Indigo

[Dave Neptune]

Prop

Tom, the Catalina I am playing with is a 36' with a 2:1 reduction box and it's a 23hp diesel. We may be going out this afternoon after work to do a bit of testing. U-know an excuse to have a beer.
I have a 35' boat with the 1:1 and the Indigo and I love the way it works and sails _/) _/).
I think that because our boats being the same basic size and weight with similar power the props will be similar in pitch and diameter for the 2:1 A-4 guys.

Dave Neptune

[sastanley]

Shawn,
Hanleys method of getting the propshaft centered is right on. Since I haven't seen the question asked iguess I will do it; is a new strut bushing in the cards? If you can get the motor mounts to cooperate and verify that the shaft is straight you have the opportunity here to give the old girl a like new feel.

P.S. On another note, I took "Kari On" out yesterday to test my new wheel steering setup and it performed beautifully. The effect of the 2 blade is not nearly as bad with a wheel compared to the tiller. As soon as I add the tach and vac guage and get some accurate baseline numbers I will make the switchto a 3 blade. I'm still waiting for some input on peoples reaction to the Campbell prop that Dave N. mentioned, on a cat 30.
Tom

Tom, yes...when I get the shaft removed the cutless bearing will get replaced..I am pretty sure it is original, just like everything else on the boat. I've been checking out the C-30 Yahoo group regarding another press I'll need to build for that exercise.

A buddy of mine has a dial indicator and the proper tools to spin the shaft to test for straightness...he lives between my house and the marina!

I suspect that with the mechanical advantage of the steering pulleys that prop wash would be less of an issue. Don't hold your breath waiting for me to do that though. In my opinion, there is nothing better than sitting on the windward coaming with the boat nicely balanced and driving her upwind with a tiller extension you can hold with your fingertips. My boat doesn't know it, but she is still raced every time I take her out.

[thatch]

Dave N.,
I was finally able to talk with a Campbell prop supplier who had 2 prop recomendations for an A4 powered cat 30 ; they are 10x6, for normal use or an 11x5 for heavier sea conditions. At about $535 delivered, it will be difficult to pick the Campbell over the Indigo, despite his very positive review of it compared to the stock 2 blade. Based on your RPM numbers on your larger catalina, I'm sure I will be in a comfortable range with either the Indigo or the Campbell.


Shawn,
We are all in your corner hoping for a speedy recovery with the shaftlog project. A strut bushing installer is not much more than a long piece of all- thread equipped with nuts, washers and alignment collars.
I would never suggest that we should all convert to wheel steering but in my case I will feel much more confident (with guest helmsmen) that the boat will actually go left when I say "turn to port", which has not always been the case in the past. Enough said?...
Tom

[rigspelt]

We're not at 200 yet here, so I'll go further down that rabbit hole of tiller vs wheel. We have wheel, but I must admit that I wouldn't mind swapping out to tiller if we had too. Something great about that old-time feel of gunwale awash and hand on the tiller. Not to mention simpler autohelm, and simpler steering mechanism. Of course, that means fewer options for drink holders and GPS receiver at the helm station.

Shawn, thanks for sharing this stern tube replacement project. I've never seen it done and have learned a pile from these guys already.

[sastanley]

Hi rigs, I've never seen it either..it is a HUGE project for me, and in hindsight, based on what I saw this afternoon (which y'all see in the pics), should have been done winter 2008-2009 when I had the boat on the hard for an extended timeframe.

Oh well, so far it's only cost me a second haulout. I am blessed it showed up in home waters. So far, the labor is free, the beer is relatively cheap to fuel the free labor, and the friends coming by to check on me only drink one or two of those beers. Pretty good deal!

I'll try to upload some pics from today when I get a chance. The prop shaft is out and sitting on my front porch...(based on its condition, it will be replaced, BTW) - I need to order some lawn mower parts first!! I take great pride in my yard also, and I choose to push mow the 1/2 acre of my other paradise with a nice sharp blade instead of hacking it up with a yard tractor...which means the hubs on the 12" wheels in the back of the push mower are wearing out and I need to replace them. I came home this evening to my wife having mowed the front yard with the sprinkler running....how cool is that?

[sastanley]

pics

OK, here we go.

Let's see if I can get these in order. I may need to post some more replies to get a pic of the shaft too.

First is after removing the first socket and replacing it with a long spark plug socket to continue to press the shaft out.

Second is the nice varying colors of the shaft as it is pressed thru the worn shaft log area.

third is a shot from the coupling area looking at the worn tube from the coupler vantage point.

fourth, somehow I amazingly got the strut in focus thru the tube without even really knowing what I was doing, and I thought it was a cool shot.

