The only problem is that we're forced to take our boats out of the water. There's still plenty of good sailing in November and early December
Raw water strainer disaster waiting to happen
- Thread starter Project_Mayhem
- Start date
My sailing season is normally late May to late October.
I’m convinced I get as much use of my boat in our short but intense sailing season as I would if it were somewhere I could sail year around.
I've been doing the late leaver out of Burnham for the past few years. We've had some great sailing this November and it shaves off 2-3 hours off the already long bridge runs to the yard
This fall has been mild so far. I normally leave Burnham by the 3rd week of October.
The stuck Amtrak bridge pushed me to Nov 1 last year. Dock lines were frozen to the dock.
This year we did the river trip Oct 2nd because of mid October travel plans. Beautiful day and only three other boats. The trip was definitely more relaxed, but still about four hours from LSD bridge to Canal St.
I always go on Wednesdays because the groups are smaller than Saturday. I find good sailing days generally become fewer and farther between after mid September and I’m not a cold weather person.
I would think that the water flowing through the strainer with the engine running would keep a plastic strainer cool enough to prevent damage.
Our 1991 boat came with a Perko brand sea water strainer. Replaced it with same two years ago, a quality product. https://defender.com/en_us/perko-in...fb3008c8bb&utm_term=4580153138713961#493=7373
Last year, which may be the last time I do a bridge run for a long time, it turned out to be a beautiful day. It was one 60' yacht, a 30sih foot sailboat and myself. It was a pleasant change from the outbound run of 20+ boats and pouring rain. That day was a lot of fun, boats all over the place but surprisingly not chaotic.
We've seen bridge runs take upwards of 6-7 hours. The fastest we've seen is 3.5-4 when we were the last boat of the season and it was just us. I like heavy weather sailing so there's plenty of good days late in the season for that.
3½ to 4 hours is generally the best you can expect.
We had an 11½ hour trip once. A beautiful Wednesday and only ten boats total, but delays at multiple bridges. We arrived at the DuSable(Michigan Ave) at 3:30 and were told they couldn’t open the bridge until 7:30 because it was the start of rush hour. Tied up in front of O’Brian’s, so at least there was food and drink. 7:30 came and went and we weren’t in the lock until 10:00
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Our 2003 Beneteau 331 had a Vetus strainer. The housing is rated for any normal temperatures in the engine compartment. The attached picture shows the location of the strainer in the Yanmar 3GM30F engine compartment. This picture was taken in 2019 at 1500 hrs. Strainer was like new. When we purchased our Hunter the plastic Sherwood filter was mounted in the bilge with a nipple directly to the thru hull. For me it was a priority to change it. I installed a Vetus FTR330 same set up as the Beneteau. No need for a loop as it is mounted slightly above the waterline. Makes it very easy (and dry to clean the strainer).
Make sure to use hoses rated for under the waterline and saltwater. Double marine grade SST hose clamps on the connections.
One caution with the Vetus. It has a large cap so you can get lots of torque on it. Be careful not to get it too tight or it will be very difficult to get off, with a risk of damage.
A bronze Groco would have been a good option as well but the inlet and outlet connections would require more fittings for my installation. I try to keep fittings to a minimum as each one is a potential leak point.
Make sure to use hoses rated for under the waterline and saltwater. Double marine grade SST hose clamps on the connections.
One caution with the Vetus. It has a large cap so you can get lots of torque on it. Be careful not to get it too tight or it will be very difficult to get off, with a risk of damage.
A bronze Groco would have been a good option as well but the inlet and outlet connections would require more fittings for my installation. I try to keep fittings to a minimum as each one is a potential leak point.
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Just a little update on this project...
@Blitz was kind enough to give me a killer deal on a brand new, beautiful, bronze Groco strainer. It will need to be mounted away from the engine to get it above the water line. To replace the line from the through hull to the strainer to the pump requires nearly 20' and is cost prohibitive for this project. Does it need to be steel reinforced hose? The original tubing is not. The steel reinforced tubing is far more expensive than metal tubing. Any thoughts on using vacuum hoses? I was looking at something like this
@Blitz was kind enough to give me a killer deal on a brand new, beautiful, bronze Groco strainer. It will need to be mounted away from the engine to get it above the water line. To replace the line from the through hull to the strainer to the pump requires nearly 20' and is cost prohibitive for this project. Does it need to be steel reinforced hose? The original tubing is not. The steel reinforced tubing is far more expensive than metal tubing. Any thoughts on using vacuum hoses? I was looking at something like this
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Since the hose you want to use is vacuum-rated, I think it should work fine. One of the concerns is collapsing the hose, so I think a vac hose should be OK.
But, I am not a fan of PVC for this sort of application.
I used something like this that I sourced at my local auto parts store…
Greg
But, I am not a fan of PVC for this sort of application.
I used something like this that I sourced at my local auto parts store…
Greg
I put the ARG 750 Groco strainer, that @jssailem and others mentioned right in front of the alternator and a little bit left, mounted to the front wall of the engine compartment. Easy access via the top engine compartment access cover. I had previously moved the fuel filter so there was plenty of room for the water strainer. it is a couple of inches above the water level.
And like you @Project_Mayhem , mine had the small plastic stainer with screw on plastic bowl that looked like a disaster waiting to happen.
This looks like run of the mill heater hose if I'm not mistaken? No issues with collapsing under vacuum?
This sounds promising. Where exactly is the waterline on the C30? I believe mine is the ARG1000. Total overkill but the price was right
The smaller the diameter of the hose the less risk there is of collapse under vacuum. Wire reinforced hose seems like overkill to me. Mine is not wire reinforced, but it it is designed for this use and is 5/8” diameter in my case. Series 200 Exhaust/Water Hose, No Wire (Sold per foot) | West Marine
My run is only about two feet though, as the seacock is almost directly below the strainer in the engine compartment. A 20 foot rum makes me wonder how big a boat you have and the hose you‘re looking at seems like it’s really a sanitation or domestic water system hose. Not sure how it would fair in an engine compartment.
@Ward H states that the water line is lower than I thought so that could shorten the run to a couple of feet. I'd be comfortable running heater hose like @Tally Ho mentioned if the line is that short. I'm waiting on Ward to chime in regarding the waterline before moving forward.
The strainer has 1" NPT ports. My plan is to use plastic reduction bushings and brass barbs. I'm assuming that this should mitigate any galvanic corrosion with the bronze strainer. There's plenty of Universal engine owners running galvanized pipe as a mixing elbow so this should hold up well to cool fresh water
The strainer has 1" NPT ports. My plan is to use plastic reduction bushings and brass barbs. I'm assuming that this should mitigate any galvanic corrosion with the bronze strainer. There's plenty of Universal engine owners running galvanized pipe as a mixing elbow so this should hold up well to cool fresh water
Where are you putting the strainer that will require 20' of hose? I have my Vetus strainer mounted to port of the alternator and accessible from the hatch over the macerators thru-hull on my C30 Mk2. It is above the waterline and takes at most 4' of hose. The waterline is a few inches below the hatch lids in the sittee seats.
@Project_Mayhem Here is a photo showing where it is mounted on my boat. As @Hayden Watson mentioned, the water line is a few inches below the seat. As chance would have it, it's just at the in and out ports of the strainer.
That happens to be where I mounted the fuel filter.
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This is what my 30T came with. They also provide a 'refurbish kit ' with new threaded clamps and seals.