Unsupported prop shaft....

[ndutton]

Romantic, I'd speak to the yard manager or ownership and request a certificate of insurance naming you as additional insured. It's commonplace for marinas to require it as a condition of tenancy, no reason it can't be done the other way around too.

Looking at the pictures I'd need something more than their word. With the mast episode it's obvious they don't know what they're doing either, another reason to be certain their insurance is in full force.

[tenders]

Wow, nothing enhances an already-great story like the introduction of 30,000 bees! I'm going to remember that for the next time one of my tales seems to be lagging.

Caleb: yikes. My strut is attached with what I thought looked like too many (six) throughbolts. I don't think that any more! Would not be surprised if the galvanic action on the C&C had been compounded by some engine misalignment, fatiguing and breaking that bolt off. How long did it take you to trace the leak to that?

[lat 64]

Here's what a box of doughnuts, a bottle of scotch, and $300 will get you in my yard:
We just put a loop around the spar and let the crane slide it up to the spreaders. A tag line to balance it and ONE boss to rule them all.
It went back up the same safe way

[CalebD]

Wow, nothing enhances an already-great story like the introduction of 30,000 bees! I'm going to remember that for the next time one of my tales seems to be lagging.

Caleb: yikes. My strut is attached with what I thought looked like too many (six) throughbolts. I don't think that any more! Would not be surprised if the galvanic action on the C&C had been compounded by some engine misalignment, fatiguing and breaking that bolt off. How long did it take you to trace the leak to that?

Neil: thanks for your detailed description and thoughts on strut alignment. Now I am unsure about how C&C originally installed the strut on this C&C 35' mk iii. It seems evident they did not follow the methodology that was used on the Newport 30' hulls.
I think you are correct about C&C in that their boats can be very good sailors but certain aspects of their build process may be lacking; this strut being one of them.

Tenders: as to how long did it take to trace the leak to the strut...
We motored around Manhattan and missed the following current through Hell Gate so we were battling a contrary current (very poor timing). Because of this my friend had goosed the throttle to it's max while we motored forward at as low as 1 knot in some places. Where the East River widens out (above Hell Gate) we picked up some speed but it was still slow going. We first noticed this extra noise somewhere in the East River.
We then stopped in Port Washington to take on more diesel and water in the water tank. After filling the water tank I noticed that the bilge pump was on so we checked the bilge which was not dry but not overly full.
It was a low wind summer day so we continued motoring east and it wasn't until my friend went for a nap that I took another look at the bilge (now late afternoon) and noticed fairly high water there.
I wont rule out galvanic corrosion as a contributing factor but I think the most likely contributor to this failure was the folding prop (Martec or similar). These props can/do snap into position once the shaft starts spinning, each time delivering a shock to the strut/drive train. In any event, the strut was loosely held in place so I think one should be happy to have 6 bolts instead of 4 holding this key component firmly.

The repair.
Knutsons marine made all the repairs which required draining and removing the fuel tank get at the repair area. It took them some time to line up the right "fiberglass guy" but about 6+ weeks later the boat was ready. I wish I stopped by to watch the work in progress to see if they used the silicone bronze bolts that have been mentioned here but that did not happen.

The bill.
My friend told the insurance adjuster that he thought we hit something; there are always large hunks of wood and tree branches that one might hit while transiting this area. The adjuster found no evidence of collision of any sort so most of the claim was denied as "normal wear and tear". I believe insurance paid for the tow and the emergency haul out but did not cover the major cost of the strut repair. My friend was out 5 - 6 boat bucks.

He is already talking about going to Block Island this summer. I hope to get a better look at the repair that was done before signing on for that trip.

[ndutton]

Neil: thanks for your detailed description and thoughts on strut alignment. Now I am unsure about how C&C originally installed the strut on this C&C 35' mk iii.

If it were my boat I wouldn't care how C&C installed it. Now that it's mine and has already shown itself to be a problem I'd make it right.

Unrelated side story: my daughter had a ticket on a United flight tonight that was overbooked. She opted for the voucher instead of the beating.