Leak!!

[rcornejo]

Hello Everyone,

I am certain that many of you with Albins have had this problem in the past and I am hoping that you could give me some advice.

I was just informed by my mechanic that my 1997 28 TE has a leak at the shaft. I noticed the leak when I saw salt deposits on the bottom of my engine. Apparently, the stuffing? has been shooting out water to the engine, primarily the bottom. From what he tells me is that I have a graphite seal and not the conventional type that you see more often. Also, he thinks that the shaft may be bent. Since I have owned the boat, I have never hit bottom or anything that could have damaged it. He also said that there is no way to fix that without pulling the engine. Therefore, is he correct with his statement? If so, what would be an average amount to make that repair. I know it will vary from mechanic to mechanic and state-to-state but just an idea or range. This way, I will know if they are taking advantage of me.

I am also considering repowering my boat. The penninsular I have is very loud. I would like to have a Yanmar 315 based on what I have read about it. However, I also heard that after this year, they are going to redesign it with much more electonics. One of the mechanics I spoke to told me that I would have many more problems because of the extra electronics and saltwater. Does anyone know where I can find a deal on a Yanmar engine?

Thanks for your help.

PS
Hi Doug! I have not talked to you in some time. How's your new boat?
Roland Cornejo

[DougSea]

Hi Roland! The new boat is great, we're really loving it and have already put over 100 hours on her!

To some of your questions:

You should NOT have to pull the engine to get to the shaft seal. It's a squeeze but others have gotten in there. Maybe your mechanic is just a big ole Texas boy?? Get a smaller one! Checking your shaft is fairly easy, assuming of course that you're out of the water. You need to hold a pointer, such as a pencil, that you brace against the bottom of the boat (your rudder should work for you) with the point just barely touching the edge of the shaft. Then have someone rotate the shaft. With that "fixed" point you shouldn't see any difference in distance between the pointer and the edge of the shaft. If you do, it's bent. The rudder would have to come out to get the shaft out. Not a huge job.

As far as the noise from you engine. Is that your only issue? I loved the "Beast" in our 28, never had Yanmar envy. I actually used to notice that I smoked less on startup and had less exhaust smell in general. If it's just noise I'd say you need to spend some time installing "Sounddown" or the like to keep the noise away from you. It doesn't take much of an opening to let an amazing amount of noise "leak in"! Of course the Peninsulars also have the exhaust on the starboard side so you would hear it reflecting off of the wake at some speeds. I found just a small movement of my head or opening the forward, instead of the aft, end of the side window really helped. You're talking about a LOT of money just for noise if the Beast is running well...

Let us know how this moves along!

Best

[rcornejo]

Hi Doug,

Thanks for the great advice as always. Hard to believe that you have already put 100 hours on her. Wow!

The Beast is running well. I have not had any issues. I will try and lower the noise as you suggested. Where can I get that material you mentioned?

I have another mechanic looking at it to see what we can do. I also have a friend who is pretty handy who may fit in there. I will keep you posted on what I find out.

Thanks again for your great advice.

Happy Boating!

Roland

[jcollins]

Roland,
The material Doug is talking about can be found here. http://www.soundown.com/index_Marine.htm
I have it on my center hatch and engine box. It did make a difference in the sound levels.

John

[rcornejo]

Hi John,

Thanks for the website. I did go and look at it but can you tell me the exact one you used. They have many types and options. I just want to make sure I order the right stuff.

Thanks for your help.

Roland

[Pitou]

The shaft seal can certainly be done with the engine in. It takes a mechanic willing to crawl into small spaces. I had my shaft seal replaced and all the mechanic said was "this boat is tight". As Doug said the rudder needs to be removed and and the shaft slid back. While you're there chacking the shaft and replacing the seal, I'd check out the stern tube cutlass bearing and have that replaced if it is showing any wear. There is no time like when you've got things pretty much torn down.

The Sounddown is the stuff. As John's boat, I have the 1 1/2 or 2 inch Soundown Acoustical Absorption foam with the outer mylar covering the entire inside of the engine box cover and the underside of all decks and hatches from the fuel tank forward into the pilot house including the center hatch in between the helm & companion seat. I'll check the thickness when I'm dockside later today. This stuff is spectacular at knocking back the noise. While cheating a day on the water the office can't even tell I'm underway and running the boat when those calls come in . I wouldn't be shy about calling Sounddown for tech support. I'm sure they will be happy to help. I always look to the expertise of a manufacturer for all my projects and often call a number of times as I work my way through.

[rcornejo]

Hi Kevin,

Great advice as well. I have a company looking at it and will let you know what they tell me. I might as well replace everything at one time.

Let me know if you check on your sound barrier. I would like to know the best size to order.

Thanks again.

Roland Cornejo

[Pitou]

Hi Kevin,

Great advice as well. I have a company looking at it and will let you know what they tell me. I might as well replace everything at one time.

Let me know if you check on your sound barrier. I would like to know the best size to order.

Thanks again.

Roland Cornejo

Hey Roland,
The sounddown is the 2 inch product and attached with adhesive and using the attachment screw kit w/washers shown on their website.

While your dropping the rudder ... a good time to check the cutlass bearing for the base of the rudder post in the shoe attached to the skeg along with the packing for the packing gland topside of the rudder .... been there, done that too. This is the stuff of my mantra ... while it's apart ... might as well especially if you or a previous owner has never done this before.

[rcornejo]

Hi Kevin,

Thanks. I will forward that information to the mechanic to make sure he does it. I will let you know how it turns out. Also, I will order the material to reduce the noise on my boat.

Roland

[rcornejo]

I wanted to fill you in on what is going on. We found someone who can replace the dripless packing without having to take the engine out. That's the good news. The bad news is that the spray that was shooting out of the dripless packing caused lots of rust to develop on the bottom of the engine. The mechanic who is doing the work showed me all the potential problems with the engine if I don't do anything about it. My plan is to have the repair done to fix the leak now and continue to fish for the rest of the summer. According to the mechanic, he is so far behind that it will take a month or two just to get to it. Once the fishing season is over, I plan to have him pull the engine and begin to replace most of the parts that show signs of problems. I am not sure what the cost will be since I can't really see all the damage.

Has anyone had this problem before, if so, what did you do?

Thanks,

[jleonard]

Not Albin specific, but I know of several boating aqauintances who have had a "salt water event" of some sort.
Normally they do nothing, just wait and start replacing stuff one by one as it breaks, and of course it leads to towing, shortened vacaions, etc. I know one guy who over the course of 2 seasons replaced the starter and alternator one year, finally the transmission the second year , all because his dripless let go and he did not have the foresight to do anything.
I commend you for considering doing the right thing....

[RobS]

What do you mean by rust on the bottom of the engine? The oil pan? A small laborer can certainly get under there to wire brush the rust and properly treat it and paint it. Is it more than that? Is it cosmetic or do you think it has compromised the metal's integrity? Any pictures?

[jleonard]

Soap and water is what is needed to remove the salt. That has to be done first. Just brushing won't remove all the salt deposits. And neither will WD40, fluid film, etc. Those treatments are for after the salt is removed.
The problem will be if there was enough salt water, salt will get into areas you won't easily find. Then over the winter layup it will do it's damage.

[RobS]

Understood. I would think it's been washed down already? Pictures would help.

[RobS]

When I have recovered iron artifacts wreck diving I used this product to preserve them. Never used it in a marine engine application but I think it would work well, especially with a good top coat..

http://www.loctiteproducts.com/p/s_trmt ... alizer.htm