Brand new Veles 29 - Noisy!!

[JPT44]

Hi guys,

Pretty new to boats though I popped my cherry with a UL-19 a couple of years ago. My water is just not very often flat enough to run the hydro, so I went for the catamaran.

Right out of box, went for a shakedown running 4s. Bumped the throttle and steering. just to confirm signal, all worked/sounded good. Launched the boat, have a little push, have it a bit of gas, and heard a horribly unsettling shriek from the boat. Brought back to dock, put in cradle, pulled hatch, and confirmed. It?s coming from coupler or motor end of stuffing tube. Something definitely not right. Sounded bound/misaligned.

Back to shop, everything appears aligned, pulled the flex shaft and noticed very little grease, and only for about the stern most 2?. Greased, reinstalled and bench rested with quick throttle bursts. Not nearly as bad as when I ran boat, but still there, and now intermittent depending on rpms.

Any ideas??

[JPT44]

Upon further inspection, it appears the white plastic tube that?s inside the brass stuffing tube is slipping, and that produces the noise. Is this correct? It most certainly does not occur on my UL-19, which I checked a few minutes ago. How is this white plastic tube bonded/stuck to inside of stuffing? Or, is the internal dimension of the white tube a bit undersized so my flex shaft wants to grab it as it turns? This was also probably exacerbated by no lube from the manufacturer.

[fweasel]

The teflon liners are not glued in place, just friction fit. If you're is a bit undersized, I would pull it out, clean it with alcohol as well as the inside of the stuffing tube, then reinstall with about 1.5" sticking out of the end of the stuffing tube inside the boat. Put a few wraps of teflon plumbers tape around the liner, then carefully twist and push it all the way in. The amount of tape you use might have to be tweaked, but it takes up the gap and gets you a tight fit.

With that said, you should also check the alignment on the cable as it connects to the collet. Make sure it doesn't deflect any as it starts to slip into the collet, watching the gap between the cable and teflon liner at the end of the stuffing tube. If you have a mis-alignment there, it could be causing friction at the end of the liner, causing it to spin more easily in the tube.