Contessa 32 raw water intake

B

braithra

Well-Known Member
Joined
2 Jan 2006
Messages
82
Location
East Sussex
Visit site
Hi,

I have a Contessa 32 with a Yanmar 2GM20. My raw water intake and combined strainer is leaking (Stuart I believe). Does anyone have a recommendation for a replacement and/or knowledge of the hole diameter.

Regards

Bob B
 
Almost certainly a 3/4" intake - that is Yanmar recommendation. If it is a Stuart the skin fitting is part of the housing and bolted through the hull so to fit a modern skin fitting and ball valve you will need to do some remedial work anyway. Suggest you use a water strainer like the Vetus one above the waterline, preferably sited immediately above the intake so that you can rod it clear if the intake gets blocked. when you buy your fittings make sure they are DZR and not plain brass.
 
braithra said:
Hi,

I have a Contessa 32 with a Yanmar 2GM20. My raw water intake and combined strainer is leaking (Stuart I believe). Does anyone have a recommendation for a replacement and/or knowledge of the hole diameter.
Click to expand...

Maintenance of the Stuart is relatively simple - a rubber gasket 'tween it and hull; a taper valve that can be reground if it leaks; a spring washer to maintain valve contact; and a rubber ring in the cover, and that's it. New strainers in non-corroding plastic are available. Easiest to maintain when out the water!
You also have 7 Blakes' to worry about.
 
Yes, it should be a 3/4'' Stuart. I bought a new one about 10 years ago, it was very expensive, then I found the old one was fine, despite being marked down by a surveyor. To make matters worse I then had to sell the new one when I fitted a new engine.

You could fit a Blakes seacock and remote filter, as suggested. The 1 1/2'' has sufficient clearance in the bilge, so you could ready yourself, if you ever felt the need to fit a new engine with increased cooling requirements. On my boat there was room for the strainer to the front/side of the engine, but it is snug.

First I would certainly try and fix the old unit.
 
doug748 said:
Yes, it should be a 3/4'' Stuart. I bought a new one about 10 years ago, it was very expensive, then I found the old one was fine, despite being marked down by a surveyor. To make matters worse I then had to sell the new one when I fitted a new engine.

You could fit a Blakes seacock and remote filter, as suggested. The 1 1/2'' has sufficient clearance in the bilge, so you could ready yourself, if you ever felt the need to fit a new engine with increased cooling requirements. On my boat there was room for the strainer to the front/side of the engine, but it is snug.

First I would certainly try and fix the old unit.
Click to expand...

A Blakes 1 1/2 is not the right thing for this application. It needs a 3/4 ball valve. Nothing bigger needed as all the modern engines suitable for the boat use that size.
 
doug748 said:
It is no righter or wronger than a ball valve.

But with Blakes you know what you are getting.
Click to expand...

As you do with a ball valve. 100's of thousands in use successfully found the world. Made of the same material as a Blakes and because the intake is vertical it is possible to clear it from inside. Not possible with a Blakes which was designed for loo water intakes not cooling water.
 
If the OP feels he too would struggle to free a Blakes seacock then no doubt he will heed your words.

There are a lot of used ball valves available just now :-)
 
Thanks for all the responses - mine looks similar to the picture above, but isn't the same the handle/lever has a bolt going all the way through. Ill have a go at mending the existing one if that's possible.
 
There are only four places that might leak:

1. The tapered plug. Which may need greasing (as awol suggests), or grinding in with valve-grinding paste if it's badly worn.

2. The top cap of the filter housing. Fit a new rubber washer.

3. The joint between the seacock flange and the hull. Remove the seacock and refit with new sealant (checking the bolts while you're at it).

4. The body is so corroded that there's a hole in it (unlikely).

If I were you I'd remove it and have a look at it before spending money on a replacement.

If you want me to measure the diameter of the spigot of the one in my photos, let me know.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Other threads that may be of interest

S
VP 41 raw water capacity
Replies
0
Views
67
snowbird30ds
S

Share this page

Top