markvictor wrote:
Daniel,
I think I know what you're talking about, but let's see...The seals,are
they outboard of the ball bearing?(towards the water) In that
configuration,they often run two seals facing in opposite directions,
they call this a back to back configuration-one seal retains grease,
the other repels water, This system still allows a small amount of
water past the lip seal or it would burn up...the key here is to keep
the grease topped off,to prevent excessive water fromthe bearing,the
shaft really doesn't need to be checked unless you start to get water
past your bearing which would indicate serios wear on the seals...A
good MARINE grease such as lubriplate or equiv.is essential...It is
usually a pale bluish green and has excellent water resistant
qualities..You'll see how hard it is when you try to wash it from your
hands,even with soap and water..Assuming you have a zerk fitting,one or
two quick squirts from a grease gun every say, 5 or 6 hours of running
time should be plenty...and remember that the intermediate bearing and
thrust plate needs to be properly aligned with the propshaft to prevent
the seals from premature failure...one thibg I'm not clear on is how
your shaft was damaged...let me know so I can get a better take on what
your original problem was all about...Also what model/make is your
boat?
Regards,
markvictor


Mark,
yes I sort of remember the back-to-back seal configuration and yes, the
seals were on the outer part of the assembly (towards the water). The
damage consisted in wear where the lip-seals touched the shaft: very
smooth annular groves matching exactly the seal position. Your
suggestion of the kind of grease is very helpful and I will follow it.
For a while I thought I had to use a liquid grease and let it flow; you
know like a small container full of oil connected through a small hose
and placed one foot above the system. But it "drank" a lot of oil and
soon I disconnected the whole selfmade assembly and used thick lubricant
again.
Regarding the boat model/make, I am afraid it may be of little help as
you will realize: the boat model is called "Orca", a 43' sloop designed
by the US architect Dick Carter but completely built in Italy in 1973.
The outstanding thing is that such a device is very unusual in sailboats
of this kind and I have not found anybody familiar with it. I would
like very much to find a mechanical drawing, specs and instructions but
this seems an almost impossible deed.

Anyway, thank you very much for your help, I appreciate very much your
kindness.

Daniele

Hey Daniele...or is it Daniel?...
no matter...I've seen similar set-ups on Hallberg-Rasseys, including
the lube resevoirs( on the rudder as well)...but I too have found them
to ocassionally be problematic, and even the smallest flaw causes
leaks...The fact that the grooves were caused by the seal bodies
suggest that there may have been an alignment problem which caused the
failure...so I would check or have it checked at your earliest
convenience to prevent recurrance...One thing I might suggest if you
have the room, next time you have it apart you can double up the "water
out seal", if not ,check with a seal distributor, they have "double
lip"seals available which effectively doubles the seals
abilities...I.ll keep an eye out for some kind of drawing or print...if
you go to my group (link below) you can e-mail me and I'll get in touch
if I can find anything.....
Regards,
markvictor

http://groups.google.com/group/badboatbiz

I don't know if you have this info already, but perhaps it's a start..

Boats Outfitted L.o.a. Designer
m

Galatea, Mariver (4) 12.00 Sparkman & Stephens
Optimist, Sailboats (4) 10.20 D. Carter
Orca, Sailboats 12.00 D. Carter
Vanessa 10.20 Van De Stadt
Quasar 14.50 C. Sciarelli
Pilussa 14.50 Sparkman & Stephens
Sajano 16.00 M. Roberti
Motorsailer, Franchini 14.00 R. Starkel
Cayman 17.20 G. Frers

Cantiere Nautico Morri & Para
Via San Martino Riparotta 12
47049 Viserba di Rimini RN, Italy
Fax: +39-0541-740593 · Tel: +39-0541-740593


Perhaps they can provide you with some documentation or steer you in
the right direction....
Regards,
markvictor
http://groups.google.com/group/badboatbiz?hl=en

markvictor wrote:
I don't know if you have this info already, but perhaps it's a start..

Boats Outfitted L.o.a. Designer
m

Galatea, Mariver (4) 12.00 Sparkman & Stephens
Optimist, Sailboats (4) 10.20 D. Carter
Orca, Sailboats 12.00 D. Carter
Vanessa 10.20 Van De Stadt
Quasar 14.50 C. Sciarelli
Pilussa 14.50 Sparkman & Stephens
Sajano 16.00 M. Roberti
Motorsailer, Franchini 14.00 R. Starkel
Cayman 17.20 G. Frers

Cantiere Nautico Morri & Para
Via San Martino Riparotta 12
47049 Viserba di Rimini RN, Italy
Fax: +39-0541-740593 · Tel: +39-0541-740593


Perhaps they can provide you with some documentation or steer you in
the right direction....
Regards,
markvictor
http://groups.google.com/group/badboatbiz?hl=en


This info is quite interesting and did not have it. There is an error
because Orca is indeed 13.24 m long but the outstanding thing is that
"Sailboat" addition. The first two or three Orca's were built by
Sailboats Co. under the direct supervision of Dick Carter and with very
high standards; mine is one of them. Afterwards the mold (or template?
I am not sure which is the right word) was sold to another builder who
started a series production with much lower standards and few
unfortunate and aestethically opinable corrections to the molds so that
Dick Carter himself never endorsed them. In fact the Sailboats
headquarters used to be very close to this Cantiere Nautico Morri &
Para; I will get in touch with them.

Thanks again
Daniel

Daniel,
I had some inclination to that effect, the section heading said "boats
outfitted" as opposed to their other header which said "boats built" My
guess would be that Sailbaots did yhe hull layup, and Morri and Para
did the equippage and rigging(?)...... But If I have any understanding
of the Italian craftsmen, I'll bet someone at Morri and Para will be
able to help you out...Here's a link to their webpage as well...


http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=re...sMXHWHZNrT7tcA
http://groups.google.com/group/badboatbiz

Regards,
markvictor