[LordGothington]

Ahoy!

When motoring, I feel that the noise coming from the propeller area is a bit excessive -- sounds like I am on a B-52 bomber. But this boat is new to me, so I don't know what 'normal' sounds like.

Recently I have been doing a lot more motoring (650+ miles, and 600+ more to go). I have had to tighten the stuff box several times -- and it seems to be needing attention more frequently. I am on a Tartan 27 Yawl.

Additionally, I noticed that when in gear at idle speed I can see a noticeable wobble of the stuffing box.

I have no real idea if the noise and vibration are normal or not as I have only be on one other similar boat and it had a 3-blade prop.

Right now the boat is in the water -- I am at a facility that can haul it out if/when needed.

Since it is in the water it seems like a good place to start is to check the alignment. On this boat, the engine is a hard mount -- there is no rubber or other vibration reduction stuff. I found that all the mount bolts where a bit loose -- which is not a great sign.

The next step, I believe, is to loosen the 3 bolts that attach the shaft coupler to the transmission. I think I remove 2 and leave one loosely attached and use a feeler gauge to check the alignment.

If everything seems ok, then the next step would be to haul the boat out of the water.

Once the boat is out of the water I can try wiggling the prop around and see if there is too much slop in the cutlass bearing. Next I can remove the propeller and see if the wobble goes away. (Making sure to provide water for the cooling system) If the wobble goes away then the problem was probably an unbalanced propeller. If the wobble remains, it is more likely a bent shaft.

The next step is to remove the shaft (and order a new coupling -- perhaps the split one), and check if the shaft is straight.

So... I am currently stuck on the step where I loosen the 3 bolts holding the coupler to the transmission. With the boat in the water it is pretty hard to stop the shaft from rotating when I try to loosen the bolts. It is tempting to use a pipe wrench on the shaft -- but I've heard that is bad for the shaft. If I was certain to need a new shaft then it wouldn't matter, but I have not reached that point yet.

I've heard it said that an 18" pipe wrench can be used to grab onto the coupler -- but I would assume that would not be good for the coupler. I think in the situation I was reading about they were attempting to replace the coupler on the engine side and just needed to hold it still to remove the nut.

So far I have been soaking the bolts in penetrating oil. I am a bit fearful of using a torch to apply heat right underneath the gas tank. But I do have a small butane torch I could try.

If the boat was out of the water, I could use a 2x4 to stop the propeller from spinning.

So.. another option is to wait -- but I am not sure how bad of an idea that is. I am currently at Green Turtle Bay in Grand Rivers, KY. It's cold here and only getting colder. But I am headed to Mobile, AL where I was planning to have the boat hauled out. So I'd love to just wait until I get there.

But, I've read that the vibrations could cause damage to the transmission. Is 600 miles way too long to wait? Or not far enough to be a big difference.

In this boat there is very little propeller shaft sticking out and the only support is the stuffing box/cutlass bearing/etc that goes through the hull.

I have some other inconclusive data.

If I try to wiggle the shaft from inside the boat near the stuffing box, I can't really feel any play.

If I turn the propeller shaft by hand I am not able to see any wobble. I also tried putting a stick across the nut to amplify the movement and show it like an indicating needle across the hull. I still was not able to see any movement when turning the shaft by hand.

I do see the wobble in both forward and reverse.

I am sure that the tip of one of the blades is slightly bent -- not sure how much bend would be needed to cause issues. (I also don't know how it happened -- was like that when I bought it).

I have no idea when the stuff box was last repacked or when the cutlass bearing was last replaced. I know the engine was rebuilt a decade ago -- so perhaps then.

In summary:

1) can this wait another 600 miles

2) how can I get those bolts loose when I am in the water.

Thanks.