AQ171C with 290SP drive water leak

"Hi Guys,
Looking for a littl

"Hi Guys,
Looking for a little advice if I may.
I have a leak on the raw water pipe connecting to the plastic strainer housing. It looks like I need to replace the sealing ring.
So I know it is a bit of a dumb question …but I would rather look a bit of a fool here than sink the boat!
How is the best way to remove the pipe from the strainer whilst the boat is still in the water? I can remove the strainer / filter of course with no water ingress, but the location of the bolts securing the strainer housing means very tight access as the thermostat housing is in the way. I could remove the pipe from the sea water pump and replace all the gaskets. Alternately there are a couple of “star” shape screws on the strainer housing connector, but again have limited access and screws don’t appear to be in good condition.
I probably wouldn’t worry if the boat was on dry land but I don’t really want to flood the boat and having just had a quick lift and launch for a different problem, could do without losing more sea time than is necessary. So just looking for confirmation that it is o/k to remove the pipe after the raw water pump and anything else I should be aware of."

"Stephen, if you look at the i

"Stephen, if you look at the inside of the transom shield you will see the tube 41. The reason that tube goes upwards is to prevent water ingress if you were say to remove your raw water pump or the raw water strainer."

Hi – Thank you for that El.
I

Hi – Thank you for that El.
I did think that was the case but just wanted to be absolutely sure before I start dismantling!