Andrew Saves the Day

[walldog]

http://andwilliesaid.blogspot.ca/2013/0 ... naimo.html

 

[baz]

Glad to read and view photos of all the fun you people are having. Curious to know how come Ted's engine cooling water intake became clogged while under way… was it caused by a stray plastic piece or some other nasty crud ? Did Andrew indicate what was obstructing the intake… ??? At least it wasn't the raw water impeller failing. 😉

Yep… spare kit needs to include at least goggles, flippers, snorkel etc for such an event.

Bravo Andrew… what a champion you are. 🙂

 

[Dog Islander]

Where was Kenny? I'm thinking Andrew was showing him what he will need to do IF this happens again. Now I need to put a GoPro camera in my toolbag and a long, curved stick to mount it on so I can avoid an unnecessary trip into the water. While I don't relish the thought of swimming in cold water, running up on the rocks is not the preferred option. Way to go Andrew!

 

[walldog]

Glad to read and view photos of all the fun you people are having. Curious to know how come Ted's engine cooling water intake became clogged while user way… was it caused by a stray plastic piece or some other nasty crud ? Did Andrew indicate what was obstructing the intake… ??? At least it wasn't the raw water impeller failing. 😉

Yep… spare kit needs to include at least goggles, flippers, snorkel etc for such an event.

Bravo Andrew… what a champion you are. 🙂

Grass.

 

[baz]

Hmmmm…. grass was the culprit eh… 😱

I'm wondering that if with this 'engine-critical' type situation it might be a wise thing to install a T section along with a stop cock in the raw water line upstream from the through hull valve. By closing the stop cock, attaching a fresh water hose to the top of the T and opening the raw water through hull valve, the downstream section of the line to the raw water pickup on the hull's bottom can be flushed out to push out crud/sludge/grass/sand deposits/debris etc.


I.e., Strainer -- inline stop cock -- T section for hose attachment -- through-hull-valve -- hull raw water pickup

I've noticed when examining boats in our Marina's dry dock which are having bottom paint that in most cases the raw water pickup grate has been painted and the grate slots/holes become partially constricted. This aspect along with the paint kind of dripping and drying like icicles creates a situation/condition that is asking for trouble as this will surely help crud/grass etc being caught up to block the grate slots/holes even more.

 

[walldog]

Hmmmm…. grass was the culprit eh… 😱

I'm wondering that if with this 'engine-critical' type situation it might be a wise thing to install a T section along with a stop cock in the raw water line upstream from the through hull valve. By closing the stop cock, attaching a fresh water hose to the top of the T and opening the raw water through hull valve, the downstream section of the line to the raw water pickup on the hull's bottom can be flushed out to push out crud/sludge/grass/sand deposits/debris etc.


I.e., Strainer -- inline stop cock -- T section for hose attachment -- through-hull-valve -- hull raw water pickup

I've noticed when examining boats in our Marina's dry dock which are having bottom paint that in most cases the raw water pickup grate has been painted and the grate slots/holes become partially constricted. This aspect along with the paint kind of dripping and drying like icicles creates a situation/condition that is asking for trouble as this will surely help crud/grass etc being caught up to block the grate slots/holes even more.

Since this does not appear to be a common problem or one that happens very often, such measures may be a bit of overkill. The only other boat that I remember having problems with the sea water inlet was operated in very shallow water. I do not know where this boat operated, but this appears to be a rare occurrence. And one that can probably be explained and or avoided in the future.

I certainly would not leave dried bottom paint covering any of the intake slots on my boat as that could contribute to a problem. Easy to fix with a pen knife before the boat returns to the water. Any company doing such a job should not be considered competent.

I have had a long blade of grass sucked up into my strainer for the generator. This blocked the raw water at the inlet to the strainer located in the engine compartment. A visual check of the strainer showed it to be clear, but when the strainer was opened up and sea cock opened the blockage became apparent. So a visual check of the strainer does not always assure that sea water will reach the impeller. Now when cleaning the strainers on Willie's Tug, I open the sea cock briefly before reassembling to be sure we have water flow.

 

[baz]

Herb: You are quite likely to be correct about this being an overkill solution. So far over past year I know of 3 Ranger Tugs having had this issue (and Ted's is #3)… so yes, it's not that common considering the 100s of Ranger Tugs out on the water these days.

As an aside, does the engine shutdown when the overheating alarm goes off ? Shutdown meaning it stops as apposed to idle RPM state.

When I check my domed strainer for water flow I usually look for crud/seaweed etc AND moving bubbles. The moving bubbles tell me that water is flowing.