transmission/combi prop

[pat colligan]

Just purchased my 1973 Vega "Puffin" in Ramrod Key Florida Keys. It
now has a quiet berth in Marathon 45 miles north of Key West. Other
than delamination of much of the Veneer in the cabin, Puffin is in
decent shape. The former owner recently replaced the combi prop which
he purcased from the someone in the Albin club for 100.00 usd. His
name is Shawn Mcrae in the event the seller of this part reads this
posting. The problem Im having is that the combi prop will seemingly
go into reverse as the throttle is pushed forward in the midway
position if pushed to quickly or sometimes without any advancement at
all. With the throttle firewalled full forward it seems to operate
correctly with normal rpms and vessel will do about 3 or 4 kts.
Obviously there is some gearing issues and I suppose the only way to
fix this is haul the boat. Any suggestions would be greatly
appreciated. Also there appears to be some deterioration of the
forward hatch and the companionway hatch. Are these parts available?
Many thanks and blessings to you all.... Pat

 

[stevebirch2002]

Sounds like the combi is slipping inside (Locking rings). I reckon it
needs taking apart and put together again.

Full kit = £38

Cheers

Steve Birch (Technical)

 

[maarten_vanemmerik]

Pat,

There are no gears in the combi. The forward and reverse are controlled by changing the pitch of the propellor blades. If you move the lever on the combi a cylinder called 'control tube moves' inside the combi house. This control tube is fixed to the outer prop shaft via pressure rings and a 33mm nut. Apparently this nut has become loose so the control tube moves without enough grip on the shaft.

To fix you should remove the three allen bolts on the front of the combi. Inside you see the nut. The problem is that you can't tighten it with a normal spanner because it sits inside the combi house. So you need to remove the four bolts on the other side of the combi and slide the combi house aft. Then disconnect the propshaft from the engine by removing four allen bolts and slide the propshaft aft. You should now have enough clearance to tighten the 33mm nut on the outer prop shaft.

Make sure that the prop shaft is pushed firmly inside the control tube before you tighten the nut. After you have assembled all check that the prop blades are in 'neutral' (there are some marks) when the control lever is in neutral (20 degree angle forward on combi house).

Maarten
V2904

 

[coonhopper2000]

Thank you Maarten, for taking time to help me out. There is a yard right next to where I work and they will haul and block,relaunch for 150 usd. Not a bad deal for the Florida Keys. I may pay them to do the work and reference the combi prop with your mail as added tech support. They are a Volvo dealer and of course it will be a little pricey but if I stay out of the loop, the work will then be under warranty with them. Also I dont think it is a do it yourself yard anyway. It sounds like you have done this work before and know what you are talking about. Do you feel the combi prop will last under normal conditions? Do you feel it is more of a headache than it is worth? I cannot afford to repower vessel at this time and have a Contest 30 in great shape in Savannah with a Volvo md2 . Just didnt have time to launch and sail to Fl before going back to work. Flight Instructor by trade, currently in sales for developers in Marathon . Once again, thanks for your efforts, Pat Colligan
email address pcolligan@...

Maarten van Emmerik maarten.vanemmerik@... wrote: Pat,

There are no gears in the combi. The forward and reverse are controlled by changing the pitch of the propellor blades. If you move the lever on the combi a cylinder called 'control tube moves' inside the combi house. This control tube is fixed to the outer prop shaft via pressure rings and a 33mm nut. Apparently this nut has become loose so the control tube moves without enough grip on the shaft.

To fix you should remove the three allen bolts on the front of the combi. Inside you see the nut. The problem is that you can't tighten it with a normal spanner because it sits inside the combi house. So you need to remove the four bolts on the other side of the combi and slide the combi house aft. Then disconnect the propshaft from the engine by removing four allen bolts and slide the propshaft aft. You should now have enough clearance to tighten the 33mm nut on the outer prop shaft.

Make sure that the prop shaft is pushed firmly inside the control tube before you tighten the nut. After you have assembled all check that the prop blades are in 'neutral' (there are some marks) when the control lever is in neutral (20 degree angle forward on combi house).

Maarten
V2904

 

[alan_critchlow]

Hello Pat, We were in Boot Key Harbour, Marathon around Christmas.
The municipal marina was very gracious and invited everyone in the
harbour for a potluck Christmas supper. We had a great time with a
live band. Too bad we missed out meeting you. I also missed meeting
Wilhem (but I did visit Pumpkin Key for a night, Wilhem). I also
tried to meeet up with Steve Greenberg of Miami but we could not get
together. Although I had an enjoyable conversation with him. Bob
Vogel generously allowed us to park our boat in Stuart while we went
to visit Felicity's dad. Richard Coe also dropped by while we were in
Stuart. He was the one to suggest the west coast of Florida rather
than the Bahamas. I am glad he did. Some people waited for 3 weeks
for a weather window to get across the Gulfstream. I hope I have got
everyone's name right as I am going from memory.

Our Vega "Voila" is now in Indiantown on the hard. It will stay there
until next November. We will be going to the Bahamas. I will write an
article of what worked and what did not work on our Vega in the near
future.

Alan & Felicity Critchlow, Vega Voila 1639

 

[stevebirch2002]

Hi Pat

Not every Volvo dealer knows about the Combi prop system so make sure
they know what they are doing. There is a download available on the Vega
Site (www.albinvega.co.uk - Download Page or Links Page). I think this
is also available from the Yahoo Group File page. This download explains
the combi removal/replacement/renovation with full instructions and
diagrams. Hope this helps.

Steve Birch (Technical)

 

[chris20636]

Pat:

Be very sure that when (whomever) removes the Combi prop, that the little
square plug is removed and a temporary grease fitting is installed. The prop
should then be filled with a good quality grease suited for this purpose. Then
the grease fitting should be removed and the plug reinstalled before
relaunching.

When the grease is forced into the prop, it should be forced in with some
pressure. This is what helps keep water from finding its way between the
"shaft" and the "control tube," and into the gearbox. The gearbox also has a
grease fitting that should be used to fill the gearbox with the same grease.

Good Luck..........

Ed Davis

 

[wxt8981]

Hello Alan;
so sorry we couldn't meet, but I'm happy to read you spent
a night at Pumpkin Key. I spent the holidays in Thailand
with a short side trip to Laos, visiting friends and
relatives.

Hello Pat;
I read you have some problems with the prop- or the sleeve
that controls the pitch of the prop. When I still had the
variable pitch prop, I serviced it frequently. It's not too
difficult. I have a blown-up drawing of that part, if you
like, I can e-mail or fax it to you. In case you unscrew
the sleeve from the prop, be careful- that connection has a
left threat. Otherwise its about right what Maarten wrote.

Hi Bob;
I hope you had nice holidays. I'm doing fine. I even found
a roofer to put a new roof on my house. Then we can wait
for this year's hurricanes. I've been to my boat- the
engine started right away and looks like all's well. Wasn't
that good in my home, one of my cars got badly scratched up
and the home vandalized- but that's Miami.

The weather isn't too great like now- much too windy for
me. But I guess in a couple of weeks sailing season should
be here... can't wait!

Happy sailing to all!... Wilhelm, V-257