"Rosalie B." wrote in message
...
Jere Lull wrote:

On 2008-06-22 13:43:44 -0400, Rosalie B. said:

Bob thinks cutlass bearing deteriorating and letting the prop shaft
vibrate. It is about 9 years old.

Oh, just a youngster ;-) We got a new one 15 years ago and it's still
tight -- a check I do each spring just before I change the zincs.

I'm still leaning towards something on the prop. As I read your
account, it sounded like what I hear and feel when the prop cavitates
when we try to punch through waves and get stopped dead in our tracks,
but you didn't have appreciable wind or waves, and you're less at the
mercy of such with your heft.

Keep us up to date, as I'm curious what the cause is.

We pulled the boat yesterday and Bob said the cutlass bearing was
extremely loose and he is pretty sure that was the problem. He said
it was vibrating again on the way over to the haul slip, and there was
nothing on the prop except some barnacles..

He had put a vibration damper spacer in and he thinks he didn't get
the cutlass bearing far enough back to account for that.

However, someone has just emailed me and explained that they change
the cutlass bearing every time they haul the boat as a precaution.
(They only haul about every two years)


Thanks for the update but . . .

It makes me feel somewhat sad that two wonderful folks like you and your
husband have so many problems with your boat. But, I guess it's to be
expected when one opts for a so-called sailboat that is really a motor
boat/home with sails. I hope as you two get older you decide to downsize and
sell the motorboat with all its attendant problems and get yourselves into a
real sailboat.

I would recommend something in the 27-foot range for that is the perfect
size for two older folks who don't live aboard but still enjoy sailing. A
27-footer can be fitted with a nice, modern, 4-stroke, outboard engine on
the transom. It can be tilted out of the water when sailing so it causes no
drag. You can, consequently, actually enjoy sailing for the first time in a
long time.

Your entire past month's sailing reports have been marred and disrupted by
the mechanical problem of a worn cutlass bearing - or so it is thought. What
if that isn't it and the same noise appears again when you splash? Another
month of wondering if and when a noise will turn into a disaster? How can
anyone enjoy sailing with something like that hanging over their heads like
the sword of Damocles'?

And I can't help noticing how you two tend to sail on a somewhat fixed
schedule and seem comfortable with that. Sorry, but that's not sailing -
it's motor boating. You two fine folks really DO need to discover (or
possibly revisit) what pure sailing is all about. The only way to do that is
to have a boat that is a pure sailer. Any time an outboard motor is tilted
out of the water while you are under sail you are a pure sailor. That's
something to be proud of and to enjoy thoroughly knowing so few others these
days are able to accomplish the act of pure sailing. You will spend your
hours not worrying about mechanical breakdowns but enjoying the quiet, the
freedom from worry, the clean wind in your hair and the beauty of an almost
forgotten art - that of pure sailing.

Wishing you and yours the best and long life and sailing forever.

Wilbur Hubbard

On 2008-06-26 15:19:04 -0400, Rosalie B. said:

We pulled the boat yesterday and Bob said the cutlass bearing was
extremely loose and he is pretty sure that was the problem. He said it
was vibrating again on the way over to the haul slip, and there was
nothing on the prop except some barnacles..

If it feels loose, it is.

He had put a vibration damper spacer in and he thinks he didn't get the
cutlass bearing far enough back to account for that.

Hmmm. Sounds like there was an error in installation. Ah well, live and learn.

However, someone has just emailed me and explained that they change the
cutlass bearing every time they haul the boat as a precaution. (They
only haul about every two years)

I was given the impression that the old (70s) cutlass bearings lasted a
decade easily. The new ones are supposedly better. If they wear faster
than that, I'd look to other causes, misalignment first, bent shaft,
then prop balance. That doesn't seem to be your problem, though.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-à-Deux -- Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/