Remove transmission in the water with DSS

[alpinista55]

I had forward gear go out in my transmission today. I want to remove it for rebuilding while in the water, but am worried about my drip less shaft seal. I’ll have to move the rotor towards the coupling to be able to slide the shaft aft. I only have 2” of clearance betweten rotor and coupling. What is best procedure that won’t sink my boat?

This is a sailboat with a 4-108 Westabeke.

[CaptNemoO2]

I've done this twice before. Disconnect the coupling at the transmission, work the DSS collar forward a bit, slide the shaft aft. Repeat as necessary to get the room you need. When you get the shaft back far enough, push it back a little more to keep the DSS in compression and sealed. Lock the collar down. On my boat I needed to support the shaft at the coupling to keep it from dropping and causing a drip. On my friends boat, the shaft was short and held its own and didn't leak. Both boats spent about 2 weeks like that, and at no point did I notice any leaks. But I did make it a point to check everyday and ensued the bilge pump was working. If you're in an area where the boat moves a lot from waves or wind, you might want to make the shaft not budge at all somehow.

[Orion Jim]

I used a piece of scrap lumber to keep the PSS in compression for a couple weeks till my rebuilt tyranny was reinstalled.