I found an aquarium

[SimonV]

After many days pulling apart my cooling system, cleaning and replacing hoses I started the motor. As I watched the raw water strainer making sure it was working correctly, the flow reduced to a trickle with the water looking like soda pop. I increased the revs and there was a visible serge and the water cleared and began to flow out the exhaust as it should. I stopped the motor, pulled the strainer and this is what I found.

What have you found in you raw water strainer??

[sailortjk1]

How big is your intake?
I can't imagine a fish fitting through mine and I can't believe you killed that poor defenseless little critter. PETA is going to be all over your ass.

[cesarid]

I had a minnow get caught in my intake a couple of years ago and overheated my engine. Replaced the impleller and that didn't work. Then I took everything apart until I found the guy stuck in the line at the through-hull valve.

[WouldaShoulda]

You Oaf!!

The striped half-dollar fish is endangered.

That will be a $10k fine and an eco-sensitivity training class for you, Ombre!!

[Boasun]

Bait??

[Faster]

Originally Posted by cesarid

I had a minnow get caught in my intake a couple of years ago and overheated my engine. Replaced the impleller and that didn't work. Then I took everything apart until I found the guy stuck in the line at the through-hull valve.

We had the same thing happen a few years back, just as we were leaving the dock the cooling water stopped.... nothing wrong with strainer etc.. thruhull was partially plugged. Eventually dove the boat and rodded out the intake (no external strainer) and the fish came out into the RW strainer bowl. Poor guy must have been nibbling on some algae when we started up.

[CharlieCobra]

Mine has a screen outboard so nothing gets in. It will slime over if I don't watch it though.

[bestfriend]

Originally Posted by Boasun

Bait??

DINNER!

[Saildoggie]

Poor little guy, was he still kicking??

If not throw him in a cup with a couple ice cubes, usually gets 'em going again!

Reminds me of the kime we wrapped a sunfish around the leading edge of the keel while racing.

We thought it was kelp, looked through the kelp window and there was this big EYE!!

Poor guy, he was folded like a taco, pretty sure we did him in!

[josrulz]

When I was a kid, we were anchored on our O'Day 28 in Horn Harbor on the Great Wicomico River on the Chesapeake Bay. It's a hurricane hole, so there's not a lot of movement in there sometimes. When we got up in the morning, the nettles were so thick it looked like you could just walk across them.

Well, you can guess that when we started the engine, the intake of our OMC saildrive immediately sucked up a bunch of jellies and got clogged. We had hoped they were more on the surface, but of course not. The only way to clear it was from under the boat.

My father had to put on a bunch of layers of clothes (not good for swimming) to protect his skin as much as he could. He even wore a sweatshirt with a hood drawn tight and a turtleneck to cover as of his face as possible. Also a snorkling mask, gloves, etc. He had to lower himself into the water, through all the jellies, to get under the boat and clean out the intake.

All in all, he came out all right, with only a few light stings through his clothes. He said his biggest fear was having a nettle drift right over his face, but he managed to avoid it.

Anyway, that's my "stuff stuck in the intake" story.
-J