Baffled with engine issue

[chuck53]

OK, yesterday, I start up my engine for the first time. My (environmentally safe) AF comes out of the exhaust and it's pumping water good.  My only issue is, even running in gear at my slip, the engine is running cool, couldn't get it past 130.  Take the boat out for a spin around the creek and it finally gets up to around 170.  Ran the engine at 2000 RPM's for at least 45 minutes cruising up the creek and back.
Today , I'm leaving and I know it's going to be a couple of weeks before I use my boat again and decide to do a quick, fresh water flush since it is so easy and only takes a minute.
I open up the cabinet in the head to get to my sea strainer and realize I never opened my seacock (yes, I must be an idiot for not even checking).  I open the strainer and it still has AF in it from winterizing last fall.

So, where did my cooling water come from since my seacock was closed?  I'm completely baffled.

[Ken Juul]

Not sure why your engine didn't overheat.  Buy a new impellor, yours is toast.  Make sure you get all the impeller pieces out between the pump and the heat exchanger (HX) or you will continue to have cooling problems as the bay water heats up.  You will probably have to pull the starboard end cap on the HX, either make replacement gaskets out of sheet rubber or order new ones from Sendure.

[Mike and Joanne Stimmler]

Whatever fluids you saw coming out of the exhaust was probably what was left in the muffler. I'd bet that the flow stopped  a few minutes after you stopped watching the exhaust.

Mike

[Ron Hill]

Chuck : As Mike mentioned the only liquid that came out of the exhaust was what was in the muffler and that emptied in about 20 seconds!!

Take Kens' suggestion and install a new impeller(even if you still have all the blades) - as impellers don't like to run dry!!

You might want to put a "open the thru-hull" tag on your ignition key chain!!  A thought

[Indian Falls]

I did that once, here's what your impellor is going to look like:

[chuck53]

No, you guys are missing it.  The motor continued pumping water the whole time.  I even started it up agin this morning before I realized my mistake and IT WAS pumping water and at a rate I would have expected.
You can't run a diesel for 45 minutes at 2000 RPM's, in gear, and never exceed 170 degrees.

[Indian Falls]

I guess you have your hoses crossed then.  It's getting water from somewhere!
With my hoses connected correctly, the impellor was junk in about 20 minutes.  The temp gauge read 180+ and when I went below, I smelled something hot.  That's when I realized my seacock for the engine was still closed.  The impellor housing was hot enough to change the color of the paint on the pump cover.

[mregan]

I keep my ignition key around the thru hull.  That way I can't forget to open it.  Just a thought.

[Jim Hardesty]

You are reporting multiple problems.
First, you should not get water if the seacock is closed.  That's what it's for.  May have hoses crossed or the seacock is bad.  Be carefull checking the seacock, have a way to stop the water flow if you can't with the seacock.
Second, engine not heating up.  May be thermostat.  May be a bad temp reading. 
Third, I wouldn't take any chance of a bad impeller.  Change it and if the old one looks OK keep as a emergency back up.  Spray it with silicon or coat with vegetable oil and keep in a zip lock bag.
I'm thinking some hoses are switched.  I'd check both the raw water run and the engine antifreeze circuit.  Cause it's easy, look at your antifreeze, at the engine not the reserve.  If it's all water somehow the raw water got hooked to the engine coolant that would explain some of the symtoms.
Better luck on your next trip.
Jim

[chuck53]

I keep my ignition key around the thru hull.  That way I can't forget to open it.  Just a thought.

Not a bad idea.

As far as hoses being crossed, I pretty much haven't done anything with this engine since I've had it except change oil and filters.  Hoses haven't been touched by me and I've put at least 30-40 hours on the engine.
A buddy of mine and I went over the engine today following hoses and everything looks good.  Just to be on the safe side, I will check/replace the impeller next time I go to the boat.  
Again, it pumped a steady and appropriate amount of water the whole time.  I thought that maybe I had a problem with the seacock, but no water comes thru in the closed position and strainer open and when I first opened the strainer, it still had AF in it from winterizing.

[chuck53]

Second, engine not heating up.  May be thermostat.  May be a bad temp reading. 
Third, I wouldn't take any chance of a bad impeller.  Change it and if the old one looks OK keep as a emergency back up.  Spray it with silicon or coat with vegetable oil and keep in a zip lock bag.
I'm thinking some hoses are switched.  I'd check both the raw water run and the engine antifreeze circuit.  Cause it's easy, look at your antifreeze, at the engine not the reserve. 
Jim

Jim, the engine not warming up was when I was tied to the dock, running 1500 RPM's in gear.  Once I got out on the water and running up to 2000 RPM's, it did get up to 170 which is where it normally runs.  I checked my coolant and everything looked good, a nice, strong green color as I expected to see.
Regarding the motor running, everything was normal and running as expected with the exception of the seacock being closed.  The only thing different from last season is a loss to WOT RPM's and that is due to barnacle build up on the running gear.  I will take care of that with a short haul in a few weeks.

[Ron Hill]

Chuck : The raw water seacock is the one under the head sink that is closest to the engine compartment.  The raw water hose is 5/8" and is black going around the corner to the engine.

The other hoses to the 2 other sea cocks are PVC with red tracers to the sink hose furthest to port and goes straight down from the sink.  The middle seacock the factory plumbed is a double function with the head inlet water on the bottom and the shower sump drain on the top.
 
That's how the factory plumbed it so check what the PO/POs did???      A few thoughts

[chuck53]

Chuck : The raw water seacock is the one under the head sink that is closest to the engine compartment.  The raw water hose is 5/8" and is black going around the corner to the engine.

The other hoses to the 2 other sea cocks are PVC with red tracers to the sink hose furthest to port and goes straight down from the sink.  The middle seacock the factory plumbed is a double function with the head inlet water on the bottom and the shower sump drain on the top.
 
That's how the factory plumbed it so check what the PO/POs did???      A few thoughts

Yes, I know.  The seacock in question is the one connected directly to the strainer, which in turn is connected to the engine.
Just so you guys know, my experience with larger boats...I owned a Catalina 30 for 4 years, A 37' Egg Harbor motoryacht with twin engines and genset for 4 years, a 38' Carver aft cabin with twin engines, genset and 2 heads for 7 years and now a Catalina 34 for 3 years.  I've always done my own winterizing and basic maintanence.  I've spent more than a few dozen hours crawling around engine rooms and have opened and closed more than a few seacocks dozens of times.  Because its been a while, I'm a little fuzzy on the C-30 and Egg Harbor, but I can tell you from memory the exact placement of all 7 seacocks in my Carver and all 6 in my C-34 and what each one is connected to.
I'm still completely baffled on this issue and I had 2 friends on board with me discussing this.  Both have a fair amount of boating experience and both are as baffled as me.

[Indian Falls]

Ha! I love that idea... the one where you keep the ignition key on the thru hull... that's better than what I had...
My pictured impellor is on the key ring with the ignition key as a reminder. 

Chuck53, take a pic of your impellor when you inspect it.. if it's ok.. you were getting water from somewhere.

Keep us posted!

[chuck53]

It's going to be a couple of weeks before I'm back on the boat and If I get a chance, I will inspect/replace the impeller.  I will come back and let you know what I find.