Some time ago there was some discussion about fitting sea water filters to the Maxi 1100 Volvo 2030 diesel. Most owners would want to fit one even if the risk of blockage is low (as it is here on the W Coast of Scotland).
We have had the Vetus strainer fitted to all our Maxi’s and you would be surprised to see what ends up in it! We have even had hundreds of small mussels in it on occasion. The best place to fit it is on the upper port wall of the engine compartment as this photo (looking aft) illustrates. The Vetus filter is fitted between the seacock on the saildrive and the inlet of the seawater pump. It has a transparent top which you can look through to see if it is clear and the top unscrews easily. It is also easy to see at glance whether the seawater is flowing.
Laurie Prescott, Rona
Bob Garrett, who had his saildrive gasket on his Maxi 1000 replaced by a Volvo dealer, said he was advised that “a seawater filter would reduce the risk of blockage and reduce grit getting through and wearing the pump. They suggested a Vetus was as good as any and suggested it should be mounted on the starboard wall of the engine compartment as they felt there was enough room there.”
We’ve also heard from Mike Allen who keeps his Maxi 100 Lopud at Conwy:
“We have a strainer fitted. It is cast stainless with a clear plastic lid, mounted to the mast support pillar with its own bracket, above the water line for cleaning (needs priming too). We catch mussels, shrimps and weed – but not enough to eat. There was some sand in the bottom when I cleaned it out recently, but I guess most sand/mud goes straight through to the pump – the strainer is too coarse to catch it.
Chris W (webmaster) has been watching this discussion with interest, as Vouvray’s raw-water pump had to be overhauled this year (800 odd hours) and Volspec warned that the impeller housing was worn quite badly (but not enough so far to affect water flow too much): apparently this is quite common in East Coast sandy waters.