Sorry to say that our boat is now totally winterized. Here in the Northeast that means about 5 months to go before we can use her again. The only problem we incurred while winterizing was that we were unable to get the raw water strainers off for the main engine and generator. They are in a difficult position to get any leverage on so we had to winterize them a different way. I may have to replace them in the spring. Being unable to remove the strainers for cleaning could become a dangerous situation. Mark Johnson
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Did you try a strap wrench?
Mark, I don't know the physical limitations of your strainers in the 460, but I have found that it is much easier to use a strap wrench around the bowl of the raw water filters. They tend to become really stuck for some reason. The strap is winds around a metal bar that you can attach an extension for a ratchet wrench. You can develop great torque that will take off most anything, and using the extension can often get you out of a hole that you are working in. Rich SYBARIS '97 h40.5
Mark, I don't know the physical limitations of your strainers in the 460, but I have found that it is much easier to use a strap wrench around the bowl of the raw water filters. They tend to become really stuck for some reason. The strap is winds around a metal bar that you can attach an extension for a ratchet wrench. You can develop great torque that will take off most anything, and using the extension can often get you out of a hole that you are working in. Rich SYBARIS '97 h40.5
Agree...
My strainer for the engine is under so much stuff that I couldn't get an "official" strap wrench on it, so I removed my belt (hoping my pants would stay on) and ran it around the strainer, gripped both sides together with a channel-lock type wrench and twisted it off. I was sure it'd break (it didn't) but if it did, I would have replaced it with a more "user-friendly" type of strainer and relocated it to a more workable location, like near the thru-hull rather than in the engine compartment where is is now (H430).
My strainer for the engine is under so much stuff that I couldn't get an "official" strap wrench on it, so I removed my belt (hoping my pants would stay on) and ran it around the strainer, gripped both sides together with a channel-lock type wrench and twisted it off. I was sure it'd break (it didn't) but if it did, I would have replaced it with a more "user-friendly" type of strainer and relocated it to a more workable location, like near the thru-hull rather than in the engine compartment where is is now (H430).
Strainers
Mark, What type of strainers do you have on your 460? My 380 has the Sherwood type with plastic screw on bowl. Personally, I prefer the Groco strainers I had on my 336 and may well end up changing them out at some point. The idea of a strap wrench is a an excellent one. Paul Bednarzyk S/V Knot Again
Mark, What type of strainers do you have on your 460? My 380 has the Sherwood type with plastic screw on bowl. Personally, I prefer the Groco strainers I had on my 336 and may well end up changing them out at some point. The idea of a strap wrench is a an excellent one. Paul Bednarzyk S/V Knot Again
Oil filter wrench works great!
Oil filter wrench worked great on the plastic bowl on my 380. Good luck Bob Knott S/V Serenity H380
Oil filter wrench worked great on the plastic bowl on my 380. Good luck Bob Knott S/V Serenity H380
Strained Strainers
I strongly recommend changing the plastic filters for the Groco filters. If you ever get in a grassy area (Bahamas) you will be glad you did or sorry that you didn't. This may be espectially important for the frig or air conditioner filters because it is impossible to remove all the air from the plastic ones. The Groco filters clean out through the top. In nutrient-rich water where there is high barnacle growth, a top access allows you to add something to prevent growth. I use the pellets of pool bromine every two weeks during the summer season. Good luck.
I strongly recommend changing the plastic filters for the Groco filters. If you ever get in a grassy area (Bahamas) you will be glad you did or sorry that you didn't. This may be espectially important for the frig or air conditioner filters because it is impossible to remove all the air from the plastic ones. The Groco filters clean out through the top. In nutrient-rich water where there is high barnacle growth, a top access allows you to add something to prevent growth. I use the pellets of pool bromine every two weeks during the summer season. Good luck.
groco rules
A herd of several thousand arthropods lives on my hull, eating the algae that accumulates between my every-third-month bottom cleanings.. (A biologist friend tells me that they are more acurately called "decapods," but i have no idea how to spell decapods so i'm still calling them arthropods.) The problem is, some arthropods are less intelligent than others, and end up getting sucked into the refer raw-water inlet. These less intelligent criters would clog the itsy bitsy sherwood strainer that came with the boat in about 10 days. The other thing that bothered me about this arrangement is that the sherwood strainer was PLASTIC, which is not a substance i want to be relying upon below the waterline on an offshore boat. So I switched over to a Groco ARG-500, which is huge and BRONZE and easy to clean, and is capable of dealing with huge numbers of arthropods without shutting down my refer compressors. An easy job, the switch, something that even I could do in about twenty minutes.
A herd of several thousand arthropods lives on my hull, eating the algae that accumulates between my every-third-month bottom cleanings.. (A biologist friend tells me that they are more acurately called "decapods," but i have no idea how to spell decapods so i'm still calling them arthropods.) The problem is, some arthropods are less intelligent than others, and end up getting sucked into the refer raw-water inlet. These less intelligent criters would clog the itsy bitsy sherwood strainer that came with the boat in about 10 days. The other thing that bothered me about this arrangement is that the sherwood strainer was PLASTIC, which is not a substance i want to be relying upon below the waterline on an offshore boat. So I switched over to a Groco ARG-500, which is huge and BRONZE and easy to clean, and is capable of dealing with huge numbers of arthropods without shutting down my refer compressors. An easy job, the switch, something that even I could do in about twenty minutes.
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