Noise

[James Grant]

Hi Folks:

We (my wife and I) are the proud new owners of a 1982 36' Classic. We purchase the boat from a fellow in Holland MI and brought her back by water to our home port in Ontario. She is a fine vessel and is very seaworthy , we put her through some pretty rough water at times.
The trip was about 900 miles and I have a question about a noise that started about 3 days ago.
The noise is heard as a squeek that can only be heard when the engine is nin neutral and we are coasting at about 3 or less knots, typically it was when we were entering a lock and it would only be the last few yards. She has a dry seal ? Not sure what that is. I've looked at it and it's a rubber seal of some sort and It's not a stuffing box I know that much.
I found that she has a fair bit of vibration when under power and I'm not sure if this is normal or within spec - is some vibration allowable or is this a problem that needs prompt attention. Where would I look first and if anyone has any suggestions I would surly appreciate it.

Thanks so much

[zinbaad]

Fan Belt? Vibrations? When was the last time the props where tuned? Clean shafts? Sometimes, hopefully it can be the simplest things to repair

[RobS]

Is the shaft seal carried by a rubber boot? If so, is it black and corrugated, could be a PSS. If it's blue and corrugated it's the newer Tides, the smooth blue boot (hose) is the older Tides. Some vibration on a heavy boat when pushing on the throttles to get her over the hump to reach plane could be considered normal but that would not apply to your hull style. Make sure the adjuster and lock nuts on the motor mounts are tight and also check alignment at the coupler and go from there. A dripless shaft seal needs to be water cooled. There should be a small hose, like 3/8", coming off your engine seawater loop to the shaft seal carrier. You can remove that hose and check flow, should be in the area of a gallon an hour at idle.

[James Grant]

Hi there - thanks for the replies - it's the black corrugated style. I saw the hose going to it so I can check the flow. How would one check shaft alignment ? I don't know if the propeller has been tuned it was described as slightly worn at survey so that is something that can be addressed. I'll cehck and make sure the mounts are tight as well.

thanks a ton

Grant