[sastanley]

shaft pics

Ok, here are two pics of the prop shaft itself with the stuffing box in what I think was its "in use" position.

Based on the varying diameters of the shaft, I am 99% sure I plan to replace it.

In the second pic, I've added a few labels which I think depict the wear I see on the shaft.

I don't know if my english is right (wear??), but here ya go.

[hanleyclifford]

Shaft log problem

Shawn - Good job on the removal of that coupling in very tight quarters, and good pictures too! - I hope to learn how to do that soon. From the picture the strut bearing looks pretty good. The analysis of the shaft will be the next piece, and should be very revealing. Keep up the good work - you are doing a thing that most boat yard workers shrink back from doing!

[sastanley]

HC, they (the yard) get paid big bucks to do it though

Patience, perseverance (& beer!)...I spent 2 hours on it yesterday and 3+ hours on it today to move that prop shaft 1 3/4". I did get the back yard mowed with the help of the porch lights this evening though

FYI - I've edited my post with some updated pics.

[hanleyclifford]

The truth is out

Shawn - It would be the next wonder of the modern world if that shaft were still straight (but never say never, the captain used to say). Your analysis of the wear is spot on. My choice would be to go for a new stainless shaft. Have you decided on material for the new log? Neil's comments on this were very interesting - I wonder if those materials are still available?

[sastanley]

shaft sourcing!

I talked to my 'buddy with shaft measuring tools' this afternoon that I mentioned previously. His beautiful Clearwater 35 is about 100 yards away from "TA" (Twice Around) right now as he is painting the bottom and he looked at the shaft and agreed we should go with new SS. He said I should be able to do better than $225 for a 54" stainless shaft, which is the best price I've found so far.

If anyone has sources, let me know.

[ndutton]

Post #192, Keep it Going!

Shawn,
What is your strategy for repair of the shaft log?

[rheaton]

Would it be possible to reverse the shaft around, end to end, and reuse it. I have read of others doing this.

[hanleyclifford]

shaft log

I suspect that by the time Shawn gets the old one out, it will be damaged beyond recognition, and in any case already has been worn thin and visibly holed. For what it's worth, on my boat I installed a new one using schedule 80, but that was a full keel, dead wood, threaded at both ends type of installation - not the same critter, still the material is compatible with epoxy and fibreglass. It will be interesting to see exactly how long the shaft log is, and more importantly, the condition of the surrounding hull material. These factors will influence material selection.

[sastanley]

time to get fixin'

I think you can tell from the pics of the shaft that the log is approximately 12-13"...that is a SWAG and I didn't measure it. The shaft exited the hull at the extreme edge of the pic..you can see the beginnings of the grey 1792 Pettit paint that was outside the hull in that shot with the stuffing box assembly.

In good daylight, when I can stick my head in the boat and look, I need examine the rest of it. I have a mirror that is small enough I might be able to get it down the entire length of the log. Initial inspection from these pics seem to show that the only real damage is the visible portion inside the boat & there is no usual wear elsewhere on the propshaft. If this proves to be the only problem, I'll likely just repair it using some techniques in the West System manual similar to repairing hull damage with multiple layers and increasing sizes of mat to build up the patch. Finally, I'd wrap the whole thing with a good layer or two of woven mat so that I have a solid foundation to attach a new hose but hopefully not change the OD enough to affect hose diameters, etc.

Here is a link to West's repair manual on their website. My plan is to use some technique similar to what they show in section 4.3..

http://westsystem.com/ss/assets/HowTo-Publications/Fiberglass-Boat-Repair-and-Maintenance.pdf

I actually measured the prop shaft this morning and it is only 46 1/4" long. All the C-30 guys with diesels over on the Yahoo group have 54-55" shafts..I guess that was to give them more tip clearance and accommodate larger props on the diesels. I didn't even have to pull the prop (rudder clearance) to get it out...it was out long before it was even close to the rudder.

The strut bearing is worn, but evenly and not worn thru anywhere...I have no idea how that thing survived looking at the log...

So, I still plan to replace the shaft, but as HC mentioned, I am curious if the shaft is bent or the engine really out of alignment..I'd think the cutless bearing would be worn too if the alignment was really off. I'll pull the prop off again and before tossing that nice piece of bronze, I'll have my buddy check it to see if it is straight...however, that's moved down on the priority list since it is getting replaced.

Ok, gotta go update my signature, and I need to get some work done today too, except all I can think about is the boat!