[C38] engine shaft alignment?

William Knowles whk1965 at gmail.com
Thu May 19 08:41:03 EDT 2011


As I mentioned in my last mail we had a lot of work done. One thing we found
was the tube through the hull was slightly offset, and the engine had
slipped slightly out of line, but everything else is square to the tube. One
other thing we found was that who ever did the stuffing box the last time
just wrapped the stuffing around the shaft instead of cutting in three
sections. The cutlass bearing was also paper thin and shot. Now thats it all
back together it is like a new boat, and the shifter works! Docking was
always a thrill ride never knowing if it would come out of gear.

Bill

On Wed, May 18, 2011 at 5:47 PM, Don Strong <drstrong at ucdavis.edu> wrote:

>  Marci: Could be that the stuffing wear is owing to lack  of alignment of
> the engine and shaft. Lack of alignment is indicated by shaking when in gear
> that stops when tranmission taken out of gear. We align by losening the
> engine, shifting the engine a hair with a long steel rod, then testing
> tolerance in the coupling. Don
>
> On 5/18/11 2:22 PM, Marci Brown wrote:
>
>  ·         I definitely waited until the engine was off to pump out the
> engine area. Yes, I need to check on the drain hole. I’ve heard it is quite
> small (or blocked completely) to prevent fuel or oil from entering the
> bilge.
>
> ·         We always sail now (when engine’s off) with the transmission in
> reverse to prevent the inflow of water.
>
> ·         Does anyone dread checking the transmission fluid as much as I
> do? (Keith is tall and I’m short, so I get stuck doing it.) Enlarged access
> to engine/stuffing box is needed for sure! I guess it will happen in the
> quarter berth area. Time to explore this C38 website to see what others have
> done. (P.S. we do have that enlarged opening in the cockpit lazarette, but
> it’s still challenging with the water heater in the way.)
>
>
>
> *Marci *
>
>
>
> *From:* William Knowles [mailto:whk1965 at gmail.com <whk1965 at gmail.com>]
> *Sent:* Wednesday, May 18, 2011 3:28 PM
> *To:* Catalina 38 Listserve
> *Subject:* Re: [C38] Mysterious stuffing box behavior
>
>
>
> Marci, Not sure about the stuffing box we had ours done last week will ask
> the yard for ideas. I am more concerned about water under engine. It should
> flow into bilge unless the hole is blocked, may want to check. It could be
> very dangerous to pump from the front if you have to run the engine at the
> same time.
>
>
>
> Bill Flying Goose
>
> On Wed, May 18, 2011 at 11:18 AM, Marci Brown <mb at seafor.us> wrote:
>
> A troubling stuffing box situation began last week (and continues): We ran
> the engine reasonably hard for about 4 hours when doing the NYC East River
> trek to Long Island Sound. I was in the galley when Keith raised the sails
> and cut the engine (leaving transmission in neutral). Immediately I heard
> water pouring into the boat from the stuffing box area. I shouted for Keith
> to throw the transmission into reverse. No more water! Whew! Water quickly
> exited the boat via bilge pump - with the exception of 10 gallons sitting
> under the engine that I had to pump out by hand. Diagnostic guesstimate #1:
> New zincs on the prop shaft causing wobble that is stressing the 2-year old
> flax packing gland... right? The cutlass bearing is fine. Other thoughts:
> Folding prop has inherent balance issues, engine/transmission/prop shaft
> alignment fine tuning necessary, packing glands wear out quickly under
> stress?? Would anyone like to tackle this one?
>
>
>
> *Marci J. Brown*
>
> PO Box 520549, Winthrop, MA 02152 USA
>
> *Ph:* 757-515-3151 | *Email:* mb at seafor.us
>
>
>
>
>
>
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>
>
> --
> W H Knowles
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
> --
> Donald R. Strong
> Professor
> Dept. of Evolution and Ecology
> University of California, Davis 95616
>
>
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>


-- 
W H Knowles
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