Open to Closed Water Cooling?

[Paul65]

Don:

My A4 (in our 1978 Catalina 27) has only ever been cooled with fresh water (Great Lakes). However, we may be making a move to the coast which will mean sailing in salt water. Is making the conversion to a closed water cooling system worth the dollars, time and effort? I would do the work myself.

My concern is an increased rate of corrosion from the salt. But, I know many motors have been cooled with salt water for years and (seem) to be chugging along smoothly. So, is the conversion worth the effort to prevent, or at least slow down, internal corrosion?

Also, if it is worth the effort, is removal of the engine from the relatively tight engine compartment a definite necessity?

Thanks in advance for your comments.

Paul

[jhwelch]

The boat I bought (a Bristol 29) came with fresh water cooling.
I've had to replace the heat exchanger, which is mounted on
a nearby bulkhead. When I had the motor rebuilt Don put
in a much better bracket for the second water pump. Installing
it take a bit of space on the stbd. side and shares the upper
bolt with the engine mounted water pump. So if you have
fair access to that area the actual installation shouldn't
require the engine to be removed.

-jonathan

[Don Moyer]

Paul,

I forgot to respond to the second part of your question. It is not necessary to remove an engine to install fresh water cooling. Original factory kits used horizontal heat exchangers with belt-drive sea water pumps mounted over the front of the engine. Our kits retain the same sea water pump configuration with a vertical exchanger which can be mounted remotely from the engine on any convenient bulkhead.

Don

[Don Moyer]

Paul,

I urge anyone who has any kind of long term plans for their boat to install fresh water cooling. Brenda and I are on our fourth boat and I installed fresh water cooling on all of them. The soothing effect of permanent antifreeze halts the corrosive effects of raw water as well as the collection of minerals and other crud, permits the engine to operate at a higher temperature, facilitates the annual winterizing process (reducing the likelihood of freezing cracks developing in cooling jackets), and generally turns your engine into a serious lifetime investment.

Don