Prop Shaft Log Failure, Sinking Boat

[Farlander]

Hi Everyone,

I have a 1970 35-2 #154 'Betty' that recently suffered a catastrophic failure of the stuffing box hose and / or prop shaft log.

After years of deferred maintenance, the shaft coupler is siezed to the shaft. For this reason I was advised by the local yard in February not to try to attempt to adjust the stuffing box.

Dripping had become one second intervals from the packing gland, even when sitting still, and much faster when running.

I boldly decided to go where no man had gone in a long time, and attempted to tighten the stuffing box nut. Unfortunately, I could only get one arm into the engine compartment, and when I attempted to tighten the nut, the entire hose spun on the log and began taking on water, rapidly. Gushing. 'Oh shit', I thought.

I was able to tighten the lone aft hose clamp on the log, abating the leak.

The following day I started the engine, and with guests arriving, the boat began immediately taking on A LOT of water. I tried to tighten the clamp again, but now the hose had squeezed down smaller than the log itself, and I knew I was in real trouble, and any attempts to tighten further would be futile / counter prodcutive. I donned the wetsuit I use for bottom cleaning and jumped in with a wad of electrician puddy called 'Duct Seal' that I always keep on board speifically for this reason.

I was able to jam a bead of duct seal around the prop shaft and stop the leak. I have left a message with the yard (about 300 meters away from my slip) that I need a haul out ASAP.

Questions are who has experience in the SF Bay area of replacing a prop shaft, as the old one may need to be cut off... alternatively, has anyone drilled out or somehow worked out the set screw in the coupler to shaft?

I have a stern mounted Albin diesel, AD21.

Thanks in advance...

 

[Kenneth K]

Nice save. Boat would no doubt have been lost if you hadn't been prepared. I keep oversized foam plugs, plumbers putty, epoxy sticks, and wax toilet rings onboard for the same purpose.

 

[Loren Beach]

Nice save. Boat would no doubt have been lost if you hadn't been prepared. I keep oversized foam plugs, plumbers putty, epoxy sticks, and wax toilet rings onboard for the same purpose.

I would also add a 'plus one' to this post for the owner having done some good prep.
We do have tapered plugs on cords at each thru hull, but I had not thought about staging one in the area by the shaft.
Hmmm.....:nerd:

 

[JSM]

Had this exact problem four years ago on day number two of ownership of our 34-2. The bilge had filled overnight and after pumping out it didn't take long for more water to begin accumulating in the bilge. Traced the leak to the back of the stuffing box where water was steadily dripping. Tightening the clamp on the hose didn't help but I was able to slow the leak with epoxy plumbers putty and pulled the boat a week later.
Once in the yard I removed the shaft (had to cut the shaft as the coupler was frozen in place) and stuffing box and discovered that the shaft had been riding on the bottom of the stern tube and eventually wore a hole in the tube that extended past the end of the stuffing stuffing box hose.
I was able to repair the stern tube with fiberglass and epoxy and then installed a new shaft, coupler , cutless bearing and stuffing box.
More here

E34 Shaft Log Leak

My Wife and I recently purchased an 87 E34. On the delivery from Waukegan to Chicago the boat developed a cyclical but steady thrumming vibration from below it almost sounded like a control cable rattling against the hull. The next day while cleaning the bilge I noticed a small amount of water...

ericsonyachts.org

 

[Tom Metzger]

I would also add a 'plus one' to this post for the owner having done some good prep.
We do have tapered plugs on cords at each thru hull, but I had not thought about staging one in the area by the shaft.
Hmmm.....:nerd:

If you add the tapered plug tied to the shaft log make sure there is a hole in the middle for the shaft. :0 Better you have something to keep the shaft from leaving the boat. Hose clamp?

 

[Farlander]

Here's a summary of today in a letter I wrote to the marina office.

Hello,

I am trying to figure out what happened this morning. I called the marina inquiring about the cost and availability of a boat tow, and was told I would get a call back once a meeting was over.

Some time later while working on arrangements to move the boat, I am at the yard getting the details lined up, and all of a sudden here comes my boat. Unannounced. Unapproved. Moving.

