speed Log paddle wheel fouling (resolved?)

[macnorton]

I (like many others) have suffered for many years with the problem of the log paddle wheel fouling when not in use.

I cannot withdraw it due to its location and have tried many ways over the years to sort it, but this year I covered the wheel with Castrol uderwater grease in March when the boat was re-launched and it has worked every time I have taken the boat out since.

Anyone else tried this, what result did you get?

 

[wotayottie]

no. given up. just use gps instead

 

[RupertW]

no. given up. just use gps instead

I've recently withdrawn it and cleaned it (again) but due to week on the hull around it it didnt work until we had a horrible beat a few weeks ago which did a remarkable job of clearing the new weed. Since then it happily and reliably displays about 50% of the speed, which is still pretty useless.

No boat I've ever owned was had a reliable paddle wheel. I used a trailing log in pre-GPS days until the mid-90s. Superb simple and accurate pieces of kit.

 

[Tintin]

Just some thoughts...

I'd be very concerned if a skin fitting was somewhere where i couldn't get to it, no matter what it was for, and


Cleaning the log so it works takes all of ten minutes, and while SOG from gps is useful, i find water speed far more important.

 

[nigelmercier]

while SOG from gps is useful, i find water speed far more important.

I can't get my log to be linear, so I've given up and decided to go back to basics: time a bit of passing debris, or create my own. I only use the log for true wind, so will make a box to simulate it from the GPS.

 

[prv]

Cleaning the log so it works takes all of ten minutes

Problem with mine is that it's in an under-bunk locker packed with stuff I'd like to keep dry. So to pull it out I have to empty the locker, pull and replace the log, then sponge up the water, dry the surfaces, and pack everything back in (which is a bit of a tight fit). I did that before setting off for Cherbourg last year, but normally it's not worth the hassle.

while SOG from gps is useful, i find water speed far more important.

I do agree with that, and have thought of moving the log to somewhere that I could build a coffer dam round it allowing easier cleaning. The boat's on a drying berth so the log fills with mud every tide and never works at first. Sometimes a couple of hours' brisk sailing washes it free, sometimes it doesn't.

Pete

 

[grazbo]

I have cleaned the paddle only once before on a previous boat - but I was very nervous about it, expecting a fountain of sea water gushing up vertically and I feared missing the thread on the temporary cap.

Is it much "safer" than I imagine ?

What is the "best practice" for removing/cleaning/replacing the paddle to avoid a sinking ship ?

 

[nigelmercier]

What is the "best practice" for removing/cleaning/replacing the paddle to avoid a sinking ship ?

Glass in a bit of drain pipe around it.

 

[Jamesuk]

no. given up. just use gps instead

I remove ours everytime. Will keep a note of the grease. Actually that reminds me got to pull it out.

 

[prv]

Is it much "safer" than I imagine ?

It's not too dramatic, certainly.

Don't know about your transducer, but the blanking plug on mine is exactly that, a plug with O-rings that fits down the tube. So no worries about starting the thread, just insert it into the hole and push home. There is a threaded section at the top to secure it in place, but that can be done up in slow time, and is possibly not necessary while just cleaning.

Pete

 

[grazbo]

It's not too dramatic, certainly.

Don't know about your transducer, but the blanking plug on mine is exactly that, a plug with O-rings that fits down the tube. So no worries about starting the thread, just insert it into the hole and push home. There is a threaded section at the top to secure it in place, but that can be done up in slow time, and is possibly not necessary while just cleaning.

Pete

Thanks - maybe my question is based on a lack of knowledge on the pressure/flow potential. Hence, there is no back pressure on the blanking bung.

From what you describe, there is no serious pressure and hence there is no reason to panic and I can take my time. Worst case is a couple of glasses of water - fair conclusion ?

 

[grazbo]

Glass in a bit of drain pipe around it.

Nigel, was thinking more about the process than a change of hardware. I assume this is common task for most.

If I recall correctly, on my current boat, the paddle and depth transducers are sited within a "well" to contain any issues anyway.

Ta

 

[prv]

Worst case is a couple of glasses of water - fair conclusion ?

I'd say a couple of glasses of water is probably the normal case.

Obviously "worst case" is you have a sudden heart attack the moment you're removing the transducer, so you never put the bung in and the boat sinks. But not very likely

Pete

 

[jneale]

I use silicon grease. Its best on a new paddlewheel, but otherwise you have to get rid of all the old crud first by removing the pin - dropping out the paddle wheel and get into the little crevases in the main body of the unit.

Mine keeps going all year.

 

[prv]

you have to get rid of all the old crud first by removing the pin - dropping out the paddle wheel and get into the little crevases in the main body of the unit.

The main fouling on mine is a kind of hard white tube that runs in lines; presumably some tiny creature building a roof over itself as it crawls along. Quite fiddly to scrape off, but fizzes away completely overnight in a glass of coke (sure vinegar or lemon juice would work similarly).

Pete

 

[laika]

With appologies to the OP for thread drift (not tried grease)

Is it much "safer" than I imagine ?

Yes (as prv says) but it can be daunting to see a reasonably large volume of water belching up into the boat. It looks more than it actually is when compared with the size of your bilges and you actually have more time than you think. Practicing swapping paddle wheel for blank with the boat out of the water is ideal but even this didn't stop me panicing the first time I tried replacing the blank in the water. The Raymarine ST60 (airmar) thingy has a locating lug to ensure it's pointing forward. However, this will only locate after you've screwed it down a few turns rather then the more intuitive locate-then-screw. Despite practicing on the hard I still paniced when I couldn't find the locating lug with water bubbling up into the bilges first time I replaced the blank. So practice on the hard first if possible, otherwise have someone calm and sensible in earshot first time around. And obviously going backwards fast under motor is another way of attempting to clear a fouled log

 

[macnorton]

Just some thoughts...

I'd be very concerned if a skin fitting was somewhere where i couldn't get to it, no matter what it was for, and


Cleaning the log so it works takes all of ten minutes, and while SOG from gps is useful, i find water speed far more important.

I can get to it but have to lift the floor below the heads to get clear access!

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

In my experience this is a topic that cannot be generalised on, similar to hull anti foul.

What works in one area does not necessarily work in a different area, or at a different time.

Also, the amount of water that comes in depends of the location of your skin fitting, the type of fitting and how well it is performing. If something is catching on the edge you can get half a bucketful if you are not quick, or of it is brand new only a few drops.

It's high time the industry came up with a decent transducer that did not require a stupid paddle wheel. We navigate by satellites FFS. Surely we can work out water speed in a better way.

I have seen ultrasonic transducers but none are compliant with NMEA 2000 which, as you can see by its date, is not exactly new!

Personally, I silicon grease mine at the beginning of the season. Depending on what we are doing it works for anything from 3 weeks to 3 months. After that I cannot be bothered and just use SOG. Makes me realise how water speed is only interesting from a sailing vanity standpoint. I know what boat speed we get at all throttle settings when we are motoring, and when sailing I am never in a hurry so who cares?

 

[actionoptics]

fouled paddle wheel

My boat sits on the mud a lot of the time so I guess that stop the barnacles and tube worms from getting a grip but the mud often stops the wheel from spinning at first so it is becoming a habit to get into a clear space in the Creek and put the engine in reverse and give a it a blast for a few seconds. The back wash usually clears out the mud straight away.

 

[Zagato]

Any good sailor should always be equipped