Sometimes life does look up!

[tr7v8]

Having posted the dtails of my escapades the other week regarding the engines and the serious level of neglect and rounded and sheared bolts etc. I thought I'd share todays deeds with you. The boat was hauled yesterday so I can service the legs. Given the god awaful state the engines were in I fully expected the legs to be as bad, especially as I hadn't realised it had Mag. anodes when I put it in and they'd disappeared.
So I go down his morning armed for volence with sheared bolts, knacked threads etc and what do I find, everthing comes apart as sweet as a nut/forums/images/icons/smile.gif!
Canboria arrived and watched me take a prop off, no puller few taps with a block off wood and off it comes. Drain the oil, one clean as it came from the can, the other just a hint of milkyness.
Further more bellows look virtually new etc.......

Suprise suprise!

PS Been told their is a prop refubisher in Gravesend, anyone know name, number?

<hr width=100% size=1>Jim

Draco 2500

 

[syd]

Jim
Depending when I can rumage up a crew I should be there mid day Sat, Sun at the latest.
The prop people in Gravesend are SMM Propellors, 01474 320192, I recommend these people highly, excellent service and cheap.

Cheers

Syd


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[byron]

<font color=blue>Are they the firm who are located in a boatyard Syd? Run by a Jock? If so I used them a couple of years back to make me some new props. I found them excellent and their prices better than anyone elses too. If its the same firm they also have the contract to refurb all the old bill's boats.


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[Forbsie]

<Run by a Jock?>

I gather you are referring to his athletic disposition.

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.arweb.co.uk/argallery/forbsie?&page=1>My Project</A>

 

[Renegade_Master]

Does'nt sound right to me Jim, somefinks gonna go wrong. Mag anodes? must have she come down to Essex from the river, they should have told you that.

"Further more bellows look virtually new etc......." what the hell are they, are they called that cos the're "below" the water line/forums/images/icons/smile.gif

Good luck matey hope your in the water soon you deserve to be .

give my regards to Becky. Clive



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[oldgit]

Props as second option

try.........<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.steeldevelopments.co.uk>http://www.steeldevelopments.co.uk</A> 35 quid repair and return 15" prop about 1 week turnround with std service.
Pay bit more for 3 days or quite a bit more for 24 hrs.

<hr width=100% size=1>My little Princess/forums/images/icons/laugh.gifthe 33 of course.

 

[syd]

Yep, same people by the sound of it. They had some HUGE props in their workshop when I went down and dropped mine off, mine came back like brand new without a join or weld in sight and two of them were vertualy destroyed when I hooked a mooring chain, I thought I'd buy new ones and use the refurbed ones as spares, If I had known they were gonna be that good I wouldn't have bought the new ones. Ho hum.

See you soon



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[tr7v8]

"Mag anodes? must have she come down to Essex from the river"

Yes they SHOULD HAVE told me but A. Didn't know and B. More likely didn't care.

Don't forget she was on sale at RYB windsor and before that Bray (both on Thames) before she went to Essexboatyards.

Bellows, yes you're new to this Sterdrive game aren't you, having had shafts before! Connecting engine to the leg are 3 flexible rubber tubes (bellows) of varying sizes (1 for the driveshaft, 1 for the exhaust & 1 for the water pickup) and if these leak boat sinks. So you tend to be a bit focused on their condition. They are also reasonably expensive especially if you need to pay to get it done. So the whole thing has overtones of Catch 22.

<hr width=100% size=1>Jim

Draco 2500

 

[Renegade_Master]

"and if these leak boat sinks" sounds a pretty naff bit of design to me, I mean what if they leaked half way across the channel, fancy having to trust a rubber bellow.

Give me shafts any day.

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[Bejasus]

"Give me shafts any day"

Hmmmmmmmm, try saying that out loud in the gents at Waterloo station.

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[tr7v8]

Re: Props as second option

Prop problem resolved. The issue was not wanting to faf around transporting them or having to pack them up. Went to Medway Bridge Marina today for some Volvo bits and popped into GMS who are Perkins agents, chatting to him he aid they had a regular delivery to SMM Propellors and for a small handling fee would gladly take props up and bring 'em back. So they are now in a box at their place.
For those with Perkins he eems to have good stocks of bits and rebuilds engines on the premises. He had a pair of HT6/354 all refurbished sitting in the workshop.
GMS Medway 0634 844114, main dealers for Perkins and agents for Mermaid, Yanmar & Lister.

<hr width=100% size=1>Jim

Draco 2500

 

[Chris_B4]

Re: Leaking bellows

OK at risk of starting an outdrive vs shafts debate I will defend outdrives a bit

I can't speak for Volvo's but my Mercruiser drives have the same three functions covered by rubber covers

1. The driveshaft is protected by bellows and yes if it gets damaged it will let seawater in to the boat. But that water has to get past the bearing supporting the driveshaft at the transom. I have lost a driveshaft bellow at sea after the failure of a driveshaft and the water leaked in at a very slow rate, easy for the bilge pump to match.
2. The exhaust is a sealed passage anyway inside the boat, in fact my drives have horns instead of bellows which are open to the sea in any case.
3. The seawater pipe carries just that so again it is a closed passage inside the boat. However, if this fails at speed you may lose cooling water to the engine, still very serious of course.

I think what I'm trying to say is that if the bellows or similar fail you are unlikely to sink (god, this is where someone tells me a terrible story of how their boat sunk after losing some bellows, I hope not)

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[Renegade_Master]

Re: Leaking bellows

Thanks Chris for clearing that up, I couldnt imagine the design being reckless enough to allow water to pour in if the bellow fails. The bearing will of course keep it out.

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[oldgit]

Re: Leaking bellows

Did I see scary story about shafts ripped out of bottom of boat down in West country or was that my imagination/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

<hr width=100% size=1>My little Princess/forums/images/icons/laugh.gifthe 33 of course.

 

[BrendanS]

The vast majority of boats with outdrives have these. Have them replaced every 2 or three years.

Part of boating. Plenty of people with outdrives go long distances, and never seen RNLI statistics quoting bellows as being a major part in sinking incidences

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[Col]

Re: Leaking bellows

Mmm. Had a close shave when a bearing broke up. 2000gph bilge pump coming on every 1 min is a bit worrying to say the least.


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[Russell]

Re: Leaking bellows

Don't forget

4. the gearshift cable bellows, which I reckon could cause the biggest leak if it splits.....

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[Blue_Blazes]

Re: Leaking bellows

Outdrives? Hateful things.

What sensible engineer would immerse all those finely machined gears and bearings in salt water, with only a piddly bit of rubber to keep it out?

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[oldgit]

Re:

The engineer who did not want to lift the boat out of the water every single time that you dinged the props rapped the rudder stocks and/or wrapped the whole lot up in a nice neat fishing net/lobster pot modern work of art/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

<hr width=100% size=1>My little Princess/forums/images/icons/laugh.gifthe 33 of course.

 

[Blue_Blazes]

Re:

Oh, you mean the engineer who never heard of depth sounder and rope cutters?

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