Epilogue number 37....
I installed the new-new sea-strainer last night. Pulled out the Groco WSB-750 and installed a Groco ARG-755. Wow, in comparison, this thing is a *tank* compared to the WSB - bronze housing, tempered-glass bowl, significantly bigger.
Then I went out and ran the boat pretty hard for about a half-hour... 2700 rpm, 6.4 knots back and forth in front of the marina. The people on the balcony at Everett Yacht Club probably thought I was a kook (if only they knew...)
Everything ran great. Plenty of water coming out thru the exhaust, no leaks, I think it's time to button this up and head to Ludlow.
The only curious (?) thing I noted was that the engine never quite got up to the temp that was "normal" before all this started... normally this thing would run around 165-170F, yesterday, it never got over 150F. I...uh... didn't believe it, so I borrowed a dockmate's Fluke infra-red temperature gadget and, sure enough, temp at the manifold and at the thermostat housing was 146F.
Not sure if this is because the new hoses have less crud in them, or if the new fresh-water pump is doing a better job than the one that failed, or... something.
I'll keep an eye on it, because, well, I worry about changes I don't understand....
(edited to add a picture of the shiny new strainer...)