1972 E27-Fixing Everything

[CajunSpike]

Update after taking her out

Been a while since my last post. Thought I'd update whats happened and whats pending.

Found sink drain hose is not connected to anything. Just ends in mid air.
There IS a thru hull right under the sink, but its not connected. Go figure.

Found water tank outlet line not connected to the fresh water pump.
Looks like the plastic tubing just rotted away and broke off both ends.
Found the remains of it under the vberth.
This also leads to the question if the plastic water tank is still usable or not. Also found there is a water fill hose, but don't see where it disappears to under the vberth.

Found 2 thruhulls in the port lower front quarter(area of fresh water tank). There is a single line coming out of 1 thruhull and it runs into the 2nd thruhull in a loop. No idea what they are for.

Decided to go with mahogany to replace all 4 of the handrails(two internal, two external). Bought a mahogany board wide/long enough to make 3 rails of 93". Only spent $40 on it. Now need to scribe the pattern on it and cut it. One of the interior rails is 55" and will be made out of a single piece. Cabin handrail holes are sealed up till this is done.

Took the boat out expecting there to be little to no wind as it was nearly dead calm in the marina, but was pleasantly surprised to find there was a pretty darn good breeze.

Stats for today's trip, which lead to questions.
Time of trip - 2 hours 46 minutes.
Max knots - 6.0
Average knots - 3.4
Distance covered - 9.5 nautical miles..
Issues encountered - None(except boat leaned and some things fell off the cabinet!)



Where to captain? Just out there....somewhere. Ran with both sails up for the first time.


When I was leaving the marina, I decided to see how fast it goes under motor. I slowly advanced the throttle and quickly got to the point around 2000rpm where advancing it further made no difference. Its like 2000rpm is just how fast the motor will spin and that's it. Opened it full throttle. Motor would not go past that rpm. Timing was done by hand/sound when I got it running. Now it cranks up first time every time, but may not be set for optimum timing. Whats a typical safe operating rpm? Direct drive, no gear reduction. 12x8 folding prop.

Navionix says I do 5knots when running under max engine rpm.
You can see from the stats that the boat actually got to 6knots in the run. Not bad I think.

At one point, the boat leaned enough I was concerned the gas in the tank would all slosh over to the starboard side and the engine would suck air. Was getting close to the marina with engine running when a nice breeze went thru heeling pretty much down to the side rails for a few minutes. Only have about 5 gallons in a 12 gallon tank. Fuel intake is on the port side of the tank. Changed directions to straighten out the lean.

This last issue is a "i'm not sure its a problem yet".
The whole trip, the tranny worked flawlessly.
But I had issues trying to back the boat into the slip.

After having wind problems trying to get into the slip, I tossed a line to a friend to get the boat aligned correctly to the dock.
Then tried putting it in reverse. Felt normal, sounded normal, but the boat wouldn't move. Was mystified. Put it in fwd and got same reaction.

Must throw in the caveat that I was under heat stress at that time.
I also had hold of a line so the boat wouldn't get blown away from the slip.
Maybe just didn't realize my line was too tight for the boat to move.
Will test the fwd/reverse next time I get to the boat.

To do list.
Handrails
Sink drainage
Fresh water tank/pump/hose repair.
Max engine rpm(?)
Check/retime engine(?)

Ever since ya'll helped me figure out this motor, its been utterly reliable.
It cranks up first time every time. This is the first and only question I've had since it started running.

[CajunSpike]

Storm prep

With the possibility of a storm moving thru the area, I went back to the boat today to tie things down better.

Lowered and tied the bimini. Fully installed and lashed the boom cover, tied the boom down so it can't flap. Added additional tie down ropes from the boat to the dock.

One last thing I did is check out the strange problem with the transmission.
On the last trip as I'm tying up, something happened that shifting the trans lever did not result in the boat moving. Didn't have time to check it that trip.

So today, I cranked up the motor. Started easily as normal.
Pulled the engine cover off. Shifted the trans into fwd and watched the drive shaft. Spun as expected. Shifted to reverse. Drive shaft spun as expected. No water leaking thru stuffing box. No motion of the boat from these trans shifts.

So one of these has happened.

1)Prop fell off.
2)Shaft has cracked/split possibly losing the prop.
3)Folding propeller is jammed in such a way that it won't unfold.
4)The key between the prop and shaft has split.

Either need to go swimming or find a local diver I guess, to solve this mystery.
I did find what looks like to be the original 2 blade prop that came with the boat.

[CajunSpike]

Latest chapter in this story.
Met a diver at the boat today. He confirmed the prop is in place and working. That the hull only has a light coat of algae. That there is a zinc on the prop shaft.

But the prop is not the problem.
Whatever connects the prop shaft to the prop shaft coupling has let go.
The coupling is spinning on both ends but the the prop shaft itself does not move.
Not sure how to fix this. I know I need to separate the two halves of the coupling and reattach/repair the shaft coupling. The engine half is fine.

I've seen photos of the rear 1/2 coupling and see there is a 'pinch bolt' that keeps pressure on the shaft.
Did not look for sure, but I'm hoping the pinch bolt backed out or fell off.

[edwardc]

Sounds like you sheared the key that holds the coupler from rotating on the shaft. The setscrew is only for preventing the shaft from sliding out. It cannot transmit the engine torque to the shaft, it will just slip.

