Speedometer "Paddle Wheel" stuck

[CABixler]

General Question to the group: Season is running down here in Chicago. Lake Michigan has zebra mussels that like to attach wherever it is not bottom painted. Including the little paddle wheel spinner in the bow of my B331. Happened all of the time on my Catalina 30 also. If you sail often it stays clear but if you skip a weekend it my hang up.

In the past I have always been happy to jump in the water on the mooring and clear as I like to snorkle around the boat. Lake Michigan has gotten pretty clear in the past years. This late in the season I am not as quick to swim.

Beneteau has a nice arrangement with the molded frame around the the speedo and the depth to capture the water as it gushes in the 2" hole you open up before you insert the dummy plug.

I may be a wimp but I just get a little excited whenever I have done this in years past on my Catalina.

Question:
1. Is it pretty common on the costal areas where there are more ciritters to do this procedure inside the boat?
2. How does one drain the 1-2 gallon molded container around the instruments (in the Vee berth)??
3. Any tips other then having the dummy plug ready?

I am tempted just to take the dip in the lake today and avoid the stress....but am curious to what others have done. I will be pulled out of the water in a few weeks and could also go without but I love checking apparent versus true wind which uses the boat speed. But not a big deal but I like my toys to work.

Thanks....
Craig

 

[cymeyer]

Hi Craig,

Hope you had a great summer!

Question:
1. Is it pretty common on the costal areas where there are more ciritters to do this procedure inside the boat? We get this here too on Lake St Clair although this year not as much. I tried spray silicone on the paddle wheel and damaged the sensor and had to replace it (so don't try that).
2. How does one drain the 1-2 gallon molded container around the instruments (in the Vee berth)?? Not sure what this is....? I have two extractors from West Marine: one for oil changes and one for water only. When I get water accumulated like I think you mention or for getting last couple of quarts out of the water tank in the Fall, I use the extractor.
3. Any tips other then having the dummy plug ready? I wish I knew of one.... I hold my breath each time. I just get the dummy plug ready and if you don't get too nervous, not much water comes out.

Good luck!

Chris

 

[DougM]

It's a quick motion to exchange the paddlewheel for the dummy plug. Mine is attached by a ring to the paddlewheel cable. I simply keep the dummy plug ready in one hand oriented to the hole, and as I unscrew the paddlewheel, I quickly insert the plug.

To collect any incoming water, I keep a towel in the area surrounding the plug. There should also be a rubber flap in the opening that at least partly slow the inflow of water.

It's a lot less nerve wracking after you have done it a few times.

I have had to do this a few times this year as it seems the zebra mussels in Lake Michigan have been a little more prolific.

I have managed to unstick the paddlewheel on some occasions simply by tapping the top of the unit with a rubber mallet, or finding a particularly large wave or wake to bounce the boat.

 

[Ron20324]

In this mid-Chesaeake Bay area, if I leave the paddlewheel in for two weeks at the home slip, it will be clogged with critters. So, I pull it when I know i'll not be sailing for a while. There is less than one quart of water intrusion when i swap the plugs. On the B323, there is no "sump" like you have to corral the water. I just use a thick towel, then hoist it quickly and throw it out the overhead hatch onto the deck. Really, it's not a bad doing, thouigh I wonder if you built-in sump will slow you swapping them out?

 

[Philip_Oceanis 361]

I have managed to unstick the paddlewheel on some occasions simply by tapping the top of the unit with a rubber mallet, or finding a particularly large wave or wake to bounce the boat.

Or by reversing hard.

 

[CABixler]

Thanks to all for the helpful feedback. (Chris: I am enjoying the summer...thanks )
Anyway....I did the chore yeaterday and it was very easy. I would not hesitate again and I feel I was over-thinking again. It was clogged with Zebra Mussels and for the first time I saw them alive. Little tiny guys smaller then a grain of ice.
I have a big sponge I use to drain out the fridge and that cleaned up the little water I got in the boat.

Regards,
Craig

I did notice the that the dummy plugs had a couple of O-Rings that may have been missing and in the bottom of the tray molded around the sensors it was still bone dry. I will bring the dummy plugs into the hardware store to get and some extra sets of spare O-Rings and do a complete change out.

 

[cymeyer]

Great, Craig!

I always still hold my breath every time I do it and have done a dozen or so times.
I always wondered if it is better to do under sail since maybe the water will 'flow by the hole' and not come in. There is, however, a flap in there so it really doesn't matter. I also didn't want to be the first to sink our Bene on lake st clair by cleaning zebra mussels!

Chris

 

[JonnyQuest]

Great, Craig! I always still hold my breath every time I do it and have done a dozen or so times. I always wondered if it is better to do under sail since maybe the water will 'flow by the hole' and not come in. There is, however, a flap in there so it really doesn't matter. I also didn't want to be the first to sink our Bene on lake st clair by cleaning zebra mussels! Chris

I haven't done that but I do recall a recent(?) thread describing increased head pressure on the hole when swapping under sail -- resulted in more water coming in for the posters in that thread.

 

[SoSound]

A little humor will get you through anything

Our First 285 is our first boat. We were always absolutely terrified to remove the speed transducer because we were afraid that we'd sink the boat. So, last summer we attended the NW Beneteau Rendezvous where we met a tremendous number of very knowledgable and experienced sailors. At one point we were discussing our nonfunctional speed instrument and whining about being afraid to clean things up while in the water, when one of the other owners volunteered to show us how easy it was, using his own boat for the demo, right then and there. Initially we said we'd take his word for it and we'd tackle the task when we got home, but he insisted... So, while his wife worked in the galley to finish preparing something for a group dinner, he proceeded to remove a floorboard and the speed transducer, taking extra time to wave his arms around in the air and scream "Oh, no! We're sinking!" as the water gushed up through the hole in the bottom of the boat. He intentionally left it unplugged as he showed us how the wheel spun freely. Then casually reinserted the transducer and sopped up the water with a sponge. His wife grinning and shaking her head at his gyrations the entire time.

When we got back to Olympia and finally tackled our own unit, we felt a little silly for having been so stressed out about it in the first place. We get probably less than a quart of water, and cleaned it up with a sponge and a small bucket. Start to finish it only took us a couple of minutes.