Looking for a Fresh Seaweed Salad?

Randall von Wedel was helping out a friend aboard his boat, which had been COVID-idled for a year. Before trying it out they went to clean out the strainer and the water intake for the heat exchanger, and were lucky to find the weed pictured below. This was out of the strainer, but Randall also took the icy, wetsuit-free plunge into the Bay to clear out the intake so any growth from the past year could be removed before starting the engine.

Water intake, fuel filters, oil filters, and water filters are all there to prevent problems. But if you don’t check them and change them they’re not much help at all. Once started, the engine purred, and a check of the water coming out the exhaust let them know all was well. Of course, if you sail a Laser you don’t have to worry about any of this.