After five years, my 9.2A is out of the water. Now what?

[bugbitten]

This is a bit like when I went from renting houses for several years to finally having my own home again; I've got so much pent up DIY energy that I'm having a great time. I do run the risk to having too many projects going at once and tripping over myself and tools as I switch from one to the other, but that's sort of how I tend to operate. I hope to have most of the indoor work done by the end of this month, then I'll shift focus to the exterior stuff. If you hadn't moved further away, I'd try to lure you up to lend a hand!

John

 

[Mark Maulden]

What Woody says! If you get frustrated go have a beer and leave it for a day. The plan helps you from getting overwhelmed..you will undoubtly have little projects that spider web out from your planned ones just due to Murphy etc.....

 

[bugbitten]

So far, so good. I'm putting in a couple-to-three hours each morning, then I go do something else. Yesterday was short, and all I did was cut away the stuffing box hose and fiddle with the water heater a bit. So far, I haven't been able to separate the prop's coupling flange from the transmissions by more than maybe half an inch. I did clean some of the old barnacle residue off the exposed length of prop shaft, so at least there should be a bit less resistance to sliding through the cutless bearing. I'll bring a spray bottle next time I'm there to do a bit of water lubing to that bearing while trying to move the shaft. I've also got a sliding hammer axle puller I'll throw at it.

I did get the parts for the new, larger sea cock and thru hull for the galley sink drain ordered. I suppose I should keep that at just below the waterline, although it would seem like it would drain better and stay clearer if it were just above it.

It did dawn on me - in time for once - that I should postpone the striking of the mast until I'm done installing the new motor mounts. Having the boom in place will make lifting the engine considerably simpler!

No boat work on weekends as I'm busy entertaining the Admiral, so you'll get a 48-hour little break from my whining. So I'll leave you with a little, nearly-totally-unrelated story.

I've ordered car audio stuff from Crutchfield pretty much since they came into existence. Not long after they shifted to mostly online sales, I was filling out my updated account information. They had a field on the form which asked, "How would you like to be addressed?" I thought a moment, and typed in "His Royal Hineyness." Well, all my catalogs now come that way - no other name - and, best of all, when I call them to ask for help and give them my account number, there's this long, crickets-chirping pause while the poor support person tries to figure out how to start the conversation. I tell them "Sir" would be fine.

And they did just send me an email for boat stereos. Unfortunately, as near as I can tell, none will fill the four-inch holes left by those old Standard Horizon gauges.

HRH

 

[woodster]

I did get the parts for the new, larger sea cock and thru hull for the galley sink drain ordered. I suppose I should keep that at just below the waterline, although it would seem like it would drain better and stay clearer if it were just above it.

it will drain just fine in the original position assuming yours is below the galley sink next to the keel or there abouts

 

[bugbitten]

The current drain for the galley sink is just below the waterline, not down near the keel. The hose goes through the rear of the cabinet, along the bulkhead, and to a seacock accessible in the large cockpit compartment on the starboard side. There are two seacocks there - the other being for the original bilge pump, which is rather perversely mounted underneath that compartment. I gave up on that pump and have the current ones exiting out through the transom.

 

[woodster]

in about that location i have the sea water pick up for the engine and the sea water pick up for the air conditioner and my galley sink drain is in the cabinet below the sink in the back are you going to up grade those valves in the pick ...they look like 1/2 inch

 

[CloudDiver]

FYI... for stereo equipment, I see a great potential for people to start moving away from installed stereo speakers and just use bluetooth portable speakers. Why mess with expensive set-ups that involve a bunch of wiring and have huge holes to cut for speakers and head units? Not to mention the amp draw on your house bank and well as interference from speaker magnets on your compass and electrical equipment.
The new JBL units will 'link up', I think they call it 'hook up'... Anyway, everybody is keeping music on their phones these days, and you can even get FM stations with an Ap, Internet or Web Radio, plus streaming music service on your phone... Why not go with a couple or three portable, waterproof, bluetooth speakers that can charge from a 12V socket?
BTW, you have a ton of work and money to spend on the critical needs of your boat; the bluetooth speakers are any easy thing to put on an Amazon wish-list and let friends & family buy you the stuff for birthday or holiday gifts without the sticker shock of 'Marine' products. Sneaky...

