With all of the problems that you have, all of the money that you will spend and all of the time you will spend, just remember one thing: "the time spent just messing around doing something you love is not subtracted from your allotted time on earth". And you have probably the most amazing private aft cockpit that I have ever seen on a boat. When it is all finished and you are sitting back there watching a Caribbean sunset, you will know that is was all worth it
Good call to replace that dripless shaft seal with a traditional a stuffing box. It may drip but it won't sink your boat. Also a good call to replace the cutlass at the same time. It's easy to get too carried away with the "While I'm doing this job, I might as well do this other thing, too." But in this case, you really did save yourself time by doing both jobs simultaneously.
G'day Ran-day, good bunch of crew in your corner there mate helping you out, must give you confidence to attack the projects on your beasty yacht..Loving your episodes and learning heaps,cheers
Much appreciated, Andrew! You know those Andrew types tend to be helpful and smart 😉 she is a beasty… and slowly getting back into some respectable shape! Cheers 👍
Good job buddy! So you have a Amazon list set up? I’d like to gift you some hex-keys on a socket. Makes a Allen wrench much more manageable and you can use your cordless impact wrench! Super stoked to have those guys helping that’s a huge gift!!
Shipwrights' disease! Goes something like this: Sailor owns boat. Boat has burned out light in galley. Sailor decides to change bulb. Sailor notices socket is corroded, decides to change socket. Sailor notices wiring frayed while trying to change socket. Sailor decides to change wiring. Sailor notices galley ceiling slats are rotted while changing the wire. Sailor decides galley ceiling slats need changing. Sailor notices ... this goes on and on and on and on and pretty soon, Sailor is undertaking a major renovation of his boat because of a burned out lightbulb.
Ran Day!! Another great video showing your process and nicely explaining things as you go! We seem to be on a parallel path with our boats. Mine is a bit newer, but still requires similar upgrades. I am on the hard here in Michigan and have recently removed my rudder, prop, shaft, dripless, etc. I also had the bottom stripped and will be applying new barrier coat and bottom paint in the spring. We (wife and I) will be headed to The Caribbean in the fall of '24 after attending the Annapolis boat show in Oct. The plan is to get all these boat works done for a late Spring launch, spend July and most of August sailing here in Michigan and then start our journey through the other Great Lakes to the Erie Canal, wave at Lady Liberty as we pass by on our way to Annapolis. Here's to hoping to join you next winter as we enjoy a much warmer winter playing in the blue waters of the Caribbean!
I saw your comment about "grunts from having cabinetry in the guts." Maybe one day we can bring our boats up into outer space to make it easier to work on them.
Randay, we love ya Randay, but please... use the right tool for the job. Don't be striking metal with metal hammers, use a rubber mallet; dont use undersized hex keys, they make bigger sets or 3/4 in drive sets. Younger folks are watching you and will repeat your choices. I'm glad I got to see this, I'm certain others will be both encouraged and warned about doing this alone by yourself. I consider myself pretty handy but I think I would need help to do this too. Age weakens both the muscles and the will. Thanks for a super entertaining video in spite of it not including you doing any sailing ! 😁 I'm sure many of us will sleep better knowing that your 3 bilge pumps will now be enough to keep you afloat. 😉
Every effort leads to a small victory. Spring launch will be something to look forward to with pride. Looking at that literal jungle of wiring sorting that out will take a supreme effort. That will be an interesting series of episodes. 😎
Don't forget to apply some Prop Shield Propeller Antifoul or similar before the boat goes back in the water. It is amazing how many people anti foul everything under water except their prop and folding props hate barnacles.
Such an amazing episode, cant wait for next for the next one! Glad it all went relatively easy. Just bought a road bike this week, now i just need the yacht!
Nice Work! It's all about having the right tools! If you're in a pinch and need that coupler off. If you can scrounge a couple of longer bolts and some larger sockets, you can bolt the flange back up to the tranny with the socket in the middle and press out the shaft by tightening the 4 bolts. So I guess Walter is not a fan of the dripless stuffing boxes?
good tip. hahaha... yeah, I think he even said some more choice things off camera about them. I tended to buy into the marketing on them as who doesn't love a dry bilge.... but seeing how catastrophic it is when the seals go bad was a good wake up call. The new solution is to have a back up seal already built in... but that seems like an inelegant solution to me. What's your plan for a stuffing box?
