I know Cutless bearings are supposed to be water-lubricated, but I can't for the life of me figure how this one is. I always thought the holes in the side of the mount were water passages, but they don't go anywhere. They go as far as the Cutless wall and stop. There is no hole in the side of the cutless for water flow. On top of all that, most of the bearing is FORWARD of the holes, so that part wouldn't get any flow anyway, unless the stuffing box were leaking at a pretty good rate.
Thoughts?
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Shaft log/stern tube & Cutless
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stmbtwle
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- Home Port: Ruskin, FL
- Location: Tampa Bay, Florida.
Shaft log/stern tube & Cutless
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dkirsop
- Gold Member
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- Joined: Fri Nov 08, 2013 10:15 pm
- Home Port: Pender Island, BC, Canada
Re: Shaft log/stern tube & Cutless
Wow! That is one worn cutless bearing! The water usually travels up along the longitudinal grooves that are moulded into the rubber bearing. The bearing in your photo is so worn the grooves are no longer visible. Some bearings do have holes in the side in addition to the grooves that have to be carefully aligned with the holes in the housing but many don't rely on this feature.
Hull No. 1013, 1971
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stmbtwle
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- Location: Tampa Bay, Florida.
Re: Shaft log/stern tube & Cutless
The only Cutless bearings I'm familiar with are those in struts, and they're installed so that the water can flow through them, keeping them lubricated and cool. This is definitely NOT installed that way. I wonder if it's original?
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Jmk2000
- First Mate
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Re: Shaft log/stern tube & Cutless
It’s an old worn out bearing for sure! How much play did the shaft have through it? I bet a fair bit.
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stmbtwle
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Re: Shaft log/stern tube & Cutless
Didn't have much, but we did have the "rumble" that you get from a bad cutless. First the yard told me it was fine, then when they removed the stern tube (leaking), they got a good look. I suspect the vibration from the Cutless is what caused the leak.
However from the way they're reinstalling it I rather doubt it'll last all that long. Next haulout I'm using a DIY yard and will fix it myself.
Most of the stern tubes I've seen have the "ports" forward of the cutless bearing presumably so there is water flow through it. Others installations have a small "scoop" on the side of the keel which I suspect is for the same purpose.
I wonder if I could bleed off a bit of water from the engine cooling pump to lubricate the cutless?
However from the way they're reinstalling it I rather doubt it'll last all that long. Next haulout I'm using a DIY yard and will fix it myself.
Most of the stern tubes I've seen have the "ports" forward of the cutless bearing presumably so there is water flow through it. Others installations have a small "scoop" on the side of the keel which I suspect is for the same purpose.
I wonder if I could bleed off a bit of water from the engine cooling pump to lubricate the cutless?
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stmbtwle
- Gold Member
- Posts: 80
- Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2019 8:09 am
- Home Port: Ruskin, FL
- Location: Tampa Bay, Florida.
Re: Shaft log/stern tube & Cutless
This bears reading as it may affect ALL Albin 27s and possibly others.
Still waiting to "splash" so I did some research. Seems that type of setup is prone to failure so figured I'd better pass on what I learned:
From Buck-Algonquin (though it turns out it was not their product):
"Good Afternoon Mr. Young
Thank you for reaching out to us. This is actually not a Hydrasearch / Buck Algonquin part. The manufacturer for Albin in 1987, I believe was Prue foundry. The answers to the numbered questions are: 1. The water port holes should have been drilled through the bearing to allow water to enter / exit the bearing. 2. This type of set up is always border line to failing because of lack of water (blocked ports, incorrectly installed replacement bearing, installed bearing may have spun). 3. It certainly would not hurt to add a water source forward of the bearing. This type of bearing (cutlass) operates based on the shaft hydroplaning on the rubber.
Respectfully,
Jason Wharton"
Sooooo, based on Mr Warton's advice, I'm going to drill and tap the stern tube just forward of the Cutless and install a water feed, with a flex line to the engine raw water system. Then I KNOW the bearing will get lubrication.
Also, next time I haul the boat I'm going to reverse the stern tube bolts and put the nuts on the outside so it is easier to remove the part for maintenance.
Still waiting to "splash" so I did some research. Seems that type of setup is prone to failure so figured I'd better pass on what I learned:
From Buck-Algonquin (though it turns out it was not their product):
"Good Afternoon Mr. Young
Thank you for reaching out to us. This is actually not a Hydrasearch / Buck Algonquin part. The manufacturer for Albin in 1987, I believe was Prue foundry. The answers to the numbered questions are: 1. The water port holes should have been drilled through the bearing to allow water to enter / exit the bearing. 2. This type of set up is always border line to failing because of lack of water (blocked ports, incorrectly installed replacement bearing, installed bearing may have spun). 3. It certainly would not hurt to add a water source forward of the bearing. This type of bearing (cutlass) operates based on the shaft hydroplaning on the rubber.
Respectfully,
Jason Wharton"
Sooooo, based on Mr Warton's advice, I'm going to drill and tap the stern tube just forward of the Cutless and install a water feed, with a flex line to the engine raw water system. Then I KNOW the bearing will get lubrication.
Also, next time I haul the boat I'm going to reverse the stern tube bolts and put the nuts on the outside so it is easier to remove the part for maintenance.