ENTERING the BAY and we find a MAJOR LEAK! (Our PSS Shaft Seal + How we timed the weather)
VloĆŸit
- Äas pĆidĂĄn 5. 07. 2024
- Entering the Chesapeake Bay can be ROUGH. We waited out a gale in Hampton, VA, and did some boat maintenance while searching for a PERFECT WEATHER WINDOW. Everything was going fine until we heard a smack, opened up our hatch, and saw a river of water going into our bilge pump. It was seriously stressful, our boat was taking on water entering the Chesapeake Bay. Watch along as we are hit with more "boat life" and have to figure it out.
Thanks for watching!
Cheers from the Loop,
Jennifer and Elliot
#greatloop #boatlife #travel
đ„ Episode #251 | Filmed on May 14th, 2022
đșđž America's Great Loop | Hampton, Virginia
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CHAPTERS
00:00 UpcomingâŠ
00:14 Who we are
00:44 Beautiful Morning in Hampton
01:43 Plan for entering the Chesapeake
02:43 Taking on Water
03:14 What happened
04:00 Trying to diagnose why water is coming in
04:51 Dropping Anchor to Research
06:24 Researching what is a PSS Dripless Shaft Seal
08:18 Deciding to continue into the Chesapeake
09:44 How we navigate in the Fog
12:16 Beautiful Weather along the Bay
13:02 Entering Deltaville, Virginia
13:31 Dropping Anchor in Deltaville
14:10 Engine Off
14:53 How to Plan the Weather for the Chesapeake
17:23 How a PSS Dripless Shaft Seal Works
22:56 Trying to fix our Leaky Shaft Seal
26:02 Taking a walk around town
29:31 Gorgeous Chesapeake Sunset
29:55 Jennifers Behind the Scenes âREAL LIFE BOAT LIFEâ
31:10 Wrapping up the Day
32:06 Bloops
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ABOUT US
Hi! We are high school sweethearts from Atlanta, Georgia who decided to take a year off to travel around the world. Together we decided to create vlogs for our journey as a fun way to remember it. On September 15, 2019, we left Atlanta with 3 bags, 2 one-way tickets, and 1 goal of traveling for a whole year. Little did we know, 6 months later we would find ourselves in a nationwide lockdown in India. After spending 5 months in India, we came back to the United States and decided to purchase a 34â Trawler, dive headfirst into boat life, and kick-off Americaâs Great Loop.
The good, the bad, the ugly - and most importantly, the real and real funny. Weâre not here to tell you âhow itâs done.â, just how weâve done it. And that whatever it is thatâs calling you - the way youâll do it is much more attainable than it may seem.
Thank you for following us along our journey!
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From experience:
The only thing that works on an old boat is the owner
haha so true...
The reality with boats, weather old or new, everything is going to break eventually. Sometimes it is rewarding to fix them, other times it is just what you have to do. You both are doing great!
Thanks! Sometimes its a bit overwhelming but we just keep trying to take it all in stride đ
As an old Navy mechanic, I'm not so sure the shaft should be moving forward and aftwards. But maybe it's different on these little trawlers? If I saw that I would start looking at bearings along the shaft. Something would have to be loose to allow the shaft to move back and forth. I believe this shaft seal is a mechanical type which depends on a tight contact between the spinning ring and the bellows portion. So when the boat pulled in reverse and the shaft moved aft, the seal reseated. If something is a little loose and you start pushing forward, that would open the seal again. I don't think this is a packing type shaft seal, those are designed to drip to keep the packing cool.
Oh the joys of an old boat, at times it's like standing under a cold shower ripping up $100 bills. Stay calm and safe, fair winds.
++ giving us all some more grey hairs đ Thanks for watching Amanda!
@@SchoandJo , that's what hair dye is for.
Ahhh!! there's a solution to anything đ
Loved the positive attitudes today. Good job guys đ.
Thanks Susan! Gotta stay positive and push through!
Keeping it real. Thank you for all the work you put into these videos. Been there, done that know your pain.
Thanks Michael!
So proud of you both!
Thanks Virginia!
Keepin' it real! You guys have the best attitude!
Thanks so much! That's all we can control!
I really love the real life because those moments I learn the most. Thank you for sharing all â€
So do we! Thanks for watching Aly!
I enjoy your response to problems that attach your loop cruise and the thought process you go through to solve the event. We all learn from your experience. Thanks for sharing.
Kathy's crab and seafood restaurant is a short walk from the Delaware City Marina if you choose to layover there.
Thanks so much James! We appreciate the recommendation đ
When I lived in Richmond, Deltaville was the main port for the sailing contingent. It was a really lovely little town.
i like the boat projects episodes the best. it's great to see how you guys overcome all the obstacles.
Hehe those are the days that are the hardest but it is very rewarding getting any issues resolved and learning! Cheers!
@@SchoandJo i have just recently discovered you guys and live in the great lakes area!!! looking forward to seeing your adventure through lake st clair.
