Water coming in from stuffing tube

[785boats]

tlandauer.

Surprised that you said there are TWO bushings, I thought it is just a long brass bushing inserted into the stinger?

Are you saying that you have the free floating Speedmaster bushing in the strut. Like this.

http://www.offshoreelectrics.com/pro...=ros-spdsd-187

It should be free spinning in a brass sleeve that is fixed in the strut. The bushing should be easy to remove as it is free floating.

If not. there should be two lead teflon bushes in there. One at the very end & one an inch or so in front of it. Like these.

http://www.offshoreelectrics.com/pro...od=oct-oc6ltsb

Perhaps the front bearing is already flogged out? I've seen that before too when the front of the stub shaft didn't reach it & the .150 flex was whipping around loose in the bushing.
But, if neither of the above scenarios fit your setup , maybe they have produced a stinger with just one long brass sleeve for the stub shaft to run in. But I haven't seen one myself if that's the case.

Use a piece of fine wire to "feel" for the length of the rear bush & "feel for the shoulder of the front bush. Mark the positions on the outside of the stinger and see how the stubshaft & flex line up with them
That is, if you don't have the Speedmaster floating bush setup.
Sorry if this is a bit long winded, but I'd really like to get to the bottom of this. There's a solution somewhere.
Cheers.
Paul.

[785boats]

Hi Fred.
You posted your response while I was typing mine. I'm a helluva slow typist.
I'm sorry to hear of your health issues & sincerely hope that things work out well for you.
What you spoke of is totally feasible & has been done by many people, myself included. I've used stainless steel bearings in a strut before. but I assume the nylon bushing material you are talking of is the proper bearing material sold by bearing supply shops
An easy fix that I also do for struts & stingers is to , as you say, drill out the old bearings, to accept a piece of brass tubing 1/4"ID (7/32"OD) with the two Lead Teflon bushes already pressed inside it?
Or, If I wish to use the Speedmaster Bushing( which I prefer) I drill the strut or stinger out to accept a 1/4" OD piece of brass tube, press it in & slip the bushing in.
Guys, here's a couple of pics showing the the new piece of tubing, with the Lead teflon bushes already pressed into it, being pressed into a strut. Works the same for a stinger
See how short the original tube was (that's it at the bottom of the first picture) & the original bushes were only 1/2 the length of the new ones. It would have worn out very quickly. It was a cheapie though. The further apart the bushes can be the longer they will last. As long as the front bush is still on the stubshaft.
Hope this helps a bit in trying to find your problem tlandauer.
Cheers.
Paul.

[tlandauer]

Thanks to all of you, and Hi Fred, my thoughts are with you and wishing you the best.
Chief, I agree with you that perhaps the spiral windings are no match for the water that is gushing in. Don't know why I was so fixated on this idea. I did have a large silicone tube over the exit of the stuffing tube where it's at the pivot point of the stinger, didn't work for me. The shaft ( stub shaft --guess that's should be the term) is standard length, 2.25 inches. Longer than original. It seats the entire length of the bushing. Shaft is 3/16 dia, bushing is not over worn. Sealed the pivot point and any other gaps i can see, hopefully I can go on Saturday to find the results. Thanks. That is one heck of a job to convert that drive line from metric to standard!

[tlandauer]

Hi Paul,
Thank you very much for your insightful reply and your willingness to share your knowledge! I am really still a newbie and don't know much!
This being the Pursuit--An inexpensive Chinese boat, I can't imagine the harware is of the Speed Master hardware quality, I always thought the bushing in the stinger was the first type you described, but didn't realize it is a free floating piece---I thought it is a thick brass bushing pushed into the stinger housing. I tried to tap it out and it wouldn't move.When I cleared the grease I can see it is solid inside, no holes like the one in the picture.If i put the stub shaft thru it, there is no free play. I therefore assume that there is no abnomal wear. The length of the stub shaft goes thru the length of this bushing. I want to know if anyone knows this particular stinger uses the same floating bushing like the one you posted, of maybe it is time to upgrate/change to a better stinger. I know there is an answer and too bad I am not knowledgeable enought to help you to help me!
Thank you again!
Tim

[tlandauer]

I need to double check front of the stinger, Paul, I found a pic. on Kintec's site that might be this stinger, it says Two Teflon bushings. I will perhaps e-mail Jan and ask him about it, again, thanks!

