Thanks for the responses. I'm wondering if we did it that why because of the age of the skimmer (25years - original) and the fact that some patching with epoxy was done to plug up some cracks.

I've been maintaining my pool for four years now and have learned a lot in those four years, but this way of vacuuming has been routine maintenence and I forget the reason why.

Also, thanks for the Pentair link. I might go that route.