Here is something that might help if your shaft nipple breaks off when the boat is in the water! I just tapped mine and it broke off (see picture) and water spurts in, not a lot but about a pencil diameter and about as high. I had one of those orange foam plugs that I jammed in and that stopped the water for a couple of days while I attended to my other projects. I did not want to put another brass nipple in so I bought a couple of ss nipples 1/8" NPT threads with 3/8" hose barb on the other end from stainlesssteelfittings.com (see picture 2). Then I bought some of the West Marine Epoxy Putty Stick and decided to tackle this project knowing I could drive the boat over to the Marina with a Travel Lift and for $300 they would short-haul me out for a couple of hours.
So I decided to drill out the shaft log with a drill bit a little smaller than the 1/8" NPT threads on the nipple which are really about 3/8" inch in diameter. I used a 23/64" drill bit, not really too much water coming at me, and I did not have to worry about any chips staying in the hole! Just be careful and drill slowly since the shaft tube is pretty thin. I put the orange plug back in while I planned the next step. So take a short length of hose and just barely put it on the nipple (no hose clamp need, you just want to be able to gently pull it off when you are done, I used a little bit of grease). Next, I took a 3/8" clevis pin and a small hose clamp to close off the other end of the tubing so it would not leak seawater. I then used some 100 grit gray emery cloth sandpaper and roughed up the shaft log near the hole so the epoxy would bond better. Now you can "dry fit" your new nipple by removing the foam plug and push down slightly on the nipple so you can cut some threads into the shaft log, I used a little open-end wrench and gave it about 2 1/2 turns and most all the water stopped coming in! Next, I mixed up about a 3/4" square amount of the Epoxy putty (keep your hands wet while working with this) by kneading it in my hands. Now you just make a "snake" about 4-5" long and slowly wrap it around your nipple. It does not stick well at first but after about 2 minutes (keep your hands moist) it starts gripping the nipple and the shaft log. Keep pushing and kneading the putty for a couple more minutes and you should be able to make a nice little fillet (see picture). After an hour or so very carefully take off your short piece of hose and attach your longer piece of hose. I did not install
View attachment 174567View attachment 174568View attachment 174569View attachment 174570View attachment 174571 the hose clamps until the following day since my tubing was pretty tight on the nipple and no leaking. Needless to say, I am a believer in West Marine's Epoxy Putty Stick!
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