When I took the pictures I realized it might be beneficial to pass on some somewhat trivial info on the Triton RW system as first set up on my boat.
First, here is a picture of my RW system drawing from outside. Please excuse the dust. I was grinding about a foot away from this location earlier that day.
And with a throw of the valve, the hose that normally lies in the bilge can be brought out to draw from a bucket or whatever. You could even use the engine pump as a bilge pump but I would only consider it as a last resort as you might suck up some bilge grunge and harm the engine. Even in an emergency the engine would only draw about 5 gallons in a minute and you might not want to risk losing the engine at that time.
Now for the background before the real mystery. My boat, and I think all Tritons, normally draw raw water from a position slightly aft of the engine near the starboard cockpit drain tube. I had a very suspect ball valve and thru-hull in the original location so I thought I would install a proper seacock and position it forward where it would be more convenient since I have a freshwater cooling system. The current placement is just forward of the original sink drain (removed).
The mystery: For some unknown reason, perhaps a weird quirk in Alberg hydrodynamics, perhaps not, my RW filter would clog with seaweed after about four hours of engine use. Sometimes it happened in two, sometimes in eight but I had to regularly check the strainer. When I forgot, I would be reminded by climbing coolant temps. This was consistent for my entire 2.5 month cruise.
I first found this problem when cruising together with Tim and Nathan (both Tritons) and neither of them experienced a problem so I don't think I was just motoring through exceptionally weedy areas. I am not sure where they have their intakes.
Anyway, be warned. For some reason, drawing water from the pictured location might prove a problem with your Triton. This summer I am moving the RW seacock into the deep section of the bilge.
While I am critiquing my system. The 90 degree elbow off the seacock managed to get blocked once which took some effort to clear. Next time I would go with a straight tailpiece. I also used common rubber hose for the suction side but the pump created more suction than I thought and the hose would start to collapse when the strainer was over half full.
Just some trivia to chew over.
-Britton
