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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 25 Specific Forum

prop shaft removal

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AndyRozsa
Deckhand

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Australia
12 Posts

Initially Posted - 06/09/2006 : 20:16:44

Hi again its been a while since i posted but i get lots of good advice ços i check often..
I am trying to get the propshaft out of my univeral powered boat. I did see a post some time ago with horrific pictures of how bad it can get... mine is the identical setup but without the damaging rust. However the shaft is firmly corroded? into the flange, I suspect it is the steel keyway in the brass/bronze shaft that has rusted to the flange. having tried all gentle means of persuasion (lots of derust stuff, BIG hammer, swearing etc) I thought i might (carefully) heat the flange with a blowtorch protecting the adjacent areas with some cement sheet etc. Does anyone know if the respective coefficients of expansion of brass and cast iron would make this worthwhile??.... Thanks

Andy and Barb on "Flying Fish"

Edited by - on

ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 06/09/2006 : 20:24:26

Heat will certainly help.

Heat from the outside in on the coupling then put some penetrating oil at the junction between the two parts (PB Blaster). As the steel cools, it will tend to draw the penetrating oil deeper into the joint.

Let sit until completely cooled. Repeat 4 or 5 times
Heat one more time from the outside in and use a slide hammer on the end of the propshaft. Beating on the coupling flange might not have much of an effect.

As you mentioned, be sure you don't set things on fire or get the parts so hot as to burn the seals out of the engine.

There's a ton of advice on the forums at iboats.com about powerboats/engines/outboards etc.

Edited by - on

AndyRozsa
Deckhand

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Australia
12 Posts

Response Posted - 06/09/2006 : 20:31:16

thanks clambeach the slide hammer sounds an excellent idea...it always amazes me that i can post from over the other side of the world and get a reply within minutes..

Edited by - on

Leon Sisson
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1893 Posts

Response Posted - 06/10/2006 : 09:24:26

Andy and Barb,

Here's another technique you might try in combination with the others already mentioned. See if there's room to separate the coupling flanges a couple centimeters before the propshaft portion of the coupling fetches up hard against the packing gland. If there's some room, see if you can insert a hard steel spacer of some sort (maybe a wrench socket), smaller in diameter than the prop shaft, between the ends of the two shafts. Then 'reassemble' the coupling with longer bolts. <b>Gently</b> and evenly tighten the bolts, but don't get carried away, or the iron coupling flange will break without warning! As you can perhaps visualize, this technique emulates the action of a gear puller, which is what you'd like to bring to bear on the problem if only there were room to get one in there.

-- Leon Sisson

Edited by - on

AndyRozsa
Deckhand

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Australia
12 Posts

Response Posted - 06/11/2006 : 02:49:52

Thanks Leon. That answers a question at least. I didnt know if the hole in the flange was blank, obviously i can access the shaft as you suggested. I spent today making a slide hammer to fit over the end of the prop shaft and if it stops raining tommorrow, (Grrrr!!!@#$%^) I will try to put some tension on the shaft as leon suggested then have a go with the sliding hammer. I will take a photo of the hammer, it might be useful and let you guys know the result. Thanks

Edited by - on

Sloop Smitten
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1181 Posts

Response Posted - 06/12/2006 : 11:41:08

Andy,
Perhaps you might share with us how you came to be an owner of a Catalina 25 in Australia.

Edited by - on

jmoritz
Deckhand

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21 Posts

Response Posted - 06/13/2006 : 11:39:49

I did this exact thing with my diesel. I tried many of the things suggested but could not get the thing apart. I did not try heating it for fear of of damaging the hull but I tried every mechanical and chemical means with no luck. There is not much room to work back there. I ended up just cutting the shaft and replacing it with a stainless shaft (around $300 complete). Cutting was not that hard it just took some patience. I used a metal cutting blade on a saws-all. Replace the cutlass bearing while you have apart!

Edited by - on

AndyRozsa
Deckhand

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Australia
12 Posts

Response Posted - 06/15/2006 : 09:01:02

Hi, still havnt got the shaft out but havnt tried heat yet
the sliding hammer worked a treat but was more likely to pull the engine off the mounts than dislodge the prop shaft (LOL). I think i might consider a new shaft...
as to how we get catalinas in australia... quite a few were shipped here there was a small xcharter fleet on the gippsland lakes here in victoria i dont if there still are. We have a lot of big cats 32-42 ft and my next boat wil be one of those. Our boat came out fully fitted in 1988 we are the third owners its in great nick and we love it use it most weekends in summer. its a winged keel which great in this shallow bay its a sturdy boat which has sailed across bass strasit to tasmania by a previous owner... Thanks for your help... back to work..
Andy

Edited by - on

dblitz
Navigator

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240 Posts

Response Posted - 06/15/2006 : 22:34:22

I posted pictures of rusty coupling and hose clamps. While I didn't actually think they were horrific I guess you can interpret them that way. The final result was that we disconnected the engine from the mounts and pulled in so that we could have more room to repack the stuffing box. The final outcome was:
The hose is serviceable.
New hose clamps were installed.
New packing was installed
Coupling was cleaned up a bit so it wouldn't look so "horrific"
Final result:
We launched the boat on Tues, June 13th. The engine started without a hitch after 5 years on the hard and then ran without a problem for 14 straight hours at between 2700 and 3000 rpm. We kept a close eye and sailed from Mamaroneck NY on LI Sound through Hell's Gate, south on the East River around the southern tip of Manhattan and up the Hudson River North all the way to Nyack New York. During this trip we battled ferry wakes by the dozens and a brutal current in the Hudson that allowed us just 1/4 - 1/2 knot of headway. Finally, made it into Nyack at 10:30 in the evening of a day that started at 8:00am in Mamroneck.
Somebody told me that the coupling and 1 in. prop shaft are overengineered for the small engine.
What can I recommend to you as far as separating the parts???
GO SAILING.

Edited by - on

atgep
Master Marine Consultant

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1009 Posts

Response Posted - 06/16/2006 : 00:11:58

Andy, What hull # do you have? It is always great to "find" new boats.

Tom.

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tinob
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1883 Posts

Response Posted - 06/19/2006 : 12:38:16

Heat expands...that's a good thing...dry ice shrinks, also a good thing...Perhaps the combination will work where one alone wont.

I've used it when heat alone wouldn,t work.

Val on Calista # 3936 Patchogue,N.Y.

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AndyRozsa
Deckhand

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Australia
12 Posts

Response Posted - 06/29/2006 : 05:22:00

last post..... success at last with a hacksaw....
i cut the old shaft had a new stainless one made for $A150 think it was the cheapest solution in the long run. thanks for everyones help

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 06/29/2006 : 11:16:14

Please keep coming back to the forum, we need the input of international sailors. Any photos you have would be appreciated, most of us will never see what you see every time you sail. My brother went to University at Wollongong and became an ocean life guard. I haven't heard a good Aussie story since he got back. He claimed that an American always did well in bars with the girls because the Aussie guys liked beer more than girls!!! Is that true?

Edited by - on

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Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.