R21ec Sea Strainer

[BlueDragonfly]

Okay, so I'll express that I'm new right away.. Silly question, maybe, but better safe than sorry, right?
"Inland waters" problems; lake is full of tree seed "junk" blowing all over the lake. I thought we might avoid ingestion as they float on top...but my sea strainer is obviously pretty gunked up with this. - I believe that just closing the fresh water intake should allow me to spin off the cover , clean strainer and replace without pulling boat from the water, yes? Are there any subsequent engine airlock issues to consider? Don't want to scuttle the boat for something this simple....embarrassing and expensive. Thanks!
😀

 

[bbrh842]

You are correct.
Close the sea cock, unscrew the cover, clean the strainer, replace the cover, open the sea cock.

The sea water pump is self priming, so introducing air into the line will not cause a problem.

DO NOT FORGET TO OPEN THE VALVE WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED !!!!!!!!
If you forget to open the valve, the impeller in the sea water pump will get fried in just a few minutes.

 

[BlueDragonfly]

Just as I suspected! Thanks for your confirmation! I have to believe that this will help someone else out, who might be too shy to ask the same simple question... 😀
Good point, I'll tape a reminder across my ignition, to make sure the sea cock is re-opened prior to starting engine.
We're preping the boat to watch our local annual National Holiday celebration (1 July) lakeside fireworks display with our family and grandchild from Blue Dragonfly. This will be momentous as we've been envious of boaters over the past years. Now if we can figure out how to convince a two year old ( going on 12!) to wear a life jacket...we'll be set!
Thanks again!

 

[dalee62]

I frequently find bits of seaweed, needles etc in the strainer. I just unscrew it, clean out the mesh screen and reinstall it with out bothering to close the sea cock. The bit of water that runs into the bilge doesn't bother me at all.

Dave

 

[BlueDragonfly]

Okay then, looks like water flow is negligable without engine running. Probably not a good idea when it is, tho! 😀
I guess I can start cleaning the strainer on a reguar basis until this seasonal poplar tree fuzz issue ends. Anyone care to speculate on what kind of effects this kinda stuff could have on the engine, if any amount got thru the strainer??

 

[bbrh842]

In theory, if it is small enough to pass through the sea strainer, it is small enough to pass through the engine, causing no harm.