Leak in Prop Liner

[vinnyp]

Thanks.. that looks like a handy little thing to have around.

[mikiek]

It's called expanding your one word vocabulary.

[mikiek]

On a more serious note, all this mess was happening on the left stuff tube. The right tube has been just fine. However, I got to thinking I have now extended the left strut 1/16" further out than the right one. I suppose that might cause some weird behavior especially when running the struts positive or negative. So I'll be putting a gasket in behind the right strut this evening.

Hoping to get the z-boat out tomorrow and 'wet test' her.

[vinnyp]

Getting back to leaks from flex shafts... I just noticed these new little items on OSE. They may have been around for a while, but I have not seen them before. May look like a nice idea, if you can fit them in between the end of the tube and the motor. They are 1.2" long. I am thinking about the possibility of them causing drag??

[CraigP]

Vinny, what are you referring to? No pic or part number? Are you talking about Areomarine's STS?

[vinnyp]

oops... I didn't attach the link. Here it is

https://offshoreelectrics.com/proddetail.php?prod=aero-sts-125

[CraigP]

Yes, I run one... Works very good for me, others have complaints. The trick is how you set it up. There is a collar on the front. In between that and the bearing block is an O-ring. Need to lock you shaft down in the motor collet. Then hold the front collar has tight as you can against the bearing block an tighten down. It acts as a shaft saver and helps on the water leak. It's not a 100% seal... Here's a pic...

[fweasel]

To me, that's a good idea on paper. In actual application, too complicated, more stuff to go wrong. I use a little bit of heat shrink or cooling hose over then end of the stuffing tube to keep the grease mess down to a minimum. The one boat I had problems with water coming up the tube (Zelos) was really caused by a leak between the hull and strut. Stopping the water at the top of the tube was not the right fix in that scenario, sealing the strut was.

[CraigP]

It has a barb fitting on it. I took that out and put a screw in it's place. I use the stuffing box support block as my oiling point.

I put in a shaft seal at the end of the strut. That stops 100% of the water and stops my stuffing box from losing grease. I've ran now approaching 10 times and still haven't pulled the shaft or re-greased. I posted pics of that somewhere, but seems no one was interested in that solution. Oil and water don't mix! Keep the water out, the oil will stay good for a very long time!

[CraigP]

Fweasel, I had silicone tubing on that, but was pulling much more power than with this device. There's a lot of drag using the silicone tubing. Vinny, as you can see, the diversity of thought is one of the things I love about this sport! In the end, you need to visualize the solution that works best for you. It don't matter what the rest of us do... only what you do with th your model...

On the zelos, I have to say it would seem the U-cup rod seal is a no-brainer. I'm surprised nobody is making a strut with that in it. I also don't leave grease in the water.

[CraigP]

Vinny, a good thread on this topic is called Strut Bushings under Boat Building Talk. You can see all kinds of perspectives and good pics!

[vinnyp]

Craig,
What kind of shaft seal at the end of the strut are you referring to? I am not familiar with it. That STS seal seems too big to fit in my Zelos 36. Since I burned up a pair of ESC's a few weeks ago, I have become obsessed with keeping the boat dry.

[CraigP]

I had to make it... I milled a pocket for the seal to sit in, then made a plate to hold it. Pics on Strut Bushing post under Boat Building talk. If you can do that, I'll give you the part number/vendor of where I got the U-cup Rod seal. Use the search box, type in Strut Bushings, you'll see it listed there...

[CraigP]

Most people know that when running, the flex shaft tries to move the grease to the strut, due to the screw action. So no water can get in. But when the boat sits in the water, then water can get back into the stuffing tube. Once the grease has water mixed in, it will need to be replaced. So however you do it, it makes life so much easier not having to take that damn, greasy flex shaft out every 2-3 runs and re-grease! I'm sure there are plenty of objections on the site to this approach. But it makes me happy, the boat is running fast, and my hands stay clean!

[vinnyp]

Craig,
I found and read that thread you referred me to. Interesting read to say the least. I looked at my Zelos. No way I can fit that STS seal between the tube and the motor. Simply not enough room there. I like your idea of sealing the outer end of the strut. I like the lip seal idea. However, the Zelos strut is rather small. I don't think there would be much room for me to bore a hole to allow a lip seal to fit. I will have to look closer at it the next time I pull the flexes. I do notice some play in between the end of the flex and the strut. If I grab the end of the strut, I can wiggle it up, down and side to side a bit. That may not make for a good seal with a lip seal. Ideally, I would think the best scenario would be to have roller or Torrington bearings in the strut to hold the flex stable. Then a lip seal would be the ticket.
A bigger issue , at least with my boat is the leaky hatch. Other than tape, I still have not found a way to seal it.