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I just finished rebuilding an Atomik Barbwire 3, and, in her second test run, I ran into a problem. Simply put, the drivedog is brass, the grub screw holding the drivedog to the prop shaft is steel, and the grub screw stripped the threads on the drivedog, resulting in the drivedog, and, thus, the prop, not spinning with the flex cable/prop shaft. Worse, this occurred when the boat was almost dead-center in the pond.
Thankfully, I was able to get the prop to spin...but VERY slowly...and I was able to (very slowly) maneuver the boat back to shore. If I were to take an unscientific guess, I'd say that, for every 1 rotation of the prop, the flex cable/prop shaft was probably spinning 10-20 times. It probably took the boat 7 seconds to reach the middle on the pond...and 5-7 minutes to get her back to shore.
On the "plus side", I have a possible 'solution', but I'll need to order a replacement flex/shaft assembly, as well as a stainless steel drivedog, to do it. However, before I put my 'fix' into place, I wanted to get some thoughts on what I'm considering.
My plan is to use Loctite 648 Retaining Compound to permanently "affix" the drivedog to the prop shaft. While brass drivedogs eventually wear down, a SS drivedog should hold up several times longer. Additionally, with the Retaining Compound, I wouldn't even need to use the grub screw, as the drivedog would be adhered to the prop shaft around the entire circumference of both parts.
The way I see it, is still be able to run/test different props...only the drivedog would be perfectly affixed to the prop shaft. Currently, I have 32mm, 33mm, and 35mm props to test, and will get a 34mm once back in-stock.
So...what are people's thoughts on this idea? Would permanently affixing a SS drivedog to the prop shaft be good, bad, smart, dumb, or 'what'?
~ More peace, love, laughter, & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place
Thankfully, I was able to get the prop to spin...but VERY slowly...and I was able to (very slowly) maneuver the boat back to shore. If I were to take an unscientific guess, I'd say that, for every 1 rotation of the prop, the flex cable/prop shaft was probably spinning 10-20 times. It probably took the boat 7 seconds to reach the middle on the pond...and 5-7 minutes to get her back to shore.
On the "plus side", I have a possible 'solution', but I'll need to order a replacement flex/shaft assembly, as well as a stainless steel drivedog, to do it. However, before I put my 'fix' into place, I wanted to get some thoughts on what I'm considering.
My plan is to use Loctite 648 Retaining Compound to permanently "affix" the drivedog to the prop shaft. While brass drivedogs eventually wear down, a SS drivedog should hold up several times longer. Additionally, with the Retaining Compound, I wouldn't even need to use the grub screw, as the drivedog would be adhered to the prop shaft around the entire circumference of both parts.
The way I see it, is still be able to run/test different props...only the drivedog would be perfectly affixed to the prop shaft. Currently, I have 32mm, 33mm, and 35mm props to test, and will get a 34mm once back in-stock.
So...what are people's thoughts on this idea? Would permanently affixing a SS drivedog to the prop shaft be good, bad, smart, dumb, or 'what'?
~ More peace, love, laughter, & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place
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