28TE stern tube construction

[Sisu22]

What does it connect to?

[Serenity]

Not quite sure where it goes. As soon as the weather gets above 50 again and I start to scrub out the bilge, I will have a better feel for it. Right now we are expecting up to 7" of snow as per the "fake news" meteorologists.

[Serenity]

DSCN1538.JPG

It appears that the white pvc tube is a drain for the bilge to go into the keel. As of now, the tube is "glassed in" and frozen in by water. Somewhat bizarre! Or, if there is too much water in the keel, it is a drain to flow the water aft.

[dabeachman]

Can anyone help me with the detail between the shaft log/shaft tube (same thing?) and the bearing housing? do they connect? if you glass in the whole keel, what happens if you have to pull the bearing housing later?

[Nancy]

Can anyone help me with the detail between the shaft log/shaft tube (same thing?) and the bearing housing? do they connect? if you glass in the whole keel, what happens if you have to pull the bearing housing later?

When we removed our bearing housing last fall, the stern tube was connected firmly to it, but not by any mechanical means. Some kind of glue/adhesive. We didn't dismantle it. The mechanicals are going back in the boat now, and I'll post a photo later today (if I don't run out of time) showing the glassed-in plywood support that was fabricated to support the stern tube.

I don't know the answer to how things come apart in a glassed-in keep if the bearing housing needs to come off later.

[Nancy]

Here's a photo of the new support for the stern tube. Fingers crossed that it's in the right position!

bilge-6-04.23.18-1600.JPG

And here's a photo of the bearing housing. Sure looks pretty all cleaned up.

drive shaft & keel-04.23.18-1600.JPG

[dabeachman]

Do you know if the shaft log can be removed from the keel hole that the bearing housing goes into?

[Nancy]

Do you know if the shaft log can be removed from the keel hole that the bearing housing goes into?

In theory, yes. But our shaft log was firmly attached to the bearing housing, so it came out the bottom of the boat when the housing was removed.

[dabeachman]

Turns out they can pull it out the stern, no need to pull the engine. It did have a wire tie on it which they had to find and cut

[boatruptcy]

Bringing this back up, seems i have the same floppy stern tube in my 96 28te. I have had a leaking shaft seal and tried everything to get it to stop (while underway). I'm thinking I could just build a brace for the stern tube close to the shaft seal, not sure how I could ever get anyone down in there to fiberglass the bottom to the keel and I'm not concerned about any water sitting there. Any suggestions on this? See video of leaking seal underway, starts to come in about 1,600 rpm's.

https://youtu.be/u_jjB_1KxZI

[Nancy]

Boatruptcy, did you see my photo of our new stern tube support a few messages above? Granted, this was installed with the engine out of the boat, which you may not be anxious to do.

I looked at your video. Is it my imagination or is the bellows compressed in a slightly non-uniform way? Our shaft seal had the exact same spraying problem and there was a perceptible irregularity in the bellows suggesting that the shaft was not aligned properly.

When reinstalling the engine, we installed two new engine mounts and aligned the shaft. No more spraying! And the boat runs smoother and more quietly than ever. Not that it was bad, but it is noticeably better. While the engine was out, all the hoses underneath it were replaced (they were getting ripe) along with both bilge pump switches.

If you can build a brace with the engine in place, I'd encourage you to go for it. You'll also want to align the engine.

[Sisu22]

Bringing this back up, seems i have the same floppy stern tube in my 96 28te. I have had a leaking shaft seal and tried everything to get it to stop (while underway). I'm thinking I could just build a brace for the stern tube close to the shaft seal, not sure how I could ever get anyone down in there to fiberglass the bottom to the keel and I'm not concerned about any water sitting there. Any suggestions on this? See video of leaking seal underway, starts to come in about 1,600 rpm's.

https://youtu.be/u_jjB_1KxZI

Interesting because I have the same motion of the tube at certain speeds, but my alignment was checked out to be good and the shaft is true (within tolerance). I have a traditional stuffing box, so I don't get the leaking issue but I do get the vibrations.

[Nancy]

Interesting because I have the same motion of the tube at certain speeds, but my alignment was checked out to be good and the shaft is true (within tolerance). I have a traditional stuffing box, so I don't get the leaking issue but I do get the vibrations.

You might need some or all new engine mounts. We replaced two. We didn't have a significant amount of vibration before replacement, but the boat is smoother and marginally quieter now.

[Serenity]

Since we are discussing the removal of the shaft, they removed my shaft forward. From what I can determine, when the prior owner replaced the beast with the 315 Yanmar, the shaft was pulled out forward. The mechanic cut a hole in the bulkhead between the engine compartment and cabin. Remove the prop and loosen the coupling and tap it forward. Place the 315 on the mounts and slide the shaft right back in. No need to remove the rudder. I have a vent plate to cover the opening.

[boatruptcy]

IMG_20180630_125255171.jpg

What kind of filler would you use to close in the keel? Just regular epoxy with a bit of thickening agent? It's really hard to get to so I don't believe you can trowel it in from under the motor, would have to pour in. I have a lot of area to fill, you can see in the photo where I epoxied the stern tube to the hull but I don't want the open cavity in the keel any longer.