Freshwater to Saltwater conversion ?
Long Dick Jr.
I have a 1964 16" Chris Craft Cavalier with a freshwater-cooled 292
v-8. What would I need to do to convert it for saltwater use?
Are there heat exchangers available that would suit this application,
and what exactly needs to be changed so that I'm not pumping saltwater
through my engine block?
Any estimates on how much this conversion would cost would be
appreciated, too.
Any help would be greatly appreciated, I want to put this baby in the
bay this summer!
Please respond via e-mail gro...@ix.netcom.com
Chuck Matheson
I have a friend of mine that lives in Rockport Texas, He has a
mastercraft ski boat he had to convert to salt water use. From what I
understand, you need to do about a $1000 worth of conversions inside the
engine etc., including heat exchangers. Its a pain in the but to do
this but worth it.
Good luck
enjoy
chuck
Rod McInnis
Long Dick Jr. wrote:
>
> I have a 1964 16" Chris Craft Cavalier with a freshwater-cooled 292
> v-8. What would I need to do to convert it for saltwater use?
>
A 16 inch boat? Are we talking models here?
When one says "Fresh water cooled", that generally implies a heat
exchanger that recirculates the fresh water through the engine. Sea
water is pumped from a through hull to cool the heat exchanger and
exhaust system.
A "RAW" or "SEA" water cooled engine pumps the water from the through
hull and circulates that through the engine, as well as the exhaust.
Did you meant to say that you have a 16 foot raw water cooled boat?
> Are there heat exchangers available that would suit this application,
> and what exactly needs to be changed so that I'm not pumping saltwater
> through my engine block?
>
There are certainly the necessary parts available. For sure, you will
need a heat exchanger and a bunch of hose. You may need an additional
pump, or need to exchange the existing pump to a multi-section pump (two
pumps on the same shaft).
Many raw water cooled engines dispense with the "automotive" style
water pump and simply use the positive displacement pump for circulating
water through the engine. When you add the heat exchanger, you will
need one pump for getting water from the sea, through the heat
exchanger, and dump it into the exhaust. The other pump will circulate
the water through the heat exchanger and engine block (NOT the exhaust).
If your boat is only 16' long, I suspect that finding space to fit the
heat exchanger might be the biggest problem. Most boats that small
don't have any extra space in the engine compartment.
>
> Any help would be greatly appreciated, I want to put this baby in the
> bay this summer!
If you only intend to use it in salt water on an occasional basis, I
wouldn't bother with making the conversion. I have no idea what bay you
will be using it in, but you may decide that the boat is too small for
the bay.
An occasional trip to salt water is not going to have a significant
impact on the cooling system of a raw water cooled boat. Just flush the
engine out when you get home, and it will be fine. Where fresh water
cooling is really needed is in a boat that sits in the water all the
time.
Rod McInnis
Paul and Cindy Kruse
Chuck Matheson <CM...@webtv.net> wrote:
We have always operated our boats mostly in salt water. Some have had fresh
water cooling, but most have not. We have never seen a failure that could be
blamed on using raw water instead of fresh water in the engine.
A friend at work has been using his V-8 inboard off shore since 1969. Just
recently, he had his first corrosion failure in his engine, in which he had to
replace the intake manifold. After all this time, I am not sure he would not
have had equal problems with fresh water cooling, if he had that. My dad's
Shamrock also uses raw water cooling.
Even most the commercial fishermen in this area are running raw water through
their large diesels. Some of them have been doing this in the same engines for
more than twenty years; but have had increased engine maintenance as a result of
it. Cummins is especially bad about rusting holes in the liners. I think that
if I had an engine this expensive, then I would use fresh water cooling; but
would never do so again with your basic "throw away" automotive engine. In
fact, the fresh water cooling system seems to cost more over time to maintain
than any increase in maintenance that the automotive engines might require as a
result of using raw water.
Just my two cents worth.
Have a great day,
plk...@iu.net (Paul Kruse)