 

[bugbitten]

in about that location i have the sea water pick up for the engine and the sea water pick up for the air conditioner and my galley sink drain is in the cabinet below the sink in the back are you going to up grade those valves in the pick ...they look like 1/2 inch

My HVAC seacock is under the starboard settee, just ahead of the galley. It wasn't used for anything up to that point. That one's 3/4 inch. My sea water pick up is in the engine compartment, a bit aft and to port of the transmission. I wouldn't mind moving it as there's no sea strainer on it (I have a nice Groco unit on the parts pyramid for that purpose) and it's a tough spot to fit one. Moving it to where the original bilge pump exited would make it a lot easier to install and service the strainer, so I may well do that. I have a bronze seacock and thru-hull coming for the new galley drain. The 1 1/4" version came with a barb for a 1 1/2" hose, which is what I'm using, so I ordered that. Having it drain down toward the keel rather than over toward the waterline would sure make it work better, I should think. I think both those in the pics are, as you say, 1/2", which is why the old bilge pump and the galley sink drain didn't work for crap.

John

 

[bugbitten]

The engine mounts arrived. They're identical to what's in there, so so much for my surveyor saying mine weren't Yanmar. The old ones look ancient, so it won't hurt (much!) to put in the new ones. At least it'll be pretty easy, since it's a direct swap. Nothing much else to report. I did clear out the cabinet under the galley sink and found a good spot for the new thru-hull and seacock (both of which are now on hand) for the galley sink drain. Ordered some sealant. Got the longer bolts to try to push the prop shaft's flange off. Will work on that tomorrow (I'm about to head to a three-hour seminar on end of life advance directives - death, where is thy sting?). I dug through all my back issues of Good Old Boat (I must've put a hundred pounds of less-worthy sailing mags in recycling in the process), and finally located their article on the 9.2A's rudder bearing. I'll attach scans of that here, but may also post is separately, so it'll be easier to find (in case it hasn't already been posted.) Although I'm not anticipating major work on mine, it was a big help in my understanding how it all goes together.

John

 

[woodster]

that's a tough place to have to work John....i just pulled the lag bolts out and made sure the wood that's imbedded in there was sound ....cleaned all the old sealant off the bronze tube and resealed it with new sealant ...i think i used 5200.....i also checked to make sure the bronze was in good shape and not pink in color by bead blasting it ...then reinstalled it and put new teflon flax packing and so far its been fine ....oh i did make a new top stabilizer out of channel iron and welded new stops on it and coated it with cold galvanize and reinstalled it ...also made a new nylon bushing to go in the stableizer

 

[bugbitten]

Here's my (slowing to sorta weekly) update.

Friend Teddy and I got the old engine mounts out and the new ones in. I'll attach a shot of the current alignment, which, as has been pointed out, will change when the boat is in the water. So far, though, so good. The shaft comes out of the log toward the bottom - rather than centered - but I doubt I'll want to re-engineer that. The old mounts look fine, so I may clean them up and put them on the classifieds, with a full explanation of their condition. I replaced them primarily because they're of unknown age, and because my otherwise seemingly sage surveyor said they weren't Yanmar.

Got the remaining bits of the old exhaust out and the original exhaust port capped. Teddy (who's a lot smaller than I and thus got stuffed into the aft section) thought the 1 1/2" cap fit pretty loosely and said the ID of the exhaust port was not much more than an inch. If that's the case, my upgrade to a full 2" system can't hurt!

I got the thru-hull and seacock for the new galley sink drain in. I'll have to measure the ID of the old drain. I don't think it was more than 3/4" and probably more like 1/2. The new drain is 1 1/2 pretty much straight down, rather than taking the serpentine course to the old starboard seacock. I figure that when we hit eight knots, I'd better make sure the seacock is closed or anything not nailed down will be sucked right out of the cabin, like in an airliner with a hole in its fuselage.

Finally got the sails down and stowed, so I can start labeling the rigging. My yard has to hire a crane to yank the mast, so I'll wait on that until they have at least a couple of us to spread the cost over. Haven't decided what to do about refinishing the spars yet.

I have to check my new, folding prop, but I think maybe they shipped one for a straight shaft and mine is tapered. One more reason just to cut it back of the flange and replace the whole assembly. I'll probably replace the standard stuffing box with a PSS dripless unit.

The nut on the rudder's stuffing box still refuses to budge. I may order the specific wrench(es) as the adjustable slip nut wrenches I got at Lowes just don't fit tightly enough, and don't really offer much leverage. I think it takes the one with a 2 9/16 inch jaws. Once I have the rudder's stuffing box repacked, I'll finish the exhaust, and return the water heater and its connections to their proper spots.

John

 

[woodster]

better check and see if you have enough room for the pss seal ...i know i do not ...as far as the rudder stuffing box goes ...borrow a wrench and return it as good as you found it ,you won't need it that often as to own one

 

[bugbitten]

Thanks, Woody. I'll check the PSS unit's dimensions and double-check those against the boat. Was it the length or the overall diameter that was problematic?

