Hey everyone,
A short introduction before we start asking about our problems
.
We are Daan and Caspian from the Netherlands who just (about a month ago) bought our first boat Isleña a 1976 Pearson 365 ketch, with the intention to set sail across the Pacific.
The last couple of weeks we've been getting to know the boat, working out kinks and putting in the work that was needed (surprisingly little).
We bought the boat in Puerto Vallarta, did a trail run to la Paz, fixed what was needed there, got our provisions and checked out of Mexico direction: marquises.
Sadly I still have a working internet connection and can post this because while we where still in the sea of Cortez we got a line in the prop and ended up bending our propstrut (p-bracket).
Currently we are in San Blas about to take the boat out of the water to see if we can rebend the strut.
Is there anyone who has done this?
Has the original sizes of the bracket?
Pictures of a healthy p-bracket straight from front to back or the other way around? Or other pictures of attachment points and such.
From what we've been able to find it seems like there is a slight angle to the bracket. I assume this is to get the prop shaft past the skech, does someone maybe know this angle?
Any and all information is welcome! It is probably more than we currently know.
See attachments for pictures of both the boat and the problem.
If you like to see the blog of our sailing adventure so far it is findable here:
Beware it is in dutch but I've heard Google translate works wonders.
https://www.polarsteps.com/Caspian/4425143-panne-kooks
Instagram as panne.kooks is the more glossary blog.
Hi Daan and Caspian,
There's a post here on the propeller shaft strut that could be helpful to you.
Here's the link. https://pearson365.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=a327ac48876a8159d128634b8c44fbd1&topic=1664.msg8777#msg8777
I can take pictures and measurements of mine but I won't be able for at least a week.
Besides the bent strut, your propeller shaft might have also gotten a little bent.
Hey Ruvel,
Thanks for the link! That does give some perspective.
If you could measure yours and take some pictures that would be great! We are getting hauled out today (if the lift works) and start messing about but I don't know if we will manage. If we do I'll share how and what we've done. But otherwise the measurements would be extremely helpful.
The propeller shaft does look like it is bent from the picture. Hopefully it's just flexed. I'd like to say that you would just bend that strut back to where it should be and voilà, all good to go, but unfortunately I think that's wishful thinking. The whole thing has to align correctly or you'll get vibration and possible damage. Maybe others here can chime in with some other ideas. I myself would start by removing the shaft. It wasn't easy when I did mine. The propeller was frozen on there. I removed the cotter pin and the 2 nuts, used a 3 prong puller and a blow torch to heat it up, and it still took some time before it popped off. Now to get the shaft out, that was another heartache. The shaft is pressed fit into the coupling that attaches to the V-drive so i first removed that from the V-drive using a 1/2" socket that I ground down to create clearance, a open end would have stripped the heads for sure. Then I went on and used a puller to get the coupling off the shaft. Oh, and you should also replace the cutlass bearing in the strut.
I will get back with good pictures and angle measurements but in the meanwhile this picture will give you an idea.
The only way to be sure if the prop shaft is OK is to pull it, clean it up and roll it on a smooth surface. My guess is that it is bent, although one never knows. As for bending the strut back, bending it the first time is one thing, bending it again after it has work hardened is another. There are bolts that hold it to the hull. I can't remember if they are located under the engine or under the fuel tank. Perhaps with heat and a hydraulic press it could be saved.
Dale
Hey guys,
Thanks for thinking with us! We've been working on it for two days now and we are actually making some hopeful progress.
First had some challenges with finding the right bending setup. But we now have a setup that hardly puts any pressure on the hull. Yesterday we did the first bending so that there was no more pressure on the shaft. Today we pulled the shaft, Rufel you're right that coupling was a pain see pictures on how I pulled it.
Shaft seems straight we are still looking for a true flat surface to roll it... This is surprisingly hard to find in Mexico.
We are now at the point where we are trying to realline the prop to the V-drive. Slow and steady bending has us in a hopeful mood that we might just be able to do it without taking of the strut.
See attachments for pictures, the jack was our first setup but the strong arm is definitely the way to go.
I'm planning on making a line cutter from an old bike sprocket (the official ones are not for sale here), I'll upload some pictures when that project takes shape.
Glad to hear you guys are making headway. Seems like your propeller shaft is straight and hopefully you'll also get that strut straight. If you haven't found a flat surface to roll the shaft on, you can easily check the trueness of it by cutting 2 v-blocks from wood, place one on either end and turn the shaft while holding a sort of gauge in the middle of it, a dial caliper would be the correct tool but no need. Keep us posted.
Okay, we can wrap this thread up.
Ruvel that is exactly how we tested it just put the power drill on the nut on the end and spin it. It was bend so we had to send the shaft away to get straightened off course that was on Friday so it took until Wednesday before we could continue.
Once the shaft was back it took one more bending session on the strut to get everything very close. From there I reallined the V-drive with the shaft end then the engine with the V-drive.
We've gotten in the water on Friday and have been motoring the past 5 hours without any crazy faults.
I will have to check the allignment again now that she is in the water. Shaft seems still a little bent but it doesn't look to bad. The connection point on the V-drive towards the engine is a little warm (45°C) not sure if that is due to allignment being off.
Thanks everyone for the help and thinking with us. We are happely back in the water and hopefully the wind will pick up soon.