Greasing stern tubes on old boats - how much is right?

[dylanwinter]

Can any PBO people tell me how much grease their stern tubes require at the end of a days sailing and motoring

the slug has a small greasing unit that requires maybe a dozen turns to pump grease into the stern tube at the end of a days sailing and motoring

it is easy to turn and then gets really tough - up until now that has completely stopped water from coming into the boat

the previous owner said it had always needed that much lubrication

and that is the way it had been for the past three years that I have owned the boat

Is this excessive or normal on a boat of this era?

Dylan

 

[MoodySabre]

Two turns was enough on my Snappie.

(Oh the joy of a dripless sterngland )

 

[alexrunic]

I do a turn or two before setting off and another turn later in the day if I'm motoring a lot. That many turns seem excessive and is why you have grease coming out of your cutless bearing. Not sure on your set up but I thought all cutless bearings are water lubricated, mine is as there are water vents in the side of the bearing housing and the bearing is rifled. The grease is for the lubricating the stuffing box.

 

[VicS]

It depends entirely on the type of bearing you have.

If it is a water lubricated rubber cutless ( cutlass??) bearing then the minimum amounts of grease being suggested are correct.
A turn of the greaaser before leaving the boat to stop the gland leaking and a tweak now and then when running are all that is required.

If however it is a white metal bearing it requires grease for lubrication.

If it is a water lubricated bearing one would expect to see two water inlet scoops at the front end of the assembly so that a constant supply of water passes though the bearing.

Looking at your video I can see no evidence of water inlets, although they could be completely obscured by antifouling.

If there are no hidden water inlets I would conclude that you have a white metal bearing and that you should ensure sufficient grease input to keep it lubricated. Sufficient to keep the tube full plus a shot now and then when running to keep the bearing lubricated.

If it is a water lubricated bearing you should ensure that the water inlets are kept clear of A/F and other debris

I see no water inlets :

 

[MrCramp]

I do a turn or two before setting off and another turn later in the day if I'm motoring a lot. That many turns seem excessive and is why you have grease coming out of your cutless bearing. Not sure on your set up but I thought all cutless bearings are water lubricated, mine is as there are water vents in the side of the bearing housing and the bearing is rifled. The grease is for the lubricating the stuffing box.

My experience on my Macwester 30 (1969ish) was exactly as above and the cutless bearing housing had the water vents also.

Westerly Tiger did not have the water vents in the housing and Clements Marine who manufactured a new one made it identical with no water vents. Greaser turned once before start and twice on leaving, maybe again if on long trip.
http://www.clementsmarine.co.uk/

These people are near the A1 and were very good to deal with. New cutless housing and bearing £110 which I thought was reasonable value.

 

[MrCramp]

It depends entirely on the type of bearing you have.


If it is a water lubricated bearing one would expect to see two water inlet scoops at the front end of the assembly so that a constant supply of water passes though the bearing.


I see no water inlets :

Vic, until I saw the Westerly Tiger set-up I would have agreed with you and the housing is as shown on your picture. My son damaged the housing taking the bearing out and took the lot to Clements Marine who made a new housing, with no water vents, and put what I describe as a traditional cutless bearing in it, brass(ish) outer and phenol ribbed inner. I don't think Clements would have made that housing and inserted that inner unless it was the correct setup. The other end of the screwed shaft has packing and a greaser.

 

[VicS]

Vic, until I saw the Westerly Tiger set-up I would have agreed with you

I dont know what type of bearing Westerly fitted to the Tiger but I do know that the Berwick is as I describe.
I crewed one for many years and assisted with much of the routine maintenance. When scrubbing off we always took care to dig out anything that had taken up residence in those water intakes and when antifouling avoided filling them with paint.

Whatever. The amount of greasing required depends on the type of bearing. If we could see water intake we'd know it was a water lubricated one and required no grease. As it is it may be a water lubricated one (starved of water!) or it may in fact be a white metal one which will require a constant supply of grease.

 

[dylanwinter]

okay - new theory

Vic, until I saw the Westerly Tiger set-up I would have agreed with you and the housing is as shown on your picture. My son damaged the housing taking the bearing out and took the lot to Clements Marine who made a new housing, with no water vents, and put what I describe as a traditional cutless bearing in it, brass(ish) outer and phenol ribbed inner. I don't think Clements would have made that housing and inserted that inner unless it was the correct setup. The other end of the screwed shaft has packing and a greaser.

lets hope my set up is as above

the rope unscrewed the tube and the end bearing with it

that broke the seal between the brass fitting and the back of the boat

when I screwed the tube back into the gland at the engine end it also screwed the brass fitting back snug

- which is why in the picture there was no gap between the brass and the fitting at the back of the boat

- it all looked snug and tight

but might be enough to create a leak that required pumping three times a week.

so mabe what I need to do it to put the boat ashore - unscre the stern tube si that the brass fitting creates a bit of gap - squeeze in some sealant and tighten it up again

that would require putting the boat ashore this evening as the tide goes doen.

there is one other possibility.....

bill from the cat might not have known that in order to pump the boat out you have to pull the hose out of the stern locker and point it over the side

its possible that he was pumping the same water round and round

until I can talk to him I do knot know - but this is a bit of a logn shot

I will post my experiences on monday when I get back - but you blokes have been brilliant