In the chaos of me trying to figure out what the hell is going on, I drop my phone in the water, and lose a lot of pictures of loved ones from the holidays, plus a huge amount of time, money, and zen. I spend 30 minutes diving for the phone it and was unable to recover it, and spend the entire rest of the day just starting the process of replacement.


That I was in the marina, and yet the marina decided to move my boat without calling or consulting me first is frankly preposterous. I know the yard was called, what I can't figure out is why someone would call the yard, and not the actual owner of the boat who is standing less than a few hundred feet away, and has been planning the haul out for three days, and knows the boat and it's issues?

Maybe I am protective because I actually care about my boat and sailing, but if you're not a boat owner or a sailor I'm sure you can imagine what it would be like if your car or bike had a flat and you were weighing your options for a fix when suddenly people just show up and tow your ride, and your plans are out the window.


Can you imagine walking up to your parking spot and it's empty and you have no idea why??


If the boat sank, had an accident, or something broke during the unapproved tow with owner not present, who would be responsible for that??


What if I claimed there was a bunch of damage that occurred during the tow??


Enough said about that, I'll chock it up to nice folks trying to do a nice thing and a lapse of communication that totally threw me off kilter.


What happened to the Challenger 39 in the auction tomorrow?
Joe





PS Re: original post, if your shaft log hose comes off the log, which is what happened to me, I think you may be screwed unless you have a scuba mask and some wax/puddy/underwater epoxy/butyl etc. I keep a custom open cell wetsuit on board so I can dive in 56 degree water no prob. The vis was so bad I couldn't see the prop until I was about 10 inches away. If I was unable to get in the water, the next best thing I can think of would have been tightly wrapping a towel around the log/hose and maybe securing it with bungees, line, tape, etc.

In this case my primary bilge pump, a whale gulper 320, was not able to keep up with the inflow, and I had 3 days to wait until the yard opened again today, so I needed a long term solid fix that I could count on, especially since myself and all my dock neighbors were out of town for those few days too. Towel would not have cut it for me. Plugs would have been totally useless unless I could easily and quickly cut away the old hose and jam them into the log. I say 'them' because they would have to be two plug halves with the shaft cut out of each half. If you tried to remove the shaft from the coupler you may lose the entire shaft and prop plus by that time I would have been ankle deep in water. BTW I keep zero plugs on board.

May these trying times not take the wind out our sails.. f-in two thousand twenty.

 

[Loren Beach]

What a Day !

Yikes. Sounds like a 'cluster-f__k" of a failure to communicate among several people.
Little solace perhaps, but over the years I have found that boat yard employees vary -hugely- in their competence. Some of the yard owners have been, at times, pretty sketchy as well.

My 'SWAG' is that someone told one of the guys that a boat was in some danger of taking on water and that it needed to be moved immediately. And this was done, for some reason, without also calling the owner. Sigh...

Maybe. Perhaps. Or, there just is too much we do not know yet.

Related subject: several years ago when I an another member found a big sailboat nearly sunk in our marina and we called the owner while trundling the club's dewatering pump cart down the walk. Saved the boat, barely.
Owner and local Vessel Assist guys were there, by vehicles (with more pumps) within about a half hour.
Our focus was on stopping the down-flooding, which we did... and calling the owner.

It was, as the saying goes, "Quite a Day!"

Sure hope that your day and week improve.
Aside: friend of mine lost his iPhone by his slip. Insurance replaced it and most of his data was successfully retrieved from the 'cloud'. Stressful, but back in business several days later. I say 'business' because he is a contractor and that phone is a major tool in his work.

 

[1911tex]

Folks I had a stuffing box drip turn into a slow stream (hearing the bilge pump start for no apparent reason) a couple years ago and had some of that "Flex Seal" tape and rubber spray on hand..which I thought I was a sucker for that advertising on TV. Guess what? It worked in the emergency....you can get it at the boat department in Home Depot. Gives you enough time to take a deep breath.

 

[kapnkd]

If you add the tapered plug tied to the shaft log make sure there is a hole in the middle for the shaft. :eek: Better you have something to keep the shaft from leaving the boat. Hose clamp?

Good thought!! I place my shaft zinc just in front of the cutlass so if the shaft starts to back out - the zinc will stop it.