Iâm so sorry for all the trouble your pump is giving you. As a mom, I want everything to go well for yâall! But it is nice to see you share the good and the not so good. You two seem to really deal with these situations so well. Itâs even okay to get frustratedâŠwe all have our limits at times. Hang in there and Iâm assuming this all got fixed. That dock looked like quite the stretch to hoist yourself up on! Always look forward to your videos! Ollie is as cute as ever and doesnât have a worry in the world! Such a cutie! Safe travels you three!
We did get through it and are still floating!! Thanks Suzanne, we appreciate the kind wishes and hoping it all goes smoothly for us đ
I just watched that movie, before your show. Nice sunset!
Thanks Mark đ
We bought our last boat from Deltaville Yacht Center. Great folks and great place to haul out. I'm looking forward to revisiting them for an extended stay.
Awesome! Seems very popular for good reason!
This is one of the best episodes ever! Love seeing you guys deal WELL with adversity. Sorry for the problems, but happy to see how you address them. We met you at the Rendezvous and came away thoroughly impressed. We have an older boat too and Iâm taking notes on your experiences. Like you, we are relative novices to boating.
Hoping to cross paths again,
Doug & Nancy
M/V Belle
1976 36â GB CL
Thanks so much Doug!
great job!
Thanks Lester đ€
I think Olie would vote to name the channel "Trees Around Americas Great Loop"
Good One!
Haha!
Thumbs up from me. Now I am really wondering how all of this ended. This boat life is a trip for sure. AnytimeRVers wanted me to say hello to you 3. WOOO HOOOO! Stay safe and enjoy.
Haha đ It has been a trip!
You are doing a super job dealing with new boat problems. Elliott is doing a great job obtaining info on problem and staying focused and taking breaks when needed. Elliott, most times when set screws are tightened against a shaft they produce a burr on the shaft which keeps the collar from moving back. Ran into this while on submarines. Just a thought. More huggs from Lady and Angel for Ollie. Aloha!
That might be why it was so hard to move it! Thanks Steve đ€ Aloha!
You guys are doing great. Shaft seals Just something else you will be an expert at. You never want to stop learning.
Honestly can never stop learning otherwise we'd be stuck with an issue we can't resolve or pay someone to fix đ Thanks Phillip!
Sooooo glad you called it a "jubilee clamp" instead if a hose clamp. I was bought up calling it jubilee.
Regards from South Africa
đ thanks!
The best way to fix your boating problems is to buy yourself a brand new million dollar boat and when these thing break ( and they will) just drop the boat at a yard and come back when it is fixed, problem solved and you pay the bill and go along on your merry way, that is boat life on another level. I am in the same sort of boat life as ya'll are and will work it out myself. I hope you do not get overwhelmed and toss in the towel, you guys are real and there are many many of us that know how the struggles can be real, but the good times make up for the bad ten fold. Good video and keep them coming.
That is an approach haha! Some take that approach and to each there own đ The good times do outweigh the bad - thanks for watching!
That some tough shedding there.
I'm curious how you made out.
Thanks Larry! Still Floating đ
Our boat is a 1978 Shannon. I always say thatâŠnot that a boat (especially old ones) means to, but she is always looking for ways to sink. Not her fault, just the way it is. SailboatsâŠ.add she is always trying to find ways to also kill you. But here we are, still have a boat! Knowing this is an important mindset to enjoying your cruise I believe. Our boat is on North side of Deltaville. Great boat town, but not conducive to walking since it is spread outâŠ.unlike a place like Elizabeth City or Annapolis. Outstanding job by the way in your crisis management, research, and solution effort. Always better with soft jazz playing. Happy yachting!
Thanks so much William! We really appreciate the comment!
Just discovered your channel...welcome to Jackson Creek and Deltaville! Years ago I had engine trouble on that exact same voyage but I was going south and it was a LOT rougher that day...it was miserable! As I expect you already discovered, there's LOTS of good places for anchoring and boat work on both the Piankatank and Rapahannock sides of Deltaivlle. We have a house about 16 miles upriver.
For whatever it's worth, as a creator (I have another channel) and consumer, this video served more ads than any video I can ever recall, and by a lot. Ads don't usually bother me-I know they pay the bills-but man, it was a LOT. Maybe I just won the Algorithm tonight?! đđđ Regardless, good content and full watch. Safe travels and best of luck on your journey...
Tons of amazing anchorages for sure! Thanks for watching! Sorry that you won the ad lottery - we appreciate you watching!
