| Hattie
Mae | Monday, July 6, 2009 The new material over the stern tube had had plenty of cure time over the weekend, so after water-washing the area I sanded it smooth and fair with the surrounding hull around the aperture. After cleaning up, I installed the new Cutless bearing (size: "ACID"). To install the bearing, I first drilled and tapped two holes for setscrews, choosing the 9:00 and 3:00 positions, with each screw located about halfway along the length of the exposed stern tube. Then, I installed the bearing after applying a very small amount of polysulfide to the center portion of the bearing, just to help hold it in position without making the installation permanent. I left about 1/4" of the bearing protruding beyond the end of the stern tube to aid in future removal efforts, and tightened the setscrews against the bearing, sealing over the holes with a bit of polysulfide. |
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Inside the boat, I cleaned and sanded the epoxy fillets around the stern tube, and then installed the stuffing box with its new hose and clamps. First, though, I'd replaced the old packing with three rings of 1/4" Ultra-X high-performance packing. Since we weren't using the old, worn shaft, I didn't reinstall the shaft at this time, as I'd have to send out an existing 7/8" SS shaft that I had in the shop to be modified and shortened to match the old. So for now, the work on the stern tube and packing box was complete. |
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To wrap up the fiberglass work, I coated the fairing compound and patch with some straight epoxy to seal it, and left it to cure while I attended to other shop business. |
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Later in the day, I moved the boat out of the shop and into outdoor storage, where she'd remain for the balance of the year and until next season. I'm not sure what happened, but when I went to install the companionway drop boards, they didn't fit: too narrow. I thought I reinstalled the companionway trim as per original, but apparently the side pieces needed to be closer together, and I never checked the fit of the drop boards at that stage. For now, I cut a piece of plywood to fit the opening and close the boat up for her outdoor storage (along with the temporarily-and loosely-installed companionway slide, which still required its rails and channels), but I added the companionway boards to my short list for future attention. |
 
 
 
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