355 Shaft Seal Replacement

[gmac98004]

Hello Team,

We just successfully buttoned up our haulout last week. Aside from the usual paint, zincs and cleanup, we also had a shaft seal leak to overcome.

Our port Tides shaft seal was clearly original and had significant wear issues along with rust and corrosion. I’m far too embarrassed to even show you the photos! During a 3-4 hour trip, we were getting about 5 gallons of water in the aft bilge area which as we all know sits UNDER the bilge pump water line! Even sitting at dock we were getting water into that bilge area.

There are a number of items to point out and share with the group. Hopfeully it can save all of us some time and cost in the future!

1. Our pre 2000 Carvers likely all included the old style Tides shaft seals. Tides indicated to me that any of these pre 2000 units still installed are far past their original life expectancy. Without hesitation we bought a new shaft seal unit from Fisheries in Seattle which was significantly cheaper than buying direct from Tides.
2. As Viper and others have mentioned, it’s worth purchasing a new replacement seal to slide down the shaft once the existing seal sees wear. Pre 2000 style Tides units DO NOT allow for spares to be placed in front of the unit.
3. Getting the shaft off the coupling was a significant feat of patience and know how! See our photo. We used a lathe to machine the 1 ¾” socket so it could slide in the coupling and remove the 1 ¾” bolt.
4. We left the top salon hatch open for the whole project although it really didn’t provide us anything but more illumination. Nearly all the work was done from the crazy small space at the foot of the aft bed.
5. Since the shaft had to be pulled, we removed the very old bearings in the aft and intermediate strut. Prop was very hard to turn. The mid strut was also out of alignment. This meant re-bedding. Access to the 2 bronze carriage bolts on that mid strut was nearly impossible but we managed. We were honestly considering having to remove the water tank to access! Thankfully not necessary.[image][image][/image][/image]
6. It took about 3 days to complete the shaft seal/strut project. Invictus was out of the water a total of 7 days but we needed every bit of that time for wax, paint etc.
7. After dropping in the water last Friday, we spent 2 nights on the boat and took it out for a short ride. No leaks anywhere in that bilge area! Big test will be our 4th of July trip to Deer Harbor which is a 3 ½ hour run each way.
8. Paint job looks terrific, but I was a bit shocked that we went through almost 3 gallons with 2 coats. PO had used Interlux BottomKote which we stuck with.
9. Lastly, getting the transom zinc bolts off was a disaster. Those 2 bronze bolts became loose while we struggled to remove the nuts. Access to the back side of those bolts is impossible as far as I could tell. They must be behind the aux fuel tank. I the end, we rebedded with 5200 but had to keep the scuffed and chipped original bolts in place. Ughhh.

Thanks for no judgements on my awful upkeep of a shaft seal! Let me know if you have any questions.

Greg

[Viper]

Did you check port engine alignment after she when back in the water?

[km1125]

Thanks for the update!! Great pictures!

When I had to do an aft strut I did have to remove a water tank and disassemble the aft bed, but that was a different model (3607). Glad yours was easier!

[gmac98004]

Hi Viper,

Yes we confirmed alignment. We adjusted the engine to better mate up with the shaft. We figure it may have been off by as much as 3/8". All good now!

Greg

[Viper]

Good job. This is a perfect illustration of how accessibility is everything when it comes to a repair. Most people would be shocked if I told them that it would be 3 days labour to re and re shaft, struts, align, etc. but they don't realize everything involved to get there and the lack of access to some systems on any make and model. Until you do it yourself, one always thinks the labour in a properly assessed estimate is always much too high for what they perceive needs to be done. The reality is often much different.