A25 re-power/shaft and prop issues

[Tree]

I'll second ASAP supplies. Got both my cutlass and rudder bearing from them.

[WillieC]

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Update: Cutlass bearings ordered from ASAP Supplies, though they didn't give me the lower price THEY posted on their own website. Not wishing to involve the State Department, I let it slide. And they are back-ordered, which they did inform me before I submitted my order, so I guess that is good service. Parts should be here mid April. I'm slow and I'm old so that works for me.
Then, last night I was poking around and ended up on a recommendation by a poster in the Maintenance section that one should take a good look at through-hulls. Of course. That discussion mentioned Marelon. Unfamiliar with that product, I checked the link. Oh, it's a super-duper plastic composition that is a serious alternative to bronze fittings. Then I found this picture:

Look familiar?

Upon closer examination of the old hunk of plastic, i discovered that what I thought must be annular rings to hold adhesive for this rare unobtainium bearing were in fact threads for the through-hull nut. So, did a previous owner work this magic, or was it installed when the shaft was repaired for worn bearing surfaces (the welds are that obvious) and then the PSS was installed, which covered it all up? Anybody know of actual repair shops up in BC that use old plumbing parts for shaft bearings? Not pointing fingers, just asking questions. I admit I should be careful because I sometimes resort to 'creative' solutions myself. Point is, things happen just beyond your range of vision sometimes. And you pay good money so you don't have to stand there and supervise 'the pro'.

[kerrye]

Good to know there is an alternative. Do you think there was a bearing, bushing there originally?

[WillieC]

Kerry, The through hull fitting posing as a mid shaft bearing was a very loose fit, about 1/8" clearance. I think it may have contributed to my noise. I do not think there was a bearing there originally, since the cutlass is somewhat self-aligning and the north end of the shaft is attached by a pretty forgiving rubber isolating coupler, not like the hard ones you see today. I think the combination of the two points of attachment was how Albin dealt with a seven foot shaft blowing in the wind. The top of the tube used some kind of a dripping stuffing box. The handbook addresses periodic greasing of that fitting. My boat has the aftermarket PSS shaft seal which seems to have adapted well to the axial movement required of the shaft with the RB type of transmission. Not sure if that was how it was intended to work, but there you go! (See my earlier comments about 'creative' solutions).
My plan is to use real fluted cutlass bearings at the top and bottom of the stern tube, which will attenuate the flopping shaft, actually make it pretty rigid, which may create a whole new set of problems. We shall see. The assumption is that the shaft is straight, which I will have a better feel for once I spin it in the new bearings and see how much eccentricity exists at both ends. My bare eyeball says it is pretty good, but this isn't a 2x4 and this isn't a house. Then again, neither is this a shiny new boat with twin turbo diesels and 4 inch shafts Stay tuned!

[WillieC]

As soon as I post, I remember seeing something about an inner bearing in the Albinmotors parts list. Doh!

inner bearing.JPG

The Handbook is a bit foggy on this bearing. Maybe too much of my tube was cut off when they installed the PSS.
Maybe this bearing is what the Oljeficka (oil pocket) is for, since there do not appear to be flutes like you see in a typical cutlass/water cooled bearing.

[kerrye]

Mine still has the original greased assembly but I haven't had it apart to see what's in there.

[WillieC]

Just received the Beneteau cutlass bearings from ASAP Supplies in Cambridge, UK. Arrived on time as promised, though I had to wait a couple weeks for a back-order to fill before they sent them. I ordered two, just because. I did encounter some confusion regarding pricing, their website randomly quoted GBP and USD, but that was minor. I did contact Beneteau US and was quoted around 4X the price for what may not have been the correct part. Score for ASAP. Here is what I got: See first pic.
The shiny black rubber cutlass bearing is what I hope to replace the modified ill-fitting through-hull fitting for use as the upper shaft support in the bronze shaft tube.

My quandary now is how to secure the rubber bearing in the tube. It fits loosely, but not terribly so, and needs to be locked to prevent rotation. I am experimenting with PC11 epoxy, shown on end of bearing and 100% silicone caulk, 2 dabs further up the tube. See second pic.
The bearings came with two flathead nylon screws, which is how Beneteau locked them. The A25 stern tube is quite thin and does not lend itself to being tapped and countersunk with any success.

I am open to suggestions.

I have a couple of good leads on decent used prop from BCAlbineers. I am finding a cornucopia of variations on bore and taper.

[WillieC]

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Cutlass bearings from ASAP arrived. Dry fit in upper end of stern tube to rough check alignment. Engine was about a 1/4” high. (Yeah, yeah, it's on the trailer. Rough check). Figured out a way to support the engine while seeing what adjustment is available, special thanks to one of our British friends who described the car jack method for engine removal. All the info I have read is you just move the adjustment nut(s) until Jupiter aligns with Mars and there you go. Mine has a stack of shims measuring about 1/2” under the metal chunk that accepts the rubber cushion. For fine tuning, slotted pieces of sheetmetal were placed between the top of the cushion and under the foot bolted to the engine. No handy, dandy adjustment nuts. Dang!

Then I found the broken mount. Starboard side, under the shift linkage and heat exchanger and throttle linkage. The hard one to replace. Which explains why it wasn't replaced the last time somebody was in here. The port side, under the fuel pump is shinier, oh, and not broken.

Ordered the new rubber from VP in Seattle. They are tapping the rubber trees as we speak which explains why they are 3-4 weeks out. Perhaps they are in stock but likely in the basement of one of the descendants of the original 5 “Penta” guys in Stockholm. I jest.

I wasn't sure what I was looking at, other than I have seen oil-soaked rubber mounts before and it is not pretty. I attempted to separate the pieces today, just to make sure I could re-use the $34 metal sleeve that goes over the cushion. Holes were drilled to try to provide some relief in the bloated rubber. Those babies were stuck. Think trying to fit into your high-school homecoming leisure suit. I succeeded. See picture. Right mount (the top one in picture) was the hard one to get out and it separated at the bottom having lain for forty years in the Delo motor oil that is apparently by design channeled from the leaky cylinder base over to the HD welded motor mount fitment and right down to the metal sleeve which keeps the oil away from the top of the rubber cushion only to deposit it into the perfectly formed lakebed in the fiberglass engine pan which provides a constant source of fresh oil to the bottom of the rubber cushion.

New parts and oil leak diversion! Problem solved. Then I'll tackle the alignment issue.