featherstream: lost the grub screw when greasing.

chubby

chubby

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hampshire, uk
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So decided to grease the featherstream which you are supposed to do occasionally, annually , with the green grease they supplied.

Remove grub screw in prop hub, attach the supplied grease nipple and pump away until it seemed full, remove nipple and replace grub screw. Easy, one job off the list...

Except in enthusiasm did too many turns on grub screw which I now realise is a cylindrical thread with no stop on it! Grub screw disappears inside! b******r.

Any one else match my mechanical ineptitude and admit to doing the same? will the lost screw just sit inside bathed in grease or is there any scope for it jamming the blades a bit like a loose body in a joint? at present the blades feather by hand just as before.


Is it a question of new grub screw or it is remove prop, return to Darglow for dismantling, removing and reassembly? all of which is an embuggerance.


So before I eat humble pie and admit my folly to the ever helpful guy at Darglow, how big a slice of humble pie is needed!
 
chubby said:
Is it a question of new grub screw or it is remove prop, return to Darglow for dismantling, removing and reassembly? all of which is an embuggerance.
Click to expand...

The latter, I reckon, as you don't want the risk of the grub screw floating around inside it and jamming the gears.
 
On my featherstream the grub screw definitely tightens up against the bottom of the hole/something when replaced after greasing. It suggests that something is wrong with the threaded hole and it needs to be stripped apart to remove the missing grub screw and investigated before it gets jammed in gears.
 
chubby said:
So decided to grease the featherstream which you are supposed to do occasionally, annually , with the green grease they supplied.

Remove grub screw in prop hub, attach the supplied grease nipple and pump away until it seemed full, remove nipple and replace grub screw. Easy, one job off the list...

Except in enthusiasm did too many turns on grub screw which I now realise is a cylindrical thread with no stop on it! Grub screw disappears inside! b******r.

Any one else match my mechanical ineptitude and admit to doing the same? will the lost screw just sit inside bathed in grease or is there any scope for it jamming the blades a bit like a loose body in a joint? at present the blades feather by hand just as before.


Is it a question of new grub screw or it is remove prop, return to Darglow for dismantling, removing and reassembly? all of which is an embuggerance.


So before I eat humble pie and admit my folly to the ever helpful guy at Darglow, how big a slice of humble pie is needed!
Click to expand...

Can't you take it apart yourself. They are take-apart-able I beleive ... but some advice from Darglow might be worth while....... They might suggest that f you cannot put a grubscrew back in not to touch the rest of it :)
 
captainboo said:
On my featherstream the grub screw definitely tightens up against the bottom of the hole/something when replaced after greasing. It suggests that something is wrong with the threaded hole and it needs to be stripped apart to remove the missing grub screw and investigated before it gets jammed in gears.
Click to expand...

I'm with the captain. The screw must be meant to stop on something, if it's meant to keep the grease in.
 
I agree with the consensus opinion that the grub screw should be extracted. I wonder if one is supposed to use threadlock when inserting the grub if there is no end stop.
 
Surely the grub screw should 'stop', if it is loose and well greased what stops it falling out? Cannot see anything like Loctite working - too much grease.

Jonathan
 
Good news to anyone following the saga of the missing grub screw: it was found in a blob of green grease underneath the boat! I had filled the prop such as it was oozing grease then tried to reinsert the said grub screw on the end of an allen key and must have fallen off in the extruding grease!


One cleaned up, surplus grease wiped away and carefully re inserted , it does indeed tighten down against a stop and not possible for it to go inside! All well, thanks for the ideas folks.
 
chubby said:
Good news to anyone following the saga of the missing grub screw: it was found in a blob of green grease underneath the boat! I had filled the prop such as it was oozing grease then tried to reinsert the said grub screw on the end of an allen key and must have fallen off in the extruding grease!


One cleaned up, surplus grease wiped away and carefully re inserted , it does indeed tighten down against a stop and not possible for it to go inside! All well, thanks for the ideas folks.
Click to expand...

Thanks for 'fessing up.
 
I have a flex-o-fold, and upon first fitting was worried I might lose one of the little bits such as a grubscrew, thus rendering the whole thing useless
Sure enough, at the end of it's first season, whilst removing it I dropped a grubscrew, and upon landing on the gravel surface it became totally invisible.

Knowing it couldn't have gone far I searched systematically for an hour before giving up.

Lesson learned I then ….

- measured all the grubscrews and bought 100% spares [100% spares only cost a few quid]
- put an old sheet on board which I now put on the ground under the prop before starting work

The old sheet has saved the day several times since so I haven't needed the spares, but for a couple of quid they give me peace of mind!
 
gonetotheboat said:
I have a flex-o-fold, and upon first fitting was worried I might lose one of the little bits such as a grubscrew, thus rendering the whole thing useless
Sure enough, at the end of it's first season, whilst removing it I dropped a grubscrew, and upon landing on the gravel surface it became totally invisible.

Knowing it couldn't have gone far I searched systematically for an hour before giving up.

Lesson learned I then ….

- measured all the grubscrews and bought 100% spares [100% spares only cost a few quid]
- put an old sheet on board which I now put on the ground under the prop before starting work

The old sheet has saved the day several times since so I haven't needed the spares, but for a couple of quid they give me peace of mind!
Click to expand...

Thinking of getting a flexofold - as we rarely see the boat when it’s out of the water being scrubbed and antifouled then I’m wondering what maintenance it needs. I wouldn’t trust the random yards we choose wherever we happen to be so if can’t can’t be done quick underwater then the fixed 3 blade might have to stay.
 
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