K2MSmith
Sustaining Member
I thought I had to cancel a sail (with some friends on board) because there was no seawater pumping through the engine. I have a habit of checking the outflow at the stern and there was nothing coming out. Since some guests might be disappointed that sail was going to be depreciated into a "slip party", I thought it was worthwhile trying to see if I could fix it.
I removed the impeller cover on the seawater pump and everything looked fine, but I dropped one of the machine screws down into the engine mount area with no hopes of easily finding it (gulp - maybe this was a not a good sailing day or somewhat brought bananas on the boat). I closed the cover and torqued the remaining three screws and that seem to hold the cover on tight. I removed the input hose from thru-hull to pump and tried to "blow" into it. it seemed like it was clogged. I blew it again and was able to get air through it. I lowered the hose into a bucket and it let water in, so I guess it was unclogged (or partially so). I restarted the engine and the seawater circulation was restored and we went sailing after about a 30 minute delay (sans a cover screw but no leak on the cover with just 3 screws holding).
I have only had a boat in this area for about a year and I was starting to wonder when the last time the bottom was cleaned (?) I normally get it done every other month but for some reason, it has not been done in almost 3 months. A few days later he coincidently cleaned it and sent me the invoice and there was a charge for 15.00 extra for additional cleaning time because of the growth (paint and zincs are OK).
So, I'm wondering if the intake clog was due to bottom growth maybe ? Obviously something I am going to have to think about again. On the positive side I gain a bit of confidence (and independence) every time I can fix something myself . I thought for sure this was going to be another call to the diesel mechanic and a $1000 repair bill !
I removed the impeller cover on the seawater pump and everything looked fine, but I dropped one of the machine screws down into the engine mount area with no hopes of easily finding it (gulp - maybe this was a not a good sailing day or somewhat brought bananas on the boat). I closed the cover and torqued the remaining three screws and that seem to hold the cover on tight. I removed the input hose from thru-hull to pump and tried to "blow" into it. it seemed like it was clogged. I blew it again and was able to get air through it. I lowered the hose into a bucket and it let water in, so I guess it was unclogged (or partially so). I restarted the engine and the seawater circulation was restored and we went sailing after about a 30 minute delay (sans a cover screw but no leak on the cover with just 3 screws holding).
I have only had a boat in this area for about a year and I was starting to wonder when the last time the bottom was cleaned (?) I normally get it done every other month but for some reason, it has not been done in almost 3 months. A few days later he coincidently cleaned it and sent me the invoice and there was a charge for 15.00 extra for additional cleaning time because of the growth (paint and zincs are OK).
So, I'm wondering if the intake clog was due to bottom growth maybe ? Obviously something I am going to have to think about again. On the positive side I gain a bit of confidence (and independence) every time I can fix something myself . I thought for sure this was going to be another call to the diesel mechanic and a $1000 repair bill !