[CajunSpike]

Sounds like you sheared the key that holds the coupler from rotating on the shaft. The setscrew is only for preventing the shaft from sliding out. It cannot transmit the engine torque to the shaft, it will just slip.

Now I just have to see if I have enough working space to get the coupling off the shaft.

Thank you sir.

[sastanley]

And be careful not to let the shaft slide out when you remove the set screw. If you have the space..a simple hose clamp might keep the shaft in the boat. I would also have a bung/plug for the shaft log on hand just in case there is an unexpected problem. If you don't have room...you'll have to haul the boat..might as well power wash, and prep the bottom for fresh paint if you have the means.

[indigo]

My guess is the shaft has backed out of the coupling for the most part and probably just machined off maybe an eighth of an inch of the key. You may not have to remove the coupling half. Just try shifting the shaft aft a little more being cautious not to let it get away from you like Shawn cautioned. If you are lucky, all you need to do is install a new Key and then slide the shaft forward and then tighten down on the retaining bolt.

[CajunSpike]

My guess is the shaft has backed out of the coupling for the most part and probably just machined off maybe an eighth of an inch of the key. You may not have to remove the coupling half. Just try shifting the shaft aft a little more being cautious not to let it get away from you like Shawn cautioned. If you are lucky, all you need to do is install a new Key and then slide the shaft forward and then tighten down on the retaining bolt.

Made good point. Just need enough space to reinsert the key.

[CajunSpike]

Went to the boat today to figure out how the shaft coupling is put together to try to repair it.
Unfortunately its so low in the engine tub that you can't see how its configured. I DID see the shaft keeper screw fell out the hole and is missing at the moment.

I may either have to pull the motor or cut an opening in the engine fiberglass walls to have better access to the coupling area.

So I'm asking for a photo request: Need a pic of the prop shaft coupling on an E27 with an Atomic 4. Need to understand what it looks like so I know how to work with it. Spent some time today moving things out the way to get access but not sure what bolts to remove. Hoping a photo will help. Will be looking online in the meantime.

Update: I think this is good enough for my needs, post #12.

http://www.moyermarineforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5749

[ndutton]

Is it possible to lay on top of the engine? I have a friend with an Ericson 26-2 (same interior as your 27) with a 1GM Yanmar. We put a pad on top of the engine and dive in there head first. We also made the stbd quarter berth riser removable for excellent access.

If your coupler is rusted in place, I have a coupler splitter available that can be in your hands in a couple of days via USPS Priority Mail. Pictures of it in use on the same Ericson 26-2 found here.

[CajunSpike]

The engine is in a 3 sided box. Only the front and top is open. On top of it is the floor of the cockpit so vertical space is limited. Yes its possible to lay on top of the motor. Can barely just reach the coupler from that position but vision is so poor was not sure which bolts were coupler bolts. Were there 3 or 4 bolts? Was it nut/bolt combination? Removed 1 bolt turned out to be the rear engine oil seal. Reason for the photo is to know if its just a bolt into a plate or nut bolt combination holding the coupler together.

Definitely saw the shaft pinch bolt had fallen out of position. Its hole in the coupling was just open and empty.
I removed the fresh air fan to have some space behind the engine to work. Also considering cutting the rear end of the engine box open so access from behind might be available. Would be awkward but at least could get direct access to the bolts. As always, thanks for your input. I'm just praying none of the 3 coupler bolts are frozen in place.
Can barely see them.
If it comes to the splitter, may take you up on that.

I know the coupler should pull off the shaft because its been spinning freely after the key broke.

I've also considered removing the fuel tank I just installed so a small person might be able to get in that space to remove the bolts that way. The tank is directly behind the rear engine box wall.

[edwardc]

The original setscrew had a square head with a hole drilled through it for securing it with stainless seizing wire to keep it from backing out.

When dealing with a sheared key, be sure to check that the new key fits in both the shaft and the hub with no side-to-side play. If either keyway is worn, all the load will be transmitted to the setscrew on every fwd-reverse cycle. This will quickly loosten the setscrew, and shear the new key. Unfortunately, the only fix for a worn keyway is to replace the worn part. This is not bad if its the coupler, but an expensive pain if its the shaft.

If you're replacing the coupler, why not consider one of our sponsor's split-hub couplers?

https://moyermarine.com/product/direct-drive-prop-shaft-coupling-with-split-hub-78-inch-orev_14-1_542/

This will meke future removal much easier. They come in 3/4", 7/8", and 1" sizes.

[CajunSpike]

I had a lafitte skiff with a similar type coupling. There was a huge bolt to pinch the metal closed so it firmly grabbed the shaft, with no slippage.

I'm still figuring how to pull the coupling without hurting myself.
Praying the shaft is still good but if not, I have a friend who owns a machine shop.

i just ordered a new coil to go with the pertronix kit, from MMI.

[CajunSpike]

Pertronix 1146A kit came in today. Waiting for the coil from MMI.

[edwardc]

...I'm still figuring how to pull the coupling without hurting myself. ...

A typical technique for removing the coupler from the shaft is to get a socket wrench who's outside diameter is smaller than the shaft diameter, insert it in between the two coupler half faces to act as a press, and use three new, longer bolts to tighten down the coupler pieces and press the shaft out.

Caution! This only works if the shaft is not stuck on tight by corrosion! Don't go hog-wild applying force with the bolts. You can easily generate enough force this way to bend the flanges on either half of the coupler!!!

Given that your shaft is already spinning in the coupler, I don't expect you'll have this problem.