More engine room excitement for Estrella

[AdamY]

Okay so I guess this isnt really a valid technical question since it is pretty clear what needs doing but you guys are so smart I should at least run it by you.

On the sail south from Mag Bay To Cabo San Lucas Kristina woke me to inform me she heard the prop making some kind of rubbing noise. I didnt hear it but shortly after she woke me our speed dropped and there was a clunk.

I cliimbed into the engine Room and found that the transmission flange anc coupler were spinning happily along but the shaft was stationary. it had shaken loose it's set screws (yes they were siezed but evidently not enough) and the rear starboard motor mount had shaken loose of it's stringer.

took me some time to trck down some key material to replace the rusted old piece of crap key the professionals put into my brand new shaft and coupler and then some really awkward hammering and whaling on the shaft to get the thing to go back into the coupler.

The problem is my rear mount has no stringer whatsoever over the rear bolt hole and no wood inside the striinger forward. I was going to bolt a 4"X4"X7" piece of Angle Iron under the mount and use that for stringer but there is a motor in my way. in fact access to the mounts is a serious pain in the butt.

So now I am in Cabo bouncing around in jetski/Parasailing/sportfisher wakes all day thinking of just packing it in and sailing upwind 150 miles to La Paz engineless. I have tried to epoxy threads into the mount an that cracked the instant I tried to align the shaft and the other mounts that shook loose are now secured with much longer lagbolts that are epoxied in (with some release so they can be removed of course). It would be nice to have even a motor I could motor off and onto the hook with so even slightly misaligned wouldnt be too bad but without both sides of the mount attached I cannt even get close.

I should also mention that even though there was no noticablle vibration after I realgned the first time (after the transmission rebuild in Ensenada) the packing gland got hot for the first time andI opened it way up to allow a lot more drip to cool it. I thinkk this was an indicator of misalignment/vibration that I couldnt see with my eye or hear.

Anyway, I would love to hear thoughts. There are two stops between here and La Paz so I could sail 45 miles 3 times to get there the only sucky thing is I have to go upwind.

Anyway, thoughts are most welcome,

[Pblais]

Okay so I guess this isn't really a valid technical question

Being stuck with a problem is pretty technical and easily qualifies. Given I'm empowered to make such decisions - it's technical.

I would like to tell you who to call and what to do. I've been to Cabo and it's not the best place to find talent of the nature you really need.

A beat north won't be easy.

We have a lot of folks here (almost 6,000 members) we may have some information that will get you closer to solving this problem or at least jury rigging something that can assure you at least a few engine hours to get out and get in. It seems to me that the alignment has to be very close to go any more than a hour or two.

[senormechanico]

Get in touch with Mary Shroyer at Marina de La Paz. She probably can send a professional down from the area to help if needed.

Another suggestion, find a HAM in the anchorage and ask if they could put out a request on one of the morning radio nets, The Sonrisa or the Chubasco.
There is a lot of talent in the cruising community all around you.

Steve B.

[AdamY]

Thankks for the tip I am more just sort of pinging to see if anybody has any ideas that woul get me close enough to be able to motor into and out of the anchorages, especially the narrow channel into La Paz.

The problem is that while there is no shortage of cruisers willing to help my problem really oesnt seem to be technical ini nature, really most of them would just come by and agree that the motor has to be pulled and new stringers put in etc etc.

My hope was for some last minute "ah-ha" to get my shaft aligned to get into and out of the harbors.

Not a big deal, I will do it engineless Thursday and I have many friends with powerful dinghies in La Paz wiilling to tow us through the entrance channel once we get there.

Still if anyone has any ideas I am all ears. Cabo is a sucky sucky place to do any work that is for sure.

Cheers

[delmarrey]

I can offer you some suggestions, sight un-seen. But wheather you can use them, I don't know. You haven't mentioned tools or supplies.

For the stripped out hole, you could drill out the mount and go with a larger diameter lag bolt.

