[Public-List] Engine Alignment

[Gordon Laco]

Here is a true story...

A wooden Folkboat with an inboard engine (clearly not TOUCH WOOD - she  
never had an inboard) was happily sailing across Toronto Harbour one  
night many years ago.   The fellows sailing the boat thought it would  
be fun to set the 'chute so up it went.

All good things must come to an end, and sure enough after a time the  
far side of the harbour began to loom large.   But what ho, perhaps  
they did not need to douse the chute, perhaps, they reckoned, they  
might sail through the harbour's Western Gap channel under spinnaker.   
Oh what Sea Scourges they'd be with that tale to tell.  Onwards they  
went. (have a look at Google Earth to see the Western Gap Channel)

Their happiness was somewhat dampened when they got into the channel  
and discovered that they could barely lay it reaching under the  
spinnaker with the pole laid hard against the forestay.  The boat was  
now doing over 7knts and they were being steadily pressed toward the  
northern (leeward) side of the channel.   They decided to lower the  
chute but found that halyard block had jumped its sheave and was  
jammed.  They could not lower the chute.     Just as they were  
digesting this evidence of the developing shipwreck, the cross channel  
ferry to the Toronto Island Airport gave its hoot and shot out in  
front of them.

Thinking swiftly, one of them dove into the cabin and started their  
Stuart Turner gas inboard (called the 'Explosion prone Stuart Turner  
in Don Street's book) Uncharacteristically it started first try.  They  
slammed it into reverse and opened the throttle.  They felt the boat  
give a violent shake and the steering locked.   What had happened was  
the prop shaft had spun back away from the transmission and jammed  
against the rudder.  Worse, the prop had grabbed a line that was  
trailing in the water and that jumped the rudder up almost out of the  
gudgeons.  The boat was still exceeding hull speed.

The guy steering decided it would be better to hit the concrete  
harbour wall than the ferry so he wrenched the tiller as hard as he  
could to bear away... and tore the rudder right off.  Now free of the  
rudder, the shaft finished it's exit and left the boat (luckily still  
tangled in the sheet).

At this point the first guy dove into the cabin again and scrambled  
into the forepeak.  He grabbed the anchor and threw it up out the  
forehatch.  It cleared the rail and sank, with the anchor line singing  
out after it at about 7knts.

There was nothing more they could do - the boat was sinking, the  
spinnaker was jammed aloft, the ferry and wall were both coming...  
suddenly the end of the anchor line was reached and the boat snapped  
her head into the wind.  She came to rest with her stern within reach  
of the wall... the ferry missed them (likely never saw them, no lights  
of course).

The owner of the boat rammed a bung into the prop shaft hole while the  
other guy cast off the spinnaker guy.     They opened a couple of  
beers and sighed.

This really happened.

Gord
#426 Surprise
On 29-Dec-09, at 6:02 PM, mahseer at kos.net wrote:

> Tom
>
> Been there had same problem, not a plesent feeling, I also had the
> origional bronze shaft.  I had a new bronze shaft made but just  
> before it
> was ready to be installed I discovered it had been made from bearing
> bronze and was pourous.  Had the next one made out of stainless steel.
>
> John Boor
> MAHSEER #380
>
>
>> Just thought I would throw in an educational story on engine  
>> alignment.
>>
>> I bought my Alberg 30 several decades ago, and in its previous life
>> the engine and shaft had not been realigned, I don't believe. And
>> every year, into the crane, out of the crane...etc.
>>
>> Took the Alberg from St. Andrews, NB down the coast of Maine to
>> Penobscot Bay, and off North Haven was running the engine since there
>> was a large following swell and almost no wind. The jerking was the
>> final straw, I suppose...
>>
>> Suddenly the tiller would not work, and when I tried more, the boat
>> was swirling around in circles. Put up the sails to get some control
>> (not knowing what else to do), and of course it just made matters
>> worse, since the Alberg was going in tight circles. Thought a lobster
>> pot line was grabbed, but that wasn't it.
>>
>> Finally decided to take off the steps/engine cover - and with a
>> flashlight was horrified to see the shaft within a few inches of the
>> thru-hull.
>>
>> Grabbed it with a wrench, and worked it forward. Then happened to
>> have some brass "snare wire" and used it to get enough friction
>> around the shaft, and found a way to secure the snare wire.
>>
>> Realized it was a definite blessing that the hole between hull and
>> rudder was small enough that the propeller had fetched up against the
>> rudder, jamming it initially - but not allowing the shaft to leave!
>>
>> Once the shaft was secure, had my wife watch it while I used the late
>> afternoon breezes to make it across Penobscot Bay and as the final
>> breath of wind died, made it to one of the outer moorings in Camden
>> harbor.
>>
>> Wayfarer Marine was happy to pull the boat the next morning, and
>> after almost a week on the dock, I had much time to think about the
>> matter of engine/shaft alignment. Especially as we were still living
>> aboard, and everyone going by enjoyed the chance to ask how the
>> cruising was up there (in the air).
>>
>> I realigned yearly from that point.
>>
>>
>> Tom Moffatt
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>
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