I've gone back and forth a bit looking at face seals like you removed, lip seals (some have backup seals stored onboard) and traditional packing glands like I have currently (35 years old. Due for replacement) and the Buck Algonquin unit you just installed. They all have their ups and downs as I see it and there is no perfect solution. I am LEANING towards a dripless shaft seal like the PSS Pro because I really want to get the bilge dry... maybe an impossible goal. I also have really good access to the shaft log/seal so that factors in as part of my decision. If it was buried under an engine with a V-drive and no immediate access I would probably NOT chose a face seal. We will see.... I'd be really curious to look at the statistics on actual rates of failure...? This sounds like a video idea. Haha @@YachtHunters
Hey Randall! Since you're deferring the alignment check, why not wait until she's afloat; the boat will be suspended instead of sitting with the keel pushing up (and possibly changing the hull shape). I noticed that nobody "dialed" the shaft before starting to work on it, which I believe is important bc it tells you if the thing is bent, which changes everything that follows. Anyone can dial their own shaft at any time with nothing more sophisticated than a short 2x4 or the like. Did you notice anything about the marine exhaust hose vs the Buck hose? The Buck hose has many more plies than "Peedro" does, and much more suited to take the torque (which, admittedly was less with the dripless). One thing we really need to pay attention to is ensuring the hose clamps are actually clamping the spigots and not the shaft, and Not at the very edge of the spigot, which can pull the hose off when your back is turned. I wish I didn't need to mention this but it definitely happens, and most stuffing boxes are so hard to access that it can go unnoticed by the installer. The more mondo hose needs those more mondo clamps, btw, not the ones from kragen. And they need to be Tight. Just in case anyone ever needs to substitute a different hose than what was intended i just want to say my Last choice would be Carlisle, what we generically call the black "wire reinforced" hose. That stuff is not suitable for this particular purpose at all. BTW, Peedro is west coast for "(no wire) marine exhaust" hose, I guess because they use it in (San) Pedro. Watch it because your decision to cork the shaft log spigot hose is exposing your superior intelligence. Extra points for not using 52million. The elastomeric sealant is the bomb and I for one will never install another thru hull with anything else, unless it's a planked wood hull I guess where I'd use Boatlife LifeCaulk. BTW, Black IS better than white, especially outdoors. When I'm trying to keep a shaft from turning while turning a coupling bolt, I tie some 8mm line to something nearby and then wrap the line around the shaft as many turns, one-at-a-time, as it takes to make it stop. Think "turns on a winch". Just enough turns and no more. This method is popular with delivery skippers who are trying to stop a freewheeling shaft when sailing. Please remember to remove the line before re-using the engine. I absolutely Love the way the shaft exits off to port, instead of on center. Just wow. It may not be obvious to everyone, so I'm going to mention the Shaft Log (which is traditionally a casting, or a bronze pipe, or just hardwood) can certainly be made out of GRP. And it is not a bearing, the shaft just spins inside it hopefully without touching anything but the packing at the fwd end. If anyone out there does much work on Hans Christians or Cheoy Lees, it helps to remember your packing rings (never a spiral like would be in a valve) can be hammered into ribbons which will fit non-standard shaft/box combinations. Alas, I'm stuck in the twentieth century bc I still prefer flax and tallow packing. I'm sure the teflon stuff works, but to me that's a solution to a problem that nobody was having (lol). I mean, what if Leonardo had to depend on a carbon fibre door to float? The movie would have been a lot shorter. And finally, you Can have your cake and eat it too. That is, you can have a traditional stuffing box AND a dripless. My favorite old wive's tale is that the thing must drip if it is correctly adjusted. I respectfully disagree, and won't fall for it. What's important is that the thing doesn't overheat (meaning you should be able to warm not burn your hand when touching it while underway), and it can be tightened just enough that it doesn't drip but doesn't overheat. If the "box" does overheat, perhaps it's time to consider running a cooling hose to it or maybe a grease cup that gets turned down regularly. That's all I got, just my opinion, aka "seadogma". Thanks
Try the teflon seal material rather than the flax. I switched to it a couple years ago. It hardly lesks a drop when running and none when stoped. Also shaft is very cool running.
