Murphy at work on my prop

[OloteleMtn]

So the weather was ok when i got to the boat, but wife stayed home; water looked a bit better than yesterday. Still lots of rain in the area. Batteries were flat, so pulled them and took them up to the shop to charge, hope they come back. Tomorrow is another day.....

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by OloteleMtn

So the weather was ok when i got to the boat, but wife stayed home; water looked a bit better than yesterday. Still lots of rain in the area. Batteries were flat, so pulled them and took them up to the shop to charge, hope they come back. Tomorrow is another day.....

You sure are a warrior, OliteleMtn!

Every newbie who wants to "buy a boat and sail around the world" should be made to read this thread.

We are ALL pulling for you!

(By the way, the dog falling off the boat part was hilarious - glad she's okay.)

Do let us know how it turns out.
Warmly,
LittleWing77

[Nicholson58]

I’ve not much to add but I use a bicycle spoke, SS, to rod out the grooves in the cutlass. Keep the hard growth out or the cutlass turns into a shaft grinder. My shaft was 0.02 inch undersize when we bought the boat and required a plasma spray build up and refinish.

[OloteleMtn]

Little Wing, life is stranger than fiction, especially around here! Nicholson, that is a good tip, and could explain why a new bearing would go bad so fast without much operation; I get loads of new barnacles literally after only a week in this harbor.

[OloteleMtn]

Well the batteries charged overnight, so got them reinstalled and they checked out ok. Water looked ok, so got prepped and went back to work on the shaft bearing. It was a long slog wrenching it in place with my homemade tool, and it started to bulge and split about 3/8 of an inch from being completely in the housing. Maybe there is some kind of keeper or such in there, as the old bearing had a notch cut out of it. I think i will just use a hacksaw and trim the overhanging portion off.
So then it was time to start getting the prop pieces back on the shaft....the hub and shaft key went on ok, and then the fun began, trying to line up the holes in the nut and the shaft to insert the pin. Due to the previous rounding of the nut, which only has 2 flats, I was unable to get the last little bit to insert the pin. I did drop the nut once, and found that my hookah rig, which i inaugurated today, has enough hose to get to the bottom, where i quickly located the nut amongst all the sunken treasure the commercial boys left.
It was getting late in the afternoon, with hungry critters at home, so we headed home. Plan for tomorrow is to bring a file and an air drill, dress the flats on the nut, use the drill to ream the nut to accept the pin, and try to get the rest of the prop assembled without dropping anything hard to find.
For those interested, my homemade hookah rig is an Ingersoll Rand pancake oil free compressor, run off of a 1700 watt generator, with standard air fittings and 3/8 hose, with adaptors to a second stage regulator. The compressor stores air at 150 psi and i have the outlet pressure set to 125psi. I am using a 25 foot hose with fittings to be able to connect another 25 foot hose when needed for cleaning the hull, etc. Air delivery was no issue down to the bottom at about 22 to 25 feet. I spent a very long time underwater today, which would not have been possible using standard SCUBA tanks due to the logistics of getting them filled here, and i only have 4 tanks....this hookah is a game changer for me.

[downunder]

Originally Posted by OloteleMtn

For those interested, my homemade hookah rig is an Ingersoll Rand pancake oil free compressor, run off of a 1700 watt generator, with standard air fittings and 3/8 hose, with adaptors to a second stage regulator. The compressor stores air at 150 psi and i have the outlet pressure set to 125psi. I am using a 25 foot hose with fittings to be able to connect another 25 foot hose when needed for cleaning the hull, etc. Air delivery was no issue down to the bottom at about 22 to 25 feet. I spent a very long time underwater today, which would not have been possible using standard SCUBA tanks due to the logistics of getting them filled here, and i only have 4 tanks....this hookah is a game changer for me.

Photos of your hookah rig please

[OloteleMtn]

After all the gear was put away today, I realized that we had not taken any photos....it was an unphotogenic day anyway, rain and heavy overcast. It was a bit choppy as well, with some weird waves coming through every so often that would refract off of the pier and swing me around.
I actually got everything back together, not without trouble of course, and my tests afterwards were not satisfactory. i need to revisit the MaxProp site and check my settings, as it seemed like the prop was trying to run reversed and it got stuck in gear and the engine was bogging. Sheesh, tomorrow is another day (and of course I fully greased the prop before testing, so finding the marks will be fun). I will try to remember to take photos when I get back down there.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by OloteleMtn

...my tests afterwards were not satisfactory. i need to revisit the MaxProp site and check my settings, as it seemed like the prop was trying to run reversed and it got stuck in gear and the engine was bogging.

Sounds like you set it up for a left-hand turning motor when you have a right hand turning motor (or visa versa.) What's the diameter, pitch you are going for and direction of rotation of the motor?

