Is This a Shoddy Repair Job???

[The Real Flipper]

Are you sure this summer. When I started working on Concerto, I thought it would take a couple of seasons to get her right. Ha,ha. I am 8 seasons in and nearly finished, just a couple of more jobs to do or finish, plus one I have been putting off since I bought her as it is major and was recommended by the surveyor but not urgent.

Well I won't be surprised if I am still working down the repairs list in 8 years. But non necessities can wait til winter if needed.
Right now all I can think about is getting out there on the water. Sailing skills might take as long as the repairs, so best started soon.
I hope to be headed for Norway in the spring ;-)

Well done. Big job a ‘DIY’ move (as opposed to one handled - as most are - by cooperative boatyards at both ends). We did a similar thing with our boat last year - but there was a crew of 4 of us plus a handful of helpful club members! (We didn’t bother wrapping the mast, mind you - they’re beefy old things and we just lashed it on top resting on a few bits of old carpet!).

…That was in December and, no, we still haven’t been sailing yet!

Yeah it was definitely more work than expected. I could do it all again now in about half the time and a fraction the effort.
And I would definitely get a helper for the mast. Far easier job for two!
But such is the learning curve. Oh well. I'm not complaining. Just happy to have a boat

 

[Concerto]

I hope to be headed for Norway in the spring ;-)

Just happy to have a boat

Crossing to Norway is a big challenge. Personally I would wait another year, get to know the boat and improve all of your sailing skills.

You have experienced the first part of the two most enjoyable days of owning a boat. The other is the day you sell her.

 

[The Real Flipper]

Crossing to Norway is a big challenge. Personally I would wait another year, get to know the boat and improve all of your sailing skills.

You have experienced the first part of the two most enjoyable days of owning a boat. The other is the day you sell her.

We'll see how it goes. If I can get decent enough fast enough then I can sail this winter, which I expect to be good training.
The Netherlands gets strong winds several times a week in winter ;-)
And it's inland waters so the waves only get so big.
Norway may very well not be a direct route across the North Sea, but rather the long route via Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Oslo, and finally around to Bergen and the fjords. I'm not too proud to marina hop if need be, though I'd rather stay off the hook as much as possible, as long as I get there!

Edit: in fact this time I would rather take the long way around. More to see

 

[Topcat47]

Broadly speaking, it's not a good solution to the original problem. I'm a Chartered Mechanical Engineer and I would reject it out of hand. I'm not going to offer an "engineered solution" as I'm no longer covered by "professional insurance" but the first part of any solution would be to remove all originalrust and protect anything that's left before adding any stiffening.


cal

 

[dankilb]

I reckon they chopped the bottom of the post, sleeved a new bottom section and a new base plate as per the Westerly’s original design, and didn’t clean up particularly well after (and overcharged for it!). I don’t see the rusty steel some posts reference.

 

[The Real Flipper]

By the way, does anyone know where to find a Radice prop shaft seal of 25mm?
I checked their website but nothing looked quite right.
All I seem to find oddly are anodes.

Maybe this is the right one?
ELICHE RADICE Seals RMTA with Bronze Bearing for Shaft. Ø MM.25 : Amazon.de: Gewerbe, Industrie & Wissenschaft

Maybe it's just RMTA or 'Bronze Bearing' which threw me off.

 

[Tranona]

That is the right thing - not surprised the description is wring - you are buying from an unknown person through amazon!. anyhow the price is right and the part will be right.

However you also need to measure your stern tube as there are 2 diameter options -39&42mm so again it must be right. Your link does not give the options. This is the link to the UK distributors catalogue with all the options. This is a professional firm lakesterngear.co.uk/catalogue.pdf Their equivalent in Netherlands is
allpa.equip4ship.com

Better to buy from firms like this than an anonymous amazon seller. You know you will get the right product and good advice.

 

[The Real Flipper]

That is the right thing - not surprised the description is wring - you are buying from an unknown person through amazon!. anyhow the price is right and the part will be right.

However you also need to measure your stern tube as there are 2 diameter options -39&42mm so again it must be right. Your link does not give the options. This is the link to the UK distributors catalogue with all the options. This is a professional firm lakesterngear.co.uk/catalogue.pdf Their equivalent in Netherlands is
allpa.equip4ship.com

Better to buy from firms like this than an anonymous amazon seller. You know you will get the right product and good advice.

Awesome thanks!

 

[Daverw]

Had you looked at this?

Stuffing Box Seal with Vent Pipe for 25mm Volvo Penta Prop Shaft

 

[Tranona]

Had you looked at this?

Stuffing Box Seal with Vent Pipe for 25mm Volvo Penta Prop Shaft

That is a "pirate" copy and is only available for the larger stern tube size. The genuine Radice one is readily available in the Netherlands. Radice also make the Volvo version without the vent but only available through Volvo.