[tlandauer]

here's the picture: tim's boat thing.jpg

[martin]

That type of stinger has been discused before re water going up the flex, you need to put some o rings between the hull transom & the stinger as this gap lets water in. I make them out of silicon exhaust tube so you can cut the tube to the required length.

[BHChieftain]

I agree-- if you look at the pic of the speedmaster stinger strut (on OSE store) you'll see the bracket extends all the way to the bottom and there is an o-ring between the bracket and the strut tube that seals it.

Chief

[FRED]

This has been the BEST POSTING in a long time anywhere to help solve this problem. This is part of the learning curve i read about long time ago when T.Davis of Mich. said something about reding his boat on OSE. BTW- i'm doing great and will make.

[tlandauer]

Fred, I am ever so grateful to all of you here to help my learning experience! Please take care!
Paul, thanks again and I got a reply from Jan @ Kintec: this stinger indeed comes with two Teflon bushings. Don't know why I couldn't tell looking thru the bore, he did say that it can be changed into a float type bushing, maybe the previous owner did, in anycase i will investigate. Too bad I am headed for work so it will be a few days before I can report back.
Tim

[tlandauer]

I didn't know that this type of stinger is known to have this problem, that is good to know, thanks Martin and Chief, the O-ring is a great idea, my tube was not big enough to seal it, I used sealant for the time being, silicone exhaust tube---why didn't I think of it?! Fantastic!
Ripfence----at first the water would come up the collet end just sitting in the pool, as soon as I put silicone fuel tube on the collet end, that stopped, but I know what you mean, it is a bother some situation, no one likes to see water in the hull.

[785boats]

Hi tlandaur.
Sharing info is what these forums are all about. We were all beginners at the start of of this addiction.
I raced a pursuit all last year & am still racing it this year. It's a great hull. Well it should be as it is a copy of the 32" Delta Force hull with a slightly different top.
The silicone tubing to seal the stinger always works well but as your stinger is already installed good old silicone sealer will do the trick. You don't have to remove the stinger that way. And it's flexible enough to still be able to adjust the stinger angle. I've used both methods depending on the circumstances.
Here's a theory.
As a lot of pursuits come with the 4mm drive system, the previous owner might have drilled out the 4mm bushings & installed the 3/16"ID brass tube that you are seeing now to take the upgraded 3/16" shaft. If there is no noticeable slop in the bushing then it wasn't sized for the Speedmaster type bushing, just the 3/16" stub shaft. If that is the case then the water is probably not entering through the rear of the stinger, but more likely at the front where there was no seal between the transom & the stinger. As has been mentioned by others.
But hey. At least you now have a bit of an insight to the inner workings of a stinger/strut & what can be done with them.
Let us all know how she goes when you test it. Here's a pic of the Pursuit in action

Fred. Glad to hear that you have it beat.
About that 'Learning curve' ... When does it start to level out? It just keeps getting steeper for me. Must be a Logarithmic curve I guess.
All the best.
Paul.

[domwilson]

Good catch Guys! I was thinking of telling the OP of placing a rubber grommet between the hull and the stinger.
It's always good to see you guys helping out.

[tlandauer]

Paul, thanks again, I hope I will have sometime tomorrow, not sure though. This has been great and fun just to learn and exchange ideas.

[aminoacid]

If the spirals right winded, and the cable is turning right, then water will enter your hull. double check the spirals and remember the flex is fixed, not going in or out, picture exactly the thrust direction of the water with respect to the cable.

Example, if your looking at the boat from behind/transom and the spiral are spiraling to the left towards you, then that cable should be turning to the right to push water out. otherwise water will definately come in at an accelerated rate.