I had to do a couple of rails of Xanax after watching this. After owning/racing several sailboats I purchased two power boats. One was a 1978 twin screw flybridge. The wiring, V-drives, stuffing boxes and of course engines kept me up at night so I sold it about 2 years later. Reminds me of your boat. I still have the 18’ CC W/150 HP I purchased in 2000. Life is good again.
Hahaha you and me both! Like anything big… if you break it down to smaller pieces and then invite friends over for some beers, it’s a lot more palatable. Great to hear you’re still out on the water and have a vessel to keep you out there. Thanks, James!
In hindsight you should have made a cutless bearing remover/installer with a piece of pipe, a threaded rod, a couple of nuts and washers. For about 20 bucks you can save your self a ton of work. Have made several over the years for various bushings and bearings.
Nice work. I do think that checking the engine alignment after putting the coupler on would be a good idea. Checking the alignment is an easy job and only takes 5 minutes or so. On my boat I have to pull the engine to get the shaft out so you had it easy.
Agreed. Rhett did take a look and talked it over with Walter and seems like it’s in good alignment… I may need to take a closer look just to inform myself better. I def have it easy with my giant engine room and mostly easy access. Our ribs were sore from being hard pressed against the furniture while in the bilge but that’s temporary! Thanks Todd!
The end result of all of this research, education, more research, friends/family who are experts, more research and a heck of a lot of work? SMOOTH SAILING WITH NO PROBLEMS!! Great good luck and well done you!
Well Randall I think you tackled one of the most important projects first, one that could actually sink the boat if not addressed. It's a small step on a long journey but the journey has to start somewhere. Good luck and keep the good stuff coming buddy.
Randa. Try getting a dewalt impact drive for things like the shaft bolts. It might work better and it’s an excuse to buy another tool😁btw thanks for the videos
Ran-day. Get yourself some Milwaukee ratchets. I bought a 3/8 drive with a long reach to it. Like when you used your puller it would have ripped that off in a minute or less. Push one button and let her rip. Another good one!
The even easier way to remove the coupler is to pull it away from the engine. Then put a socket just a bit smaller than the shaft into the coupler and gradually retighten the bolts connecting the coupler to the engine. As you tighten the bolts you will push the shaft out of the coupler. Just make sure the socket is small enough to clear the woodruff key in the shaft. No special tools required.
Is there a channel other than youtube where I can follow Randay without being interrupted by a plethora of inane adverts? (RU-vid already looks over my shoulder and steals my search information and I object to paying them to do this). Can anyone help?
To be fair to you boat designers should be made to live on their designs and maintain them before they are allowed to produce them .. They R swines to work on almost as bad as some modern luxury ICE vehicles. Systems acces should be as important as accomodation. 😉👍🏼🧙♂️🇬🇧
Rule number 1 about working on anything mechanical; cars, boats, engines of all sorts - if you don't bloody your hands at least once you haven't done any real work. 😎
I really enjoy seeing the work in progress. It's fascinating to see all the steps required to do the work. But please ditch the music. Especially all the stuff with a drummer beating. It's annoying. Also it makes it difficult to hear your commentary. And please no more speed up video. It makes it almost impossible to see what you are really doing. And it makes the whole job look so frantic. I wonder if the process is a race of some sort. Regardless, thank you for sharing. Have a great day and stay safe.🙂🙂
I will never understand how you ended up buying this boat.I thought CaptnQ would prevent such a failure, but here we go. The inner layout is a catastrophy in my eyes and I will also never understand that preference for a 2 mast boat. Something like a Hallberg Rassy 382 would´ve suited your needs way better in my opinion.But hey: each to its own.
Hey guys , I enjoy your channel over the years and feel a bit perplexed watching you dig mud out of a hole on the ground. If you are too survive as a You-Tube channel and make a little money other than you back 100s of videos income. You need to.mix it up and build on the old structure a nice room to relax in or a secure room with a lock. Change it up dudes it's getting pathetic
Ran-dayyy, Don't answer if you don't care to... are you married?? If not why not?? Is Maine really slim pickings or you just have high expectations and standards??? Just curious cause you have never brought it up and a polite, hard working man who isn't a slob or an arsehole who also owns a beautiful sailboat I would think would be characteristics that would certainly catch someone's eye..
Great update And I would like to promote a Portland company's support of Solo sailing around the world #shipyardbrewing #globalsolochallenge #ronniesimpson #patriotsailing #pumpkinhead #fallbeer #solosailing #racearoundtheworld #sailing #vendeeglobe
