Paddle wheel, direction of flow.

[pcatterall]

Cleaning the paddle wheel while afloat is probably not recommended especially when you are on your own!! I did mine today ( trying to clean the paddles with one hand while holding back the floods is quite tricky!!)
In the end I managed it but am conerned that there may be a 'right way round' There is a bar throught the top of the transducer which indicated the direction of flow ok but I was not sure if I had it 180 degrees wrong. One side of the bar was shorter than the other but, foolishly, I did not note which way round it was.
??
Regards Peter

 

[capnsensible]

Its normally flatter side fwd, curved side aft. What make is it, you can get a 'blank' from the manufacturer to replace the impellor whilst being cleaned. Otherwise, out of your bag of softwood bungs (yup, every boat should have them!) you should find one that fits.
Done this job a zillion times, never a real problem.

 

[baltic]

does it matter a magnet passes a sensor giving a reading it takes the same time ether way ?

 

[philip_stevens]

Some paddle-wheels (e.g. Navman on our boat) are hydro-dynamically shaped.

 

[Norman_E]

You do not say what make but mine has a thick wire "handle" which extends further forward than it does backwards. The giveaway is that the actual paddle wheel has blades which are curved, concave side forward.

 

[pcatterall]

Thanks for that, mine looked to be flat but perhaps I will need to look again!!......where's them bungs??

 

[mikehibb]

I had a similar problem, there is an arrow on the top of my paddle wheel assembly, but not sure if it is meant to point to the direction of travel (ie forwards) or the direction of flow which sould be backwards underneath. So guessed that the concave bits should point forwards.

And YES, I did take it out and replace it again just to check.

Luckily the through hull housing has a flappy valve that reduces the potential through hull decorative water feature fountain to a small dribble whilst cleaning the unit. Just a coulple of sponge fulls to wipe up.

I did have a spare blank plug, a bag of soft wood bungs and a second person standing by with H/H VHF just in case, when I removed it.

 

[fflakey]

Always a good task to give to a new crew member, great to watch their eyes grow as the water pours in and they realise the meaning of me saying 'put the bung in quick'

 

[William_H]

I like the glow of green water you can see through the hole in that instant when there is nothing in the hole.

What, you never stopped to notice? You need a sunny day.

I had a paddle for many years and always had to clear the paddle to make it work. I just pulled it and put one hand over the hole while clearing with the other hand. Not much water got in. Though for this reason I eventually got rid of the log.

If the blades of the paddle are symetrical (flat) then it will be ok put in backwards. Mine had a peg and a slot in the tube so it could only be put in one way. olewill

 

[pcatterall]

William, remind me......this 'sunny day thingy' ???? what is it?

 

[cpedw]

Re: Poss solution to the flooding problem

You can arrange a square of cloth (about 6-9 inches each side) with dowels along 2 parallel sides (helps to keep the shape I think) and strings from all the corners to convenient fixing points on deck. Position the square to cover the log hole. You mark the strings so you know when the square is exactly in position. You need to set all this up while the boat's ashore. It works well with some configurations but may be difficult if the paddlewheel is alongside the keel, but it's OK with a paddlewheel in front of a fin keel.

It's not easy to explain verbally but I have done it and was surprised to find that it works, if a bit fiddly to get into position when afloat.

Regards,
Derek