And things were going so well.....:cussing:... Noticed this trip that my bilge pump was kicking on every 6 minutes or so. I just installed a smaller secondary bilge pump with a siphon break as an addition to my large pump which has been cycling due to remaining water in 1 1/8 in. discharge hose draining back into bilge. Turns out I have a baby fountain welling up far, far back in the bilge. Had Wayne, local boat mech, take a look at it and here was his diagnosis; he says that my shaft log has (had) a stainless steel liner incorporated into it originally. Apparently this liner has, after 49 years, given up the ghost and water is entering along the propeller end of my shaft and steadily trickeling into my bilge. It's a small but steady 1/8 in. fountain right on top of shaft log, through a small protrusion that looks as if could have been a grease nipple at one time. Now waiting for Brunswick Landing Marina to open so I can see about scheduling a haul out . Wayne says he has fixed these before and the fix involves hauling out, cutting out the old shaft log, machining a piece of stainless pipe to proper thickness (thinness actually), installing this new liner, reglassing it into hull, then injecting epoxy from outside holes until tube is completely filled making it a solid epoxy shaft log that is good for another 50 yrs or so. I am sure I missed part of the procedure but that's it best I remember as I was dratting my luck at the time:cry:. But, as he said, better to find it now than when in Bahamas, or worse, not finding it and the situation getting much worse while underway somewhere.
Anyone repaired a problem of this nature? Thanks for your input!
Anyone repaired a problem of this nature? Thanks for your input!
