4JH4E, 2500 hours, 42' sailboat.
I am troubleshooting some issues with losing
raw water prime after being out for a sail. When starting up after a sail to windward, no
water comes out the
exhaust. Either briefly loosening the
raw water cover (after closing the seacock and cracking open the strainer cap), or a couple of revs of the
engine, gets it going again. The
boat has never had this problem before.
I've checked the Vetus above-waterline strainer cap. When I lose prime, the strainer is still full of
water and does not seem to have
lost any when I have
lost prime. I've cleaned the Vetus anti-siphon valve. So I am now looking at the
raw water pump. The wear plate seems a bit worn. I've seen suggestions to simply turn it over, but I am inclined to just replace it. If I do replace it should anything be done to prep the plate such as wetsanding with 600 on a glass plate?
Thanks,
Harry