Battling Barnacles on the Running Gear

[Vincentc]

I hauled out 2 months ago to address the port shaft which was much harder to turn than the stbd shaft.
Before the haul out, one person who studied my problem said the motor mounts were bad and should be replaced. A second opinion concluded the shaft was bent.
The only thing I was convinced of was that something was wrong and I would have trouble enjoying our boat until the problem was identified and fixed.
We pulled the shaft, took it to a machine shop and removed the cutlass bearings. The machinist said the shaft was true, but did some work on the coupling face. Concerned that the problem was engine mounts or strut alignment, I purchased a laser bore sight, made some disc inserts and tried to check things out.
My machinist friend had doubts about my laser set up, advising my tolerances weren't close enough. He made some sleeves to insert in the struts and we put the shaft back through the sleeves/struts and the shaft came up to the gear coupling just fine and turned freely.
When the old cutlass bearings were installed it became apparent that they had been set in epoxy. Sure enough, the new cutlass bearings fit loosely in the struts and I used filled epoxy to secure them in the struts.
In for a dime ...
With the tight shaft worry hopefully resolved, I thought about my dripless shaft seals boots which had not been replaced since I bought the boat 11 years ago. I ordered maintenance kits, and in the process of installing them decided that the in hull sea strainers were now redundant and in the way and removed them.
Removing the stbd shaft coupling provided a new adventure, removing the cotter pin thru the coupling hole which didn't , quite match up with the hole.
With everything back together, I was faced with the decision of how to best address the barnacle problem we have in warm brackish water.
I last tried "Prop Glide", a little bit cheaper "Prop Speed" knock off. The product costs less, but the cost of surface prep is the same. In any case the barnacles were back with a vengeance in about 3 months.
I sent the props off for balancing and increased pitch from 23 to 24". They came back looking brand new. Reluctant to let such clean surfaces be molested by barnacles, I applied Pettit Barnacle Barrier. I know, Rustoleum is cheaper, but after my Prop-Speed knock off experience. ..
I did use Rustoleum Zinc on the shafts. I used a 4 1/2" grinder with a rust remover abrasive disc
and then wiped the metal down with acetone. I then applied a tie-coat primer and two coats of Pettit Trinidad to the struts.

Hope to splash in a few days. Hopefully around April or May when the water is warn enough to go overboard and have a look, we will see if I made any headway against the barnacles.

I don't know why the last to photos are sideways,

Vincent

 

[Pascal]

I ve never put anything on the wheels. $2 a foot to the diver every month takes care of it. That’s what everybody does down here. We operate in shallow water quite a bit and prop speed simply gets sandblasted away in no time.

 

[jim rosenthal]

Last year, since I had fitted new props, I applied several coats of Barnacle Barrier to them. Basically one entire can per prop. This seems to have worked well, as it was thicker.

 

[Vincentc]

Hiring a diver to clean the running gear is probably the most sensible solution; however, if I was guided only by good sense, I would not own a large pleasure boat.
I enjoy working on the boat and trying to solve problems.
The old sailor's proverb, "He that would go to sea for pleasure, would go to hell for a pastime." comes to mind.
I also enjoy and appreciate everyone's good and helpful comments on this site. There is no internet forum that does it better.
Thanks
Vincent

 

[racclarkson@gmail.com]

Well if you figure it out, let me know. I’ll patent it and sell it back to you. I don’t think anything other than a diver works in our warm and very tidal (= sandblasted) waters. It’s already been tried.

 

[oscarvan]

I ve never put anything on the wheels. $2 a foot to the diver every month takes care of it.

That's my MO, except I'm the diver. Brownie third lung. Pays for itself in a year. Think of it as mowing the lawn. Ok, I don't mow my lawn. Dude does that. Lol.