First trip since the shaft replace and new props

Well it was the first real trip... yeah I had taken it out for little trips but not for channel crossing which is what I need to do in order to know that everything is nice and dandy...
first stop Emerald and than onto Avalon...

still more yardwork

Well both of the props had to be replaced. They were not able to fix them and replacement had to be done in order to get everything just lined up and balanced perfectly. Boy, the new shaft went in just like butter... it will make a huge difference when the boat is in the water and running at higher speeds. Wilmington Iron Works has been doing this since 1920 so they should be doing something right. I really did not want to put my perfectly balanced shafts on a tweaked shaft. I tried very hard to save money by spending 6 hours labor to take one nut off the port shaft. Had I known that it can not be straightened I would have just cut the shaft, like I had to on the other side because of galling. Also the other side (starboard) is the side where the damage was visible.

first time out

Emerald Bay had to be the first spot we go to... left in the morning because did not want to do a night crossing while being first out with the rebuilt v's. The crossing actually was very rough for the morning, usually it is a lot more calm. Anyway I took it easy and everything seemed fine except for the air vents on the boxes. They were leaking oil out. After looking at them I decided that the routing was such that no oil could drip back to the case and that is why oil was spewing out of them. On the way back, again instead of rough conditions (because it is always rougher in the late afternoon) we had almost nothing as far as movement. About 10NM out we had the dolphins welcoming us back in the circulation. Everything was fine on the way back.

first time out since September

John came over and helped me with trying of the new units. Everything checks out but the starboard side is making a noise since the bottom gear is brand new and the top gear (input shaft) is 60 years old. The noise is rather like a whistle get very noticable at 1200RPM after that it is not bad at all. Nothing on the port side... boy every time I think of that I get the chills. Darlene did not want to rebuild the starboard side she wanted to only deal with the unit which was giving us the trouble. I am glad that i convinced her that we need to do both side. As it turns out the Starboard side was way worse than the Port side, also the side I am talking about did not even have the flexibility required, by replacing the AJAX coupling. After studying the Blue Prints sent by Huckins I am understanding, what and how things should function. We tried our best and the rest is not up to me but rather her. She was so happy to be out there just cruising along in Santa Monica Bay. I am shooting a video of the whole thing just in case you wanted to see it.

assembly

By looking at the blue prints flex couplings were needed to protect the v-drives form miss alignment while on way, the Pacific gets pretty rough so things must move and if nothing allows for that, than everything transfers to the case and to the gears. Very long hours and limited amount of space makes this a very trying installation. Of course the shafts also had to be shortened so the flex will fit. Alignment is crucial and we did the best we could 10 thousands were allowed for the flex and we were able to get it within 6. The port side is an other question. Tomorrow I'll know if the engine will have to be raised and shimmed. So I'll have to build a contraption of some kind... God knows how complicated that is going to be... day by the day but we are closer and closer...

2009 and the progress

Well everything had to be made by hand, nothing is available for these units... Yet we were lucky enough to be able to replace one of the shafts. There were 2 teeth missing from the lower output shaft. We have been using the boat this way since we bought it. I do not think I broke the teeth plus we could not find the pieces inside the case. Also it is quite noticeable on the starboard side that someone has changed the couplings since we still had the original ajax flexible on the port side... anyway ... everything will have to be aligned and get as close to perfect as possible... Thanks to God John has a great machine shop and everything had to be made over there in East LA. I never had so many things go so wrong while rebuilding these babies... I often think that they were not worth it but that is just me thinking since the parts alone cost close to 5 grand. Blah... blah... blah... we are still not done.

x-mas

The flexible couplings are here and I had put together the port side V-drive with a 3/64 (were sold as a 1/16), 1/32, and 2 1/64 handmade gaskets to get the 0.007 clearance between teeth. I had to take the drive apart and kept on measuring to get it just right. In the meantime the flexible couplings have arrived so the shaft will have to be taken out and dealt with. It will need a shortening. Looked up Steyr motors for retrofitting boats with new technology... must say it is a great design and could be used as a hybrid. Boy that is very interesting and hey it comes from Austria... how is that for being on the edge of things?

Port side

Here we go with the prep work... everything has to be made by hand. Gaskets in different thicknesses and this very funny looking rubber gasket for the oil cooler. We already bought the material which will be used to cast the gasket... we hope. Did I mention that Huckins have a brand new shaft for the Starboard side, lower shaft with 29 teeth. I was ready to put it together like it was with two of the teeth broken (we have been ridding it like that for 2 and a half years, since we owned her and God knows how long the previous owners have been ridding it like this) and was going to start looking for drives and shafts. It is a pain that these v-drives are obsolete, everyone who has seen them said that they are a piece of art. Finding someone who makes these shafts from scratch would be an other story all together.

V-drive and the rest of the story

Well I did remove the drive on the starboard side and boy am I happy that I did it. The coupling was giving me a hard time but was able to take it apart. I certainly did not want to cut it off like I had to, on the other side. Starboard side was not giving me any trouble at all but I felt something was wrong while turning the shaft. Well as it turns out two of the teeth are broken but not by us since I did not find any broken tooth at all in the case. It is very disturbing to me that we have to deal with this... have no idea how? Was told that the only person who could make this shaft is on the east coast. I am going to call the factory on Monday and want to talk to them about this.

upper shaft for V-drive

It has been welded and also had been grounded down to proper size. We will still have to make a tool so taking the drive in and out will be much easier and have to make all the gaskets etc. Still have not been able to locate the gasket for the oil cooler where it butts against the case. The one unit (actually a pair) we had located down by Newport Beach was cut up and sold for scraps by the yard whom obviously did not know what these puppies were. Too bad, have to keep an eye out for some other ones.

the love has just gotten more intense

3 and a half days(!!!) later we finally removed the unit (model M 48) and started taking it apart. Would have been nice if we had some literature on this whole operation because it is kind of tricky. Because of the space considerations we needed a special tool just to remove this baby and the tool I am thinking of has to be made so the installation is much better and more straight forward. My idea of removing the drives was completely different, must add I was just thinking of unbolting and taking things apart. So was John, well now we know.
Talked to Dick at Huckins and if we are lucky he might have the bearings and the gaskets etc. for the drive. Thank God the teeth are not broken or damaged, if they were we'd be in a whole lot of trouble and we can not afford that at this point. Also the the drive on the other side (starboard) also has to come out, I can already tell that it is a lot more roomier over there. The person who built the kitchen was not thinking of servicability at all because he framed 100% over the drives so things had to be cut and could not be removed. For example the water heater is right over where you need the space the most.

Washington DC and V-drive

So both of the v-drives need to be rebuilt but the one on the port side needs to be dealt with right
away. We are hoping that there is nothing wrong with the teeth and the only thing needs to be replaced are the bearings. Talked to the factory and Dick Rogers is again at the helm and helping me with whatever he can with. Blueprints etc. The factory stopped making these so it is very hard to come by with these and I have to tell them to look for one for us just to have as a spare. I also asked them what they do when they do a complete refurbish. Obviously they can not use the same system since the Huckins V-drive is obsolete so what they do is they replace the engines and install a tranny v-drive combo. I really want to see the factory and see what they do over there. Fascinating place and people. Just love the whole idea that they are still in business.