[OloteleMtn]

Success! After diving again today after verifying the shaft is right hand rotation, verified my desired setting for 16* pitch x=c y=k (16" prop 3 blade prop), and reassembling with a pitching and yawing vessel, my run test was successful, with smooth engagement in forward and reverse, and good RPM in both directions while tied to the dock. Time and crew constraint mean i will leave the open water testing for a later time, now that i know the prop and engine will work well together. Yesterday I think my Y axis was incorrectly set, causing the prop to work backwards. Thank goodness that is done, and i did not drop and loose anything!
Regarding photos.....the contacts in the battery compartment broke and I was unable to turn it on Last time that happened i "fixed" it with the spring from a ballpoint pen; I did not have a pen to sacrifice, and i was trying to get the prop done, so....maybe next time when i clean the bottom......sorry.

[osprey877]

Originally Posted by Peterbreit

Unforunately the yard reamed out the holes to fit a thicker screw but no I am SOL.
I'M CONFUSED. THIS SHOULD HAVE FIXED THE PROBLEM. DID THEY NOT FIT THE THICKER SCREW? WHY ARE YOU SOL?
I would have put in the old little screws and put a SS hose clamp around it. We did put a donut shaped zinc on the shaft between the cutlass bearing and the Maxprop.
THERE SHOULDN'T BE MUCH LOAD ON THE CUTLESS BEARING UNLESS PERHAPS THE SHAFT IS OUT OF LINE OR BENT OR THE PROP HAS A WOBBLE IN IT OR SOME OTHER PROBLEM. THE SET SCREWS AREN'T MEANT TO TAKE MUCH LOAD, JUST HOLD THE SHELL IN PLACE. MAKE SURE YOU DIMPLE THE BEARING SHELL WITH A CENTRE PUNCH OR SMALL DRILL SO THE SET SCREW WILL HAVE SOMETHING TO GRIP.
2.Problem The yard took the Maxprop off unnecessarily to get to the cutlass bearing. They had a hard time configuring the correct setting when assembling it. It looks ok to me but I don't know anything about Maxprop settings. I learned a lot fast.
The boat runs ok about 7knots at ~2400 rpm. But the tachometer never goes above 1400 rpm. What gives ?? I changed both fuel filters. When NOT under load (prop-transmission not engaged) it reeves up to 3500+. But under load shows no more then 1400rpm. I marked the "gas lever" at 2400 rpm. So I know I run actually 2400. But I cannot reeve it higher. Is this a tachometer problem? The Yanmar 4JH3TE engine gets the tachometer readings from the flywheel not the alternator. Or has it something to do with Maxprop? Or fuel filter or fuel pump?
Any help is very much appreciated.

BUY A CHEAP HANDHELD DIGITAL LASER TACHOMETER. $20 ON EBAY. THEN CHECK IT AGAINST YOUR TACH. THE OWNERS MANUAL FOR THE ENGINE SHOULD HAVE A RECOMMENDED RPM FOR MAXIMUM RPM, CRUISING RPM AND MOST FUEL EFFICIENT RPM. IF YOU CANT REACH THESE RPM'S AND THE ENGINE IS OTHERWISE RUNNING FINE ON ALL CYLINDERS, THEN LIKELY THERE IS TOO MUCH PITCH IN YOUR PROP. EMAIL PYI INC. IN WASHINGTON STATE AND GIVE THEM YOUR BOAT PARTICULARS AND THEY WILL GIVE YOU A RECOMMENDATION. YOU CAN ALSO CHECK OUT THE PROP PITCH CALCULATOR ON THE VICTORIA PROPELLER WEBSITE FOR THEIR RECOMMENDATION. iF THE PROP IS PROPERLY PITCHED AND YOU ARE STILL NOT MAKING THE DESIRED RPM, THEN YOUR ENGINE MAY NOT BE PRODUCING THE DISIGNED HORSE POWER, WHICH IS WHOLE OTHER KETTLE OF FISH. GOOD LUCK.

[OloteleMtn]

Good advice but wrong thread...

[LittleWing77]

Mountain,

I was very happy to read...

Originally Posted by OloteleMtn

**Success!** After diving again today after verifying the shaft is right hand rotation, verified my desired setting for 16* pitch x=c y=k (16" prop 3 blade prop), and reassembling with a pitching and yawing vessel, my run test was successful, with smooth engagement in forward and reverse, and good RPM in both directions while tied to the dock. Time and crew constraint mean i will leave the open water testing for a later time, now that i know the prop and engine will work well together. Yesterday I think my Y axis was incorrectly set, causing the prop to work backwards. Thank goodness that is done, and i did not drop and loose anything!

YOU are a steely eyed missileman!!!

Wow, that was an epic-and-a-half. What did you and the Admiral do to celebrate???

There's no feeling better than to have done it yourself.

Steve - 1; Murphy - 0

Warmly,
LittleWing77

[OloteleMtn]

I think we were just happy it was done...... I still need to do my open water test to see if i guessed the pitch right, if not, it is not too terribly hard to adjust it after all the experience i gained

[OloteleMtn]

We took it for a spin this afternoon around the harbor; it seemed to do pretty good, maybe 6 knots(guessing) which is right at hull speed, and my rpms were comfortably at 2800, and maxed at about 3100...that is right about where it should be. Next time i will have the bottom clean, and will run the GPS and the sailing instruments to check my speed over ground. On to the next project......