I'll see if I can get a loaner for the rudder wrench.

John

 

[bugbitten]

Finally got the prop shaft out. I used an angle grinder and cut it just aft of the coupling flange. I had to pound and pound on the prop to get the shaft to budge. It probably took about an hour to get it out of the hull. Once it was free of that, it slid out through the strut without much resistance. The shaft was not centered between the strut and the shaft log, entering the log high, up against the underside of the hull, and exiting low, against the lip of the log (so, to be centered in the log, the prop end of the shaft would need to be lower than where it's being held in the strut). There was enough tension on it that it was difficult to rotate as well as extract (when the boat first came out of the water, the prop/shaft was much easier to rotate, which may just have been due to water still being in the stuffing box). I'd be worried about there being a major alignment issue, except for the fact that there seemed to be no unusual wear on the fiberglass log. Had there been much on-going misalignment, I should think there would be considerable wear from the friction.

So, this leaves me hoping that it's tweaked due to being on stands. Unfortunately, that won't help much when it comes to getting the new shaft back in place without a ton of pounding and even more swearing. Seems like most of the weight is being born by the keel, so maybe the alignment issue isn't due to being on the hard. I'll attach a couple of shots that I'm hoping will clarify where it's entering and exiting off axis.

John

 

[bugbitten]

Had the yard owner and a top mechanic look at my alignment situation. They took one look at the wear patterns on the cutless bearing and knew there was an issue. The mech says the strut has to come out, so he can align it properly to the shaft log. We decided the bolts for the strut come through the hull under the fuel tank, and that I should empty it, loosen the straps and remove some fittings, and slide it forward to gain access. Does that sound right? I might as well have the tank cleaned and inspected while I'm at it. It's the original aluminum one. No leaks thus far.

Good thing I got in a lot of sailing over the winter!

John

 

[Mark Maulden]

Look and see if there is a mfgr placard on the tank. If so, and you decide to replace it, the company is still in business under a different name. You can order by p/n. Least it was that way for me.

 

[bugbitten]

Thanks, Mark. It'd probably be foolish not to replace it while I'm moving it, although the "might as well" list is getting mighty long! I might follow BobM's lead in going to a slightly smaller, polypropylene tank.

 

[Mark Maulden]

Then you have to redesign the tank setting, strapping etc, etc...oh and be sure whatever you get fits throught the companion way hatch. I was fortunate that all three tanks did...

 

[bugbitten]

You big boat boys are always bragging about the size of your companionways! Actually, if the old tank can come out without cutting it up, I may see what folks think about coating its interior. I put some Eastwood tank coating inside the gas tank of my old 280SL about 25 years ago and it's still holding up.

 

[woodster]

I'd be worried about there being a major alignment issue, except for the fact that there seemed to be no unusual wear on the fiberglass log. Had there been much on-going misalignment, I should think there would be considerable wear from the friction

look in your stuffing box and see if it is worn or oblong in the hole that will tell you volumes.....i had to reset my stern tube when i put the 2gm20f in in order to get the proper angle on the engine

The mech says the strut has to come out, so he can align it properly to the shaft log

i had to get a new strut due to the one i had was shot because if not being protected from electrolysis...the company that made it is algonac and they made the original and still have the pattern but will not sell direct you have to have a marine dealer purchase it for you ...try to get your yard to do that for a 10% markup handling fee it will come with a new cutlass bearing install

I might follow BobM's lead in going to a slightly smaller, polypropylene tank.

moller makes a plastic tank that is almost the exact same size but you may have to have them install a fuel return fitting boss in it

Actually, if the old tank can come out without cutting it up, I may see what folks think about coating its interior.

i cut my engine room access hole bigger in the quarter berth in order to remove the tank

Had the yard owner and a top mechanic look at my alignment situation. They took one look at the wear patterns on the cutless bearing and knew there was an issue. The mech says the strut has to come out, so he can align it properly to the shaft log. We decided the bolts for the strut come through the hull under the fuel tank, and that I should empty it, loosen the straps and remove some fittings, and slide it forward to gain access. Does that sound right? I might as well have the tank cleaned and inspected while I'm at it. It's the original aluminum one. No leaks thus far.

Good thing I got in a lot of sailing over the winter!

John

that is correct ...the thank mfg is now in colorado or some place like that ..inspect that tank inside and out you may have open up pandora'stube box by moving it ...but that's ok if you did because ...if you did it was about time any way