Cruising World - February 2016

77

HANDS-ON SAILOR

FEBRUARY

2016

cruisingworld.com

ly eliminated using two tech-

niques.

First, allow the engine to

draw in water using its own

pump, rather than forcing it in

under pressure with a garden

hose. This can be accom-

plished by closing the engine’s

intake seacock, opening the

raw- water strainer lid, and al-

lowing water to fl ow in or even

overfl ow slightly, ensuring an

ample water supply is present

at all times. Second, never feed

an engine fresh water unless

it’s running. Allowing the en-

gine to draw water from the

overfl owing strainer achieves

these goals. Just fi ve minutes

of run time is all that’s needed

to fl ush and purge the system,

although there’s no harm in al-

lowing it to run longer.

Other equipment, such as

air-conditioning condensers,

benefi ts similarly from the

fresh-water rinse protocol;

there’s no risk of “drown-

ing” the gear, however, as the

system is completely closed.

Therefore water can be force-

fed by simply inserting a gar-

den hose in the open strainer,

closing the gap between the

hose and the strainer opening

with a wet rag, and turning on

the water pressure. The unit

does not have to be running.

There is one caveat to the

fresh-water rinse process: Once

exposed to fresh water, zinc

pencil anodes develop a coating

that renders them inert or inac-

tive, which means they will no

longer protect the components

into which they are inserted.

They can be removed and

cleaned using a Scotch-Brite

pad (never use a wire brush), or

replaced altogether.

Steve D’Antonio off ers services for

boat owners and buyers through

Steve D’Antonio Marine Consult-

ing (stevedmarineconsulting.com).

THERE’S A LOT OF LIFE IN ONE BATTERY

The widest range of premium, long lasting deep cycle marine batteries.

Allowing a garden hose to run into and overfl ow an open seawater strainer is a safe, eff ec-

tive and convenient means of carrying out a fresh-water fl ush (left). The key point is letting

the engine draw water from the overfl owing strainer. Five minutes is all it takes to fl ush

the system, but it’s fi ne if it runs longer. One important caveat to always remember: Never

allow fresh water to fl ow into an engine that isn’t running. Heat exchangers are notorious

for accumulating crud and debris, which decreases water fl ow and can create corrosion,

the eff ects of which can be off set by a periodic fl ush with fresh water (center). Raw-water

pumps remain fi lled with seawater for virtually their entire lives, and they often suff er

corrosion -related side eff ects, particularly on less noble cams and cover plates (right).

STEVE D’ANTONIO