Best way to clean your intake grate?

[ArcticSmoke]

How do you keep the intake grate on your jetboat clean of weeds/rocks/small animals?

I've been doing a little reading and have heard of Grate Rakes, but haven't seen one forsale online anywhere yet.

I was thinking about taking the scrub brush I use for cleaning my home's siding with a 4 foot brush and trying that out.

I also heard of some other methods, such as get going as fast as you can, then turn off the boat engine, a lot of the weeds will just fall off. I'm wondering if this would work even better in reverse?

What other tricks do you have?

 

[calledinsick]

Re: Best way to clean your intake grate?

It gets worse as the fall approaches and more leaves/debris are in the water. I usually use the reverse method first: going in reverse with a little throttle then killing the engine.

If that fails, I found a small plastic rake (it's brown plastic and only about 6-8 inches wide at the tines and about 4 feet long) I carry aboard that I can lean over the back of the boat and scrape the grate.

 

[kend301]

Re: Best way to clean your intake grate?

I drive mine in forward to 10 mph or so , pull back to neutral , let the boat stop and then go to WOT in reverse for 20 feet , back to neutral , disconnect the drive and go to about 1800 with the gate down , then go boating , Has worked so far but I too have a rake just in case .

 

[calledinsick]

Re: Best way to clean your intake grate?

Here's the rake I carry on board...garden center...

 

[kend301]

Re: Best way to clean your intake grate?

Same rake I keep in my boat

 

[calledinsick]

Re: Best way to clean your intake grate?

The right tools make the job easier!

 

[kend301]

Re: Best way to clean your intake grate?

If the rake does not work , a 12 year old kid thrown overboard also works well

 

[Oode]

Re: Best way to clean your intake grate?

Do you use his hair or his feet to scrub with???