Sherwood raw water pump replacement

[Jim Walsh]

When I purchased Orion in December 2006 I knew the engine was shot. I replaced the original Universal with a new Universal M-25XPB before she was launched in the spring of 2007.
A sore point has always been the difficulty involved in replacing the raw water impeller. The Sherwood raw water pump was standard on many Universals primarily because the Sherwood Pump Company was owned by the parent company of Universal.
Finally, after 16 years of use, the pump bearings let go. Yes, I know the pump can be rebuilt, the problem is that I would have to continue to live with it. The Sherwood pump is, effectively, facing aft, in that the impeller housing must be removed with bolts only accessible from behind the housing. It was never en easy job, even 16 years ago.
I have known for several years that an Oberdorfer pump was available as a retrofit and that is what I have chosen to do…to maintain my sanity. The new Oberdorfer N202M-837 was a simple install and I can now change my impeller in five minutes, on a slow day.
I may order a set of flared collar knurled head thumbscrews to replace the hex head machine screws in the near future from McMaster-Carr.