David, We sucked an apparently curious sardine headfirst into the intake while visiting Desolation Sound a few years back. Discovered the issue much the same way you did by noticing increased steam in the exhaust. Idled in to an anchorage and starting at the pump worked backward to the intake, where removing the intake hose I could see the small fish limply staring at me! Poked at him a little and most of him shot into the boat, and naturally a few gallons of saltwater before I could get the hose remounted. Problem solved! Rick Paikea 37+ Bremerton, WA
On Friday, August 9, 2019, David Knecht via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > Last week on a cruise, we ran the motor while at anchor to warm the water > tank for showers. When we started the engine the next morning, I noticed > the sound of water from the exhaust seemed off and sure enough, a few > minutes later the engine began to overheat. We re-anchored and I went > below to check the strainer basket which had a bit of grass in it, but not > enough to plug it up. My wife (bless her heart) dove in and saw a big > clump of seaweek attached to the hull where the intake should be. She > managed to clear it and we got under way with no more trouble. One lesson > is to be careful of running the engine when the boat is at rest as I am > sure you are much more likely to suck stuff into the intake as opposed to > when the boat is moving at 6 knots (that has never happened to me). But > the experience got me thinking about how to resolve the problem of a > plugged intake without swimming. Is it possible to take the basket out of > the water intake strainer and run something flexible and stiff down the > tube and clear the intake without diving? I am thinking of stiff wire or > something like the fiberglass snake I use for running wires through small > spaces. Anyone done this successfully? Dave > > S/V Aries > 1990 C&C 34+ > New London, CT > > >
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