LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
out quickly. They are designed to
last thousands of cycles. I hope this
information helps.—Steve D’Antonio
HULL STRAINERS
I would like to throw in my two
cents’ worth on the letter to the
editor on strainers from J.P. Dufour,
which was answered by Steve
D’Antonio in the October issue.
I am a Maine lobster fisherman,
and we have a trawler that we spend
three months on during the winter in
the Abacos. My lobsterboat (a 38
Holland) of course has an engine
pump and a hydraulically driven 2-
1/2-inch pump for the lobsters. We
work in large rafts of rockweed and
do get the occasional plastic bag in
the strainers. When we had the
slotted strainers, I had to find a diver
two or three times a week to clear the
strainers. The debris never made it to
the Groco basket in the boat but
would be stuck in between the slots.
I changed to the round strainers
with the small holes with terrific luck.
I have never had to get a diver again.
The few times that I have had the
strainer get plugged up, I found that if
I get the boat going hard astern and
shut the engine down, it will wash
away whatever is in the strainer.
I have owned commercial fishing
boats for 45 years and have found
that Steve’s articles in PMM have
been very informative. I have learned
the right way to do more than a few
things more than I would like to
admit. Many thanks.
Ben Doliber
Swans Island, Maine
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Indeed, there are advantages and
disadvantages to hull strainers in
general, as well as peculiarities among
the different varieties. There are, in my
opinion, a few prerequisites for hull
strainers. First, they must be easily
serviceable, and in my book that
means you should not need tools to
service them. If you need a screwdriver
to remove six small screws, that pretty
much rules out in-water service (the
Groco strainer I recommended in my
response to J.P. Dufour requires no
tools for service).
Second, painting the strainer with
antifoulant should not impede water
flow. It has been my experience that
the perforated strainers containing
small holes, such as the strainers you
describe, have a tendency to reduce
water flow more and more with each
application of paint. Unless the
“screen” is replaceable (some are)
or unless the strainer is stripped each
time it is repainted, there’s a risk
of creating a high-intake vacuum.
(Nearly all engine manufacturers
specify the maximum inlet restriction;
