock "
The over issue is the sea water strainer should I lower it down to below the water line of the boat? or replace itr with a bronze sea strainer below the water line.
As I said if you lift the boat out on the hard and drop it back in you have to bleed the strainer unless you turn off the sea cock pre lift out.
On the subject of starting the engine without opening the sea cock It would not be too hard to mount a plunger switch wired to make/break the cranking circuit next to the sea cock in a position where the engine would not crank unless the sea cock was open and the handle was depressing the switch to complete the circuit (much like a neutral safety switch on a auto transmission vehicle)
I know It would be overkill but would make it foolproof regardless of who was starting the boat
With your strainer question HG I think you realise from your above post that it can go above or below the waterline as long as if it mounted below it needs to have sufficient strength to not fail and allow water to enter the boat
Regards Don
They are usually above the water line for a reason, as Don says, to prevent the boat flooding if a leak develops in the cooling system. Best left where it is and use one of the methods proposed above to remember to open the cock.
My strainer is below the waterline and can't be placed above it, a concern at times.
Select to expand quoteMorningBird said...
They are usually above the water line for a reason, as Don says, to prevent the boat flooding if a leak develops in the cooling system. Best left where it is and use one of the methods proposed above to remember to open the cock.
My strainer is below the waterline and can't be placed above it, a concern at times.
It's sort of a trade off morning bird either way
