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| Fleetwing is airborne! |
According to the diver we had at Hinckley, the prop shaft wobbled in the cutlass bearing. Therefore, it had to be replaced. So we scheduled a haulout for the purpose of replacing the hard rubber cutlass bearing. I had a replacement from Beneteau so we headed over this morning to the well. The crew at Westland was very efficient and careful with Fleetwing. Their travel lift is much bigger than the one at our club in New York so I didn't have to remove anything off the boat (bimini, dodger, backstay, etc.)
Once it was out of the water, the mechanic looked at the prop and tried to move the shaft from side to side, it didn't bulge, it was tight. The cutlass bearing did not have to be replaced. The diver at Hinckley was wrong. He must have confused the slop in the three blades of the folding prop with a loose shaft in the cutlass bearing.
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| No problems here, tight cutlass bearing and the prop is fine |
We still have the rattling sound to resolve when underway so I enlisted the mechanic to ride with me in Fleetwing for a trial run in the bay. We all hopped aboard and motored out as I gradually increased rpm's. Of course, everything was cool and the rattling sound did not appear at first. Eventually it did start up with the mechanic down in the engine compartment. After about 10 minutes the verdict was in: the gearbox was slipping under load. You had to be familiar with that sound to know what it was, this is why you need a mechanic. There are lots of sounds in the engine compartment. I now need a new gearbox. There is a possibility of reworking the gearbox with a kit but even the kit cost $1200 and that doesn't include labor and the possibility of more parts needed once everything is opened up.
Given all that and our requirement of being in Key West by the end of January, we decided to buy a new gearbox, they are not cheap! There were none in the US and the dealer had to order one from Denmark! It's supposed to arrive in three days which I hope happens but it would be a miracle if it does based on past experience.
So we are not feeling quite so flush but the boat is 12 years old and has 4400 hours on the engine so things wear out. If all goes according to plan (ha!) we'll have Fleetwing fully operational by Wednesday night. Then we'll leave for New York Thursday morning with the knowledge that Fleetwing is ready for the rest of the trip to Key West.
2 comments:
Bob'n Ann
Wow, you certainly seem to have your woes while traveling to/from Florida. It seems like every trip calls for a major expense! Hopefully Volvo will deliver the correct transmission (considering your less than wonderful prior experience with their supply chain!) and that you get the boat back together without undue delay/brain damage! (I wonder if getting the dinghy painter wrapped in the prop might have caused the damage to the transmission?)
N'any case, we're sorry to hear of your misfortune and do hope you have better times ahead.
Sincerely,
/s/ Scott'n Kitt
s/v HyLyte
Scott'n Kitt, as they say, "It's a boat" Ann brought up the possible connection between the line wrap and the transmission failure. I'll call my insurance toi see if it's covered.
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