Interconnecting S/W strainers for redundancy

[alaskanviking]

Interconnecting S/W strainers for redundancy

Hi. I currently have 1, 1” seawater strainer for my engine and 1, 3/4” inlet for the toilet and s/w pressure pump. The eng inlet has a funky bronze S/W strainer, that has a seized cap and I’m not able to check it or clean it. It is also far forward of the wood deck plate in my galley on the port side, where its hard to access. I imagine I could heat it with a heat gun and spray some penetrating oil on it but due the way its mounted, the idea of putting too much force on there is a bit concerning as I could possibly damage the tru-hull. This is on a 42ft blue water cutter. Regardless if I can get this open to clean it, this system bothers me, and I have been planning out a replacement that is easier to access, clean, and plug it in an emergency. I am also planning out a generator install, and possible water maker and A/C’s which would need additional strainers.

I am planning out my next haul out and want to fix this problem, and possibly account for any additional installs or upgrades later. I am thinking about replacing the engine S/W inlet with a Groco 1.5” strainer with a SBV-P thru-hull valve for emergency dewatering. The current engine only needs 1”, but I intend to replace the perkins 4-108 down the road with a 50-60hp beta.
I was thinking about installing a second 1.5” strainer and thru-hull on the starboard hull opposite the eng strainer. On the strainer outlets, As a redundancy I was thinking it is possible to add an interconnect valve and piping/hose between the two strainers. In theory in an emergency or if the strainer got clogged/Jellyfish ect I could open the valves, ensuring I have S/W to the engine, while I clean out the faulty strainer, or get to a clear area. Maybe I am overthinking this.

As an additional option I could use a few more valves to also interconnect the forward strainer. I was thinking on upsizing that strainer to 1.5” and using it for all the intermittent S/W equipment I.E. Water maker, toilet, S/W pressure pump, A/C pumps ect. none of this equipment will be on at the same time. In theory In the event of some kind of issue or clog I could re route S/W from an additional strainer.

Is this redundancy useful and worth my time, Energy, and money or am I just overbuilding and don’t really need this type of redundancy?

Thanks
V/R

Robert