[C320-list] Shaft Coupling to Transmission

[Charles Greenwell]

Ok, the long awaited day arrived.  I splashed my boat for the season.  It was time to go out and test my new Flex-O-Fold, 3 bladed, folding prop installation.

The first thing I noticed was that the boat backed up straight! There was very little prop walk.  I was overwhelmed with sheer joy.

The next thing I noticed was vibration when going forward.  It occurs in the mid range areas of engine RPM (1400 – 2200).  At higher RPMs it is less noticeable. 

I pushed the engine to 3000 RPM achieving 7.9 knots SOG on GPS and 7.6 on the Knot meter.  The water was smooth as a baby’s bottom.  Anything greater than 3000 RPMs did little to increase boat speed.

After returning to the dock I inspected the shaft and packing gland to ensure everything was OK.  I noticed that the key slot on the shaft did not go completely into the coupling attached to the transmission.  It has about 3/8 of an inch showing.  Being a very observant individual, I also noticed that the shaft was tarnished but the key slot was bright and looked new.   This meant that the shaft had slipped out of the coupling a little. Now, how could that happen?  

Well, after I had the prop installed, the installer called me and told me that my cutlass bearing needed to be replaced.  I contacted the yard maintenance folks and requested they change the bearing.  I learned from one of the mechanics that they did not have the right prop puller so they used a hammer to bang the prop off.  

So, what do I do now?  Can I loosen the set screws on the coupling and simply push the shaft back in?  or Do I need to get it out of the water to accomplish this.  I would like to know before I go down to the yard and raise a little hell.  Any ideas?

Thanks
Randy
Le Bijou, Hull #719


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