Transmission and Propeller Shaft Decoupled Out in the Open

[De_pruis]

Same appened to me after I had a new propellor shaft ïnstalled by "professionals", just when I entered a main naval port. As usual, to get the job done well, you need to do it yourself... This means before securing the nuts, make sure that they are tightened to the specified torque, after cleaning shaft and coupling and making sure the alignement is OK. Furthermore I mounted a spare zinc-anode to the inside of the hull, should it happen ever again, the shaft will stay in the boat, and noted the distance to the coupling on the shaft, so I can have a quick check without tools.
Happy boating!

[Chief Engineer]

In addition to the safety wire,

I have seen a shaft zinc or double hoseclamps installed in front of the stuffing box.......This was seen on watermans boats on the Chesapeake

Kind of like the "Jeezus Nut" on Helos

[willieferrell]

This is an interesting scenario. Clearly it's the yacht owner's responsibility to check all these things himself, or to supervise his boatyard in doing it. Especially if the yacht is going out on a few charters or being turned over to a delivery crew. The charterers and delivery crews are not responsible for the bottom line maintenance of the yacht. They are entitled to see the most recent marine survey, learn of any deficiencies and that they have been corrected. But surveys are often done only every 2-3 years, so a review of complete maintenance records should be made available. And full insurance to cover any contingency,including personal possessions on board of charteres and delivery crews.

[sabray]

i yanked mine out after wrapping up some pot warp. To make things worse it jammed against the rudder. I was able to clear most of the line and get the shaft off the rudder. Sailed back picked up a mooring and finished the repair. I added a zinc collar inside behind the stuffing box as an added measure as mentioned prior.

[willieferrell]

While unforeseen mishaps such as debris fouling rudders and props; running aground: and collision with submerged objects, do occur, the boat owner must be absolutely sure at all times that all holes thru the hull are sound and in excellent condition (thru hulls,stuffiing box, rudderpost)

[donradcliffe]

Keep up this crap and you will force me to find the ignore feature.

Originally Posted by willieferrell

This is an interesting scenario. Clearly it's the yacht owner's responsibility to check all these things himself, or to supervise his boatyard in doing it. Especially if the yacht is going out on a few charters or being turned over to a delivery crew. The charterers and delivery crews are not responsible for the bottom line maintenance of the yacht. They are entitled to see the most recent marine survey, learn of any deficiencies and that they have been corrected. But surveys are often done only every 2-3 years, so a review of complete maintenance records should be made available. And full insurance to cover any contingency,including personal possessions on board of charteres and delivery crews.

[perchance]

Originally Posted by Healer52

Yeah, that GREEN locktite. And maybe some drilled and safety-wired bolts.

If you use green Locktite you will need heat to remove them in future.

[gossip]

Thru hulls - is there multiplicity in modern boats with numerous hi tech systems adding increased risk to boating offshore?

[capt_douglas]

We were on charter and the big Irwin 65 was heading for the anchorage off Peter Island. We slid in, dropped the jib and jigger, put the engine in reverse and heard a big band - and were still moving ahead.

Up came the salon floorboards and, like you, we saw the shaft and transmission coupling more heading in different directions. A mad scramble ensued and we got 2 bolts back in, dropped the hook and as the chef started dinner, looked at each other. We never found the fourth bolt but when we dropped off the very happy guests we replaced all 4 bolts with new ones, lock washers, and nylock nuts. It also became a regular check on the predeparture checklist. Everytime we checked the engine for vital fluids we'd give the couplings a poke, just to make sure it didn't come back to bite us in the butt.

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

Keep up this crap and you will force me to find the ignore feature.

I'll second that sentiment - - real life at sea and cruising is quite different from the "theory" some read about and believe is real.

- - But anyway, the person responsible for any vessel/craft, air or sea, is the Captain of the vessel/craft. He/she may be the owner in most cruising circumstances. In others, he/she may be paid. But still the responsibility for accepting and operating and accomplishing a safe voyage is his and his alone. He can refuse the vessel/craft if it is, in his opinion, unsafe.
- - What comes into play in most of these instances is the owner/captain (including myself) who become complacent because we "know" the whole boat and all its sounds and rattles. We know how long the engine will run before it needs oil so we skip those daily checks. Same with other systems until something happens that bites us, and then we get serious again for awhile checking and inspecting things.
- - Add in the situation where some items, especially the transmission/coupling/shaft/stuffing box are located where you have to remove half the paneling in the boat to get to - and complacency reigns until we get bit. I have seen many, many boats where to fix an electrical problem a new wire is spliced into place with the firm intentions of finishing the repair the "proper way" next haul-out of major parts supply harbor. Only thing is, years pass before we get around to finishing the job. This is a major problem with owning your own boat.
- - However, on somebody else's boat paranoia should reign supreme, at least to personally checking critical items like seacocks, engine to stuffing box, and rudder integrity. There are a thousand things that can go wrong on a boat, but only maybe a dozen that are super-critical, so on a delivery or charter those dozen or so are checked carefully. The rest can be ignored or left as they are in the category of comfort and not safety at sea.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by osirissail

... real life at sea and cruising is quite different from the "theory" some read about and believe is real ...

A valid theory always explains a valid practice.
Not all practice is valid, any more than is all theory.
Accordingly, there should be no dichotomy between sailing/cruising theory and practice.

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by GordMay

A valid theory always explains a valid practice.
Not all practice is valid, any more than is all theory.
Accordingly, there should be no dichotomy between sailing/cruising theory and practice.

Yes, absolutely correct as stated - but the keyword is "practice" - which can be significantly different from "real" or "reality"
- - We start with good sound practices aimed at safe cruising and somewhere down line reality forces us to change our practices to meet the needs of real life experiences.