Howdy y'all. Hope everyone's well. I finally found some time to give a quick update. As I mentioned in post #125, it seemed very likely that my cutlass bearing was somehow restricting the rotation of my prop shaft. A haul out was in order. I called the yard where I had previously hauled out in 2017, but they were not accepting DIY customers back "due to COVID." Yet again though, the economics of paying non-DIY yard rates to haul, replace the cutlass, and launch just didn't add up for this old boat. Not to mention the problem of how to get the boat to the yard without an operating motor in the first place. Real chicken-and-the-egg paradox there.
I started to explore the idea of removing the shaft from the boat while in the slip, plugging the stuffing box (obviously) once the shaft was removed, and then replacing the cutlass bearing in situ. I'm no commercial diver and had no interest in doing that myself. Unfortunately, no other commercial divers in the area had any interest either. As it was explained to me, their insurance doesn't cover opening up any holes below the waterline while the boat is in the water. Makes sense, but to be honest, I was surprised to learn they carried insurance in the first place. I just assumed if my boat sank somehow while he was cleaning the bottom and changing zincs, I'd be submitting a claim from mine. Anyway, while explaining my predicament to a fellow boat-owning friend, he offered his electric air compressor dive "hookah" rig and dockside assistance if I wanted to give it a go. With (yet another) FleetWeek fast approaching, and my determination to be out on the water with our family for the airshow, I decided to give it a shot. At the last minute, he got called to work so he dropped of the air compressor rig, gave me a quick how-to, and wished me luck. There I was again doing something I had no business doing, with no prior experience, by myself, with major consequences for failure.
I've gone recreationally scuba diving a couple times in warm, clear, tropical water but I quickly learned that going underwater in a marina in cold, low-visibility water to do underwater work with tools is something totally different. Thankfully I had a 4/3 wetsuit from a failed pre-having-kids attempt at picking up surfing. My slip-neighbor saw my stupid plan unfolding and offered her help to shove the tapered wood bung in the stuffing box from inside the cabin while I went under the boat to remove the shaft and also "make sure I didn't drown." I got in the water and instantly panicked. I couldn't see my hand in front of my face as the cold San Francisco Bay water filled my wetsuit. I was only a couple feet off the dock when I paddled back and grabbed onto the dock finger as fast as I could. My slip-neighbor just stood there laughing to herself
"well that was, um, fast" (I could tell the pun was intended) while I continued to over-breathe the dive regulator so hard the air compressor on the dock immediately began to refill the tank that I had just sucked empty with a few breaths.
"Give me a minute, its creepy down there!" I yelled back. I kept a hand on the dock and stuck my head underwater while the sediment I had kicked up getting in the water dissipated. After a couple minutes the visibility improved enough where I felt comfortable swimming under the boat to the keel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-lXgIrwv5w
(Look closely at :38 seconds in the video and you'll see the ripped cutlass bearing rubber herniated out the front of the bearing)
Spoiler Alert:
