I've got a leak in the shaft tube of my S2 11 meter sloop. Water leaks from the shaft tube aft of the stuffing box, but only when the boat is moving and the engine is running at high rpm, maybe > 2000 rpm. It doesn't leak if the engine isn't running, and it doesn't leak if the engine is in gear at high rpm while restrained by dock lines in the slip. It has to be moving. I'm worried that there is a crack in the shaft tube right as it exits the hull, but it's under the house battery shelf and hard to see. I'm going to move the batteries, disassemble the battery shelf, and get a better look. Has anyone else had this problem?
shaft tube
- Thread starter Tom Fisher
- Start date
I don't think that it's the stuffing box that is doing the big leaking. The water seems to be coming from the shaft tube aft of the stuffing box. I get a drop per 5-10 seconds from the stuffing box when the engine isn't running, and a its a little faster from the forward end of the stuffing box when the engine is running over 2000 rpm (becomes a light spray from the spinning shaft). However, there is a lot of water pooling under the battery shelf right where the shaft tube emerges from the hull, but only when the engine is running at >2000 rpm and the boat is moving. The water accumulates under the battery shelf and then runs down under the engine in a big stream, making my bilge pump run a lot when we are motoring.
I'll try to get one, but the shaft tube is under the battery shelf. I may have to take the batteries out and remove the shelf to really see it. Stay tuned.