Next message: Terry Etapa: "T&T: Fwd: Re: winch"
After 25 years of boating on the Chesapeake I think I have finally come up
with an inexpensive way to keep the sea nettles on the outside of the boat.
The worst place in the Chesapeake use to be and probably still is Carters
Creek off the Rappahannock river. That is where I saw my first 5 gallon
bucket with a hundred 1/4" holes with a submersible pump powering an AC
system. The theory behind these buckets is that the amount of suction at
any individual hole is so minimal that the nettles will not get sucked in
and the holes are small enough that they can't fit if for some reason they
want to go into your bilge. I recently had to break out mine when my 25
year old Marsh pump died. They are a great inexpensive back up if you want
to insure that you always have AC in the heaviest nettle areas.
Lots of my friends and I have applied this same concept to the external
bronze strainers that cover the through hulls. The idea is that bigger is
better. If you can provide a larger area for the inlet then the nettles are
going to be less likely to be sucked in. The big wedges work great for AC
units and if you drill a few extra holes in the sides and back this
increases the area even more. You are not supposed to use a wedge with a
generator so the big round ones are also useful. I would pick these up so
the next time you pull the boat you can swap them out.
Remember the whole theory is to increase the surface area to reduce the
amount of suction. I have been using these for 10 years with no nettles in
the AC or Generator.
Frank Burrows Destiny 1979 43' Viking MY
Piney Narrows Chesapeake Bay
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