"P" Bracket Troubles

[DKnight]

\"P\" Bracket Troubles

Having just come out the water, I have noticed the "P" Bracket is slightly loose(Moody 336). The yard is quote horrific amounts of money to put right, by cutting it out. Removeing prop shaft, Re-Glassing back in, Re-Align engine et. etc.

Surely I could grind up from the outside and re-glass to take out the wobble, the cut back from the inside and then re-glass, thus removing the need to remove the prop shaft.

Or have any of you festive fellows got any other bright ideas, or experiances!!! /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif <font color="black"> </font>

 

[argiris_beginas]

Re: \"P\" Bracket Troubles

Do not be on a hurry!
i have the same problem with a Jeanneau model Symphonie (1989) and my bracket is loose about 1mm in vertical direction. Some of the local yards told me the same with you but one told me that they will work from the inside by opening two holes and pure epoxy from the one while air will go out from the other. All those because they insist that the bracket is not broken just loose! it is cheaper and they have done it in lot yaghts. Ask about that in your area.
good luck!!!

 

[cpedw]

Re: \"P\" Bracket Troubles

I agree. I had the same problem quite a few years ago.
I drilled several small holes near the top of the moulding inside as far as the metal of the P bracket. I also drilled a few near the bottom, again from inside.
Using a syringe, i injected acetone into the top holes. It has low viscosity so it penetrates well. It is also strongly hygroscopic so it absorbs water. Its other useful property is it evaporates readily, having hopefully degreased and dried all the places it visited.
On the Health & Safety side, remember acetone is a glue-sniffer's dream and it burns very nicely too. So keep the place well ventilated and free from sparks, flames etc throughout.
After that, I injected epoxy into the same spaces. This part surprised me; the epoxy penetrated nearly as well as the acetone, surprising given its viscosity, especially at low temperature (it was winter when I did this job). It's probably possible to select a runny grade of epoxy, I don't know.
Also against expectations, some acetone and a little epoxy was found to make its way to the outside between P bracket metal and fibreglass so it's possible that the scheme would work better without the low level holes. I'm not sure.
That didn't completely seal the gap so I finished off the joint with a sealant bead.
This was done more than 10 years ago and the new owners (I'm still in touch) have not reported any problems.
Hope it helps.

Derek

 

[Skysail]

Re: \"P\" Bracket Troubles

David,

Our 336 had a similar problem before we bought it, the bracket was replaced by a yard for a price which would probably be over £1,000 by now.

However the injection method seems to work - see the MOA Technical Library for another recommendation for this.
Regards,
Keith

 

[oldsaltoz]

Re: \"P\" Bracket Troubles

G'day Dave,

If you are sure the 'P' bracket is not broken and you have clear access to the inside then drilling and filling can work, however.....

I would not advise you use only epoxy resin as a filler, read on.

You need to remove all moisture and any contaminants. Acetone will do a pretty good job but you will need plenty; try to collect the run off and see what is being washed out, it may help identify what caused the failure, assuming you have not given it huge nudge at some time.

Drill inside and out so that it can drain freely.

When you are satisfied that it's clean and dry; mix some epoxy resin and add up to 40% Metho to thin it down, this will assist in penetration, temporarily close the outside holes with tape or self tapping screws, run the mix in wait till what is left in the mix container starts to get a little tacky and open all the lower holes to drain off the excess.

Now mix another batch of resin and add some Micro-Fibres till it's a toothpaste consistency, then add more Metho (about 15%) to help it penetrate. This stuff is super strong in tension or compression, push it through a syringe till all holes are filled and tape them over. Wipe off any that runs out as this stuff is very hard to sand off later when cured.

Final notes: Take great care when working with Acetone, it's toxic, flammable and not all good for you.

Mix resin in large containers so it is very shallow, this will reduce the risk of it heating up.

Latex rubber gloves are cheap, get a box of them, save your skin.

Most Chemist shops have a supply of plastic syringes, get the large ones used to inject livestock of measure liquids, buy them before you drill any holes so you can size the hole to fit the syringe nozzle and avoid a lot of cleanup and resin loss.

Use only white cotton rags with Acetone, or you may have a problem removing dye on surfaces wiped.

Andavagoodchrissie.........

 

[Anonymous]

Acetone Toxicity

I've got to use acetone for a long while to clean letters off my sails so decided to check into acetone toxicity. A google gave me the following link to the Canadian COHS. It's nowhere near as dangerous as I feared, but it's worth looking at if you are going to work with the stuff - it is very flammable, of course!

Canadian COSH acetone toxicity or, if the link doesn't work for you, http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/chemicals/chem_profiles/acetone/health_ace.html
Hmmm.....this new system turns a bona fide url into a link. Jolly useful!