For the one hanging in the air you could sister in wood pieces with epoxy to create a shelf under the over hang. Then wrap it up with some fiberglass and from there put down a lag bolt.

This is the best I can do for you without pictures........................_/)

[Inthewind]

Is there anyway to get a small jack under the back of the motor to lift it up to free up some room? What about lifting the motor with some sort of hoist. If you can get some access, perhaps you could lag bolt or glass in a four by four or a piece of wood that would work for a temperary fix. What about rigging a piece of wood going from port to starboard under the tranny or engine and securing it all in place that way until it can be fixed right. It would be difficult to fix your problem on the hook, but if there is a will there is a way.

[hellosailor]

I'd check the strut with a straightedge, as it was coming apart it may have been bent slightly and that may cause a problem with the shaft deal now--you may have to run it loose and accept a leak if that's the case, until the shaft is replaced/straightened. If you're lucky--the shaft wasn't damaged and it just needs some alignment.

[AdamY]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

I'd check the strut with a straightedge, as it was coming apart it may have been bent slightly and that may cause a problem with the shaft deal now--you may have to run it loose and accept a leak if that's the case, until the shaft is replaced/straightened. If you're lucky--the shaft wasn't damaged and it just needs some alignment.

full keel, no strut hopefully that saved the shaft bending etc.

I will try and see if I can weasel a piece of wood in there tomorrow. Another thought I had was drillinig out the rotten hole with a 1/2" bit and epoxying a dowel in there and then I could get a lag bolt in there perhaps. Trouble is our weather window motor or not is day after tomorrow, still I'll give it another shot as I would truly love to have an engine.

Thanks for the suggestions.

[Thermal]

Do you have any old turnbuckles and wire cable? If so, you might be able to strap down two points on the motor or tranny, then use the turnbuckle and cable at a third point so that the straps and cable are pulling against each other ~120 deg apart. With enough tension, should secure it well enough for a short while.

[Alan Wheeler]

Adam, you're onto it with the dowel idea. Providing you have enough meat around the dowel to take some load, you will not need to worry about the epoxy setting. Get some epoxy in it, knock down the dowel and drill it out for the bolt to thread into. The bolt will force the dowel out to the sides of the stringer and lock well. Kinda like a Rawl plug.You need to get that shaft aligned. If it is hot, then there is friction, which means it is wearing and causing damage. You don't want to have to replace the shaft or bearing when you get home if you can help it. That's expensive.

[hellosailor]

Is it possible to work the other way around? That is, if these are solid engine mounts, to take some scrap 2x4 or other lumber and place one piece vertically above the foot of the engine mount, and another across the overhead of the compartment, so you are pressing the mount DOWN from above? With some finessing and epoxy...maybe that would help keep the mount in place?

[senormechanico]

For a strictly temp fix, is there any way to support that corner of the engine with a loop of lifeline or similar? Maybe a turnbuckle for height adjustment?
It probably wouldn't be any good for motoring in slop, but for no wind conditions...

Steve B.

[AdamY]

Thanks for the motivatiion gang but this morning I finally got the shaft attached.

All four mounts (thanks to dowels and Epoxy) are now securely mounted. the shaft seemed really close to perfectly aligned (didnt understand the feeler gauge thing since all my engine movements were neccesarily violent and therefore non precise) I attached the shaft and rotated it by hand. Halfway was nice and easy then it got difficult and I could see the motor being lifited slightly forward and up.

Not surprisingly when I ran the engine in gear the engine shook violently as the shaft pushed it forward every revolution and it fell back.

Since this was my last ditch attempt and a weather window is materializing for Thursday through the weekend we are going to sail enginelessly to La Paz.

Wish us luck ;-)

[delmarrey]

It sounds like a bent coupler, or the center hole/shaft is worn................._/)

[Maddog]

You may need to reface the coupler to the shaft (on crooked). delmarrey may be on to something.

Good luck. Does your tender have an outboard that you can use for towing if the wind dies? Keep the hook ready on the bow and the cockpit.