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From: (no name) (no email)
Date: Fri Aug 06 2004 - 01:06:47 EDT
"janet_sturgis" writes:
> My 1976 Bristol 32 still has her original Universal Atomic 4 which
> hums
> along very well. As far as I know, she has had no trouble with life
> in the
> Great and Finger Lakes, even with the build up of zebra mussels in
> the last
> decade, and one grand trip up and down the ICW all the way down
> through the
> Bahamas and back to Central New York...all with just a small
> external
> thru-hull type strainer on her raw water intake.
>
> The boat yard experts want to install a Forespar strainer the size
> of Long
> Island (between 5-6 inches in diameter) which I have no doubt will
> need lots
> of extra fittings to adjust to the small hose size for the engine
> intake.
> They also want to install it in front of rather than after the water
> pump,
> so any debris from impeller breakdown will go uncaught anyway.
>
> My plan since buying the boat last summer is to liveaboard (doing
> that now),
> refit the boat somewhat to my taste and requirements as a
> singlehander, and
> set off for some extended cruising, down the ICW, including some
> coastal
> hops, at least to the Bahamas in the next year or two. I may loider
> a bit,
> enjoying gunkholing along the way. No rush, as I just retired.
>
> What do you think? Is this a case of "if it ain't broke, don't fix
> it?" Or
> do I really need to ward off weeds that threated the integrity of my
> engine?
You have two (2) totally different problems IMHO, dealing with fresh
water and dealing with salt water.
Your Universal is approaching end of life.
Given the above, I wouldn't do anything other than maintain the status
quo until the Universal dies or you get tired of paying the insurance
premium for a gasoline auxiliary.
When you replace the Universal will be the time to upgrade the cooling
water strainer system, IMHO.
BTW, when that time comes, look at Beta. They marinize Kubota.
Much better product than Yanmar, IMHO.
HTH
Lew
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