 

[dankilb]

We went for one of the ‘copies’ - not Orbitrade but Michigan Marine. We chose this as a proof of concept, because we weren’t sure a lip seal work for our application (it does). The quality isn’t great and it wobbles around quite a bit at low revs. We’ll hunt down a radice next time.

 

[penfold]

We went for one of the ‘copies’ - not Orbitrade but Michigan Marine. We chose this as a proof of concept, because we weren’t sure a lip seal work for our application (it does). The quality isn’t great and it wobbles around quite a bit at low revs. We’ll hunt down a radice next time.

TADTS, there is no rigidly mounted bearing to stop it wobbling. You would need a cutless bearing in your sterntube for that, or maybe an aquadrive or similar.

 

[The Real Flipper]

Well I hope my dream boat didn't just turn into a nightmare boat.
As I was pulling back the prop shaft seal to measure the stern tube I think I found a major problem
I loosened the clamps holding the seal and a piece fell out.
The seal felt strange, there was a bump on top. So I removed the clamps and saw this:

The prop shaft is not in the center of the tube. In the photo its more to the bottom, port side of the boat.
The tube has a bump about 2 inches long, 2 mm high. Quite noticeable, you can even see it in the photos.
The tube isn't quite round, 43mm wide and 45mm tall, because of the bump.
Neither dimension by the way seems to fit the Radice. Then again I'm using a measuring tool that's hard to hold in there so room for error.
The clamp has a rigged piece with a bend to accommodate the bump.

They told me the seal went bad when the boat sat on land and dried it out.
Now I'm thinking the seal was a cover of a bigger problem

Someone please tell me this is normal, or an easy fix.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Is there any play in the prop shaft, can you waggle it from side to side or up and down

 

[Concerto]

Looks like the boat has either badly chocked orjust flexing of the hull as it is out of the water. You can only really check it is central once in the boat is back in the water as the hull will be in its correct shape.

 

[The Real Flipper]

Is there any play in the prop shaft, can you waggle it from side to side or up and down

I can try tomorrow.
I just can't believe somebody hooked up a brand new Volvo like this.
Makes me nervous if this engine is even good! Never saw it run... Took their word it's 'like new' after all it only has 500 hours on the clock.

I think the vendor is a stand up guy. But I'm not sure he saw it run himself come to think of it.
I think he took another's word. And we've seen the work those others have done lately...

 

[The Real Flipper]

Looks like the boat has either badly chocked orjust flexing of the hull as it is out of the water. You can only really check it is central once in the boat is back in the water as the hull will be in its correct shape.

Wow OK. I didn't know they would flex like then drying.
Hopefully that would make the prop straight. But then how could I verify without taking the seal off and sinking her LOL.
Still it will have that weird bump on the stern tube. And you can see how much it's off by the shape of the clamp mod they fabricated.

Edit: I don't even know what kind of shaft seal to buy now. The size is so off.

 

[Concerto]

Wow OK. I didn't know they would flex like then drying.
Hopefully that would make the prop straight. But then how could I verify without taking the seal off and sinking her LOL.
Still it will have that weird bump on the stern tube. And you can see how much it's off by the shape of the clamp mod they fabricated.

Edit: I don't even know what kind of shaft seal to buy now. The size is so off.

All glassfibre boats have some flexibilty, some new boats can only be chocked on bulkheads. If they do not do this they can vibrate on the chocks or in the cradle and can become a risk to other boats close by. The substantial cradle used when Concerto is out of the water has sometimes had additional chocks added in windy conditions.

On my Fulmar, when out of the water the aft end of the keel pushes the hull up by about 10mm. This is the major job the surveyor indicated 8½ years ago. This can only be fixed in the water as I have to reinforce the keel rib. The delay has simply been it has lasted over 40 years, so unlikely to fail, so just needs strengthening. The later Fulmars had additional strengthing, but my early version has not been done properly, just a bodge job by a previous owner.

 

[penfold]

While not ideal it's not the end of the world; the rubber stern seals are floppy and will accommodate that amount of misalignment without much demur. The engine will need realigning with the tube to get rid of it, but check that the P bracket isn't aligned with the misalignment IYSWIM before starting, as that would make things a bit more complicated.

 

[Tranona]

OK. You need the 42 mm Radice seal. Remove the lump by grinding. Centre the shaft in the tube using wedges. Line the engine up to the shaft - standard procedure, just google boat engine shaft alignment and you will get plenty of written and youtube descriptions. Once engine is aligned, remove the wedges and slide the seal on and clamp. chances are the engine is already pretty well aligned as it should have been done when the engine was installed, but good to go through the process. The seal is in effect a bearing and provided the shaft is concetric to the tube when connected to the engine it should be fine - and no leaks! Make sure the 2 clamps are tightened completely.