Sometimes you can just tighten the stuffing box nut a pinch until you can reseal with a new packing. Some are designed to drip some are waterpipe fed like yours
Do you have an auto bulge pump if so put a small dash light on so it shows when cuts in
We have two auto bilge pumps, the high water one has a buzzer so we are notified when that one goes off. Pivot is a pretty small boat, so we can hear the bilge going off, if we aren't on the flybridge and the engine isn't running but its a good idea to put a light on the first one, thanks Wayne đ
Like the coment from Ralph how true it is (stuffing box old school) MMM they have been in service for decades and if they leak they can be repaired in the water not so on the new fanle dangle to notes for you 1 noticed when you put in revers the seal moved bk should not do that 2 hose clamps on the hose feeding the seal are badly rusted they need to be changed
Just an old guy love the blog not wanting to see you come in harms way Maintenance is key rusted clamps should not be overlooked
Thanks Grant! Thanks for sharing, I'll take another look đ
The shaft lock key on the coupling can work lose letting the shaft move forward toward the transmission. As the shaft moves forward the bellows will loosen. This could be the causeâŠ.always good to know all possible causes.
Exactly, I hope Elliot reads this, check the prop shaft into the coupling at the gearbox, the shaft may have moved forward a little Elliott, that'd explain the clunk you heard.
Unfortunately this actually occurred months ago They're well past it
Weather in video was dead giveaway but comments are for everyone to consider.
Thanks David! While our to tighten up the bellows worked (and we haven't had any issues in the many miles since) I'll take a look at it. We appreciate the thought!
you COULD TIE A LIGHT into the BUILDGE CURCIT that comes ON WHENEVER BILGE PUMP ACTIVATED...... or even a BUZZER if so inclined, altho FACILITIES TO TURN BUZZER OFF (mute) should also bee tied into circuit lol
just a thought...
True that! It's a good idea, thanks Alex!
Do you find that keeping an engine below 60% power elongates the life of it, or do you full throttle often?
Hopefully you have resolved your issue by now. I have been working on machinery for 40 years and I would love to have you on my team! Perfect combo of analytical skills, mechanical aptitude and teamwork with an awesome partner! And did I mention fearless? A now famous CZcams DIYer once said and I paraphrase: Iâm always gonna suck at something until I tryâŠoh wait that was you while painting Pivot before she was Pivot!! Great stuff yâall!!
A quick tip in loosening seized parts, I use a product called âAeroKroilâ by Kano Laboratories. Remove those set screws,Squirt it in/on, go walk the dog, come back and tippy tap, repeat âtil she comes loose. They have a silicone version that may be better in marine environments.
My $.02âŠ
Ahaha thanks!! Sweet - thanks for sharing the tip about AeroKroil, we'll check it out for next time
Hope yâall get this fixed out of the water, if not get some insurance, Iâd hate to see yâall sink âŠBest of luck E and J and O
We'd hate to see ourselves sink too đ Thanks Dal!
Hi kids!! Sorry you're having boat problems. I have been rv'ing since 2005 and have my original 5th wheel unit. Over the years I've had to replace/repair most major items. That's the reality of boat/rv life as you are well aware. You already know the "bad" points, but there are good points. 1) You really learn your boat and 2) if you fix it correctly, you can have faith in that repair. Every time a new rig comes into the campground, I think about trading up then I realize that even a new unit will have issues. I know my unit and how to repair it when necessary. So the gist of this rant is this. Hang in there, you're learning what it takes to do this kind of adventure ( most people don't have the guts to leave the security of their homes) and , when all's said and done, you'll have a great and dependable boat home. I think you're doing fine. You deal very well with adversity. Until next repair ( ha ha), safe travels. Semper Fi.
Until the next repair đ They say everything on a boat is breaking, you just don't know it yet, sounds very similar to RV Life. Totally agree on the positives you mentioned!
I like the pss seal but donât like disconnecting the shaft to replace it while in water, thatâs were the stuffing box is better in a way
You two are handling the situation pretty well. Guess Ollie went to sleep after telling you to handle it. :-)
Ollie had enough lol - thanks T Mac!
I have two PSS shaft seals on my boat, and although they work reasonably well, I kind of know that if my boat ever sinks, they will be the reason why.
They are a bit scary, a bit of compression is all that keeps the water out of your boat but are supposed to be pretty maintenance free. Good that you have a spare on board!
@@SchoandJo , we got home using duct tape and a milk carton wrapped around the one on our previous boat one time!
@@ralphholiman7401 whoa now that sounds like a story!
Also it looks like you have a breather hose on the shaft seal. Not sure if you have water injection, but you donât need it on a non-planing boat. Just run it vertically as a breather hose to keep air out of the shaft seal. In fact too much water injection will make it more likely to leak.
Thanks Randolph!
Love your videos as always! Great content and I feel that your giving us reality versus what you think we want to see. We just purchased our first boat this year and have had numerous fixes and wonder if it ever really stops! Iâm not sure if we will make it through the summer because our budget wonât take much more and this is what gives me a lot of anxiety about doing the loopâŠnot the weather. Thanks for being honest with the good and the bad and for the budgets! Give Ollie a hug and a pat on the head from us! Have an awesome day!
Ollie just got a big head pat đ Running out of budget is always a concern but in most cases the fixes are not as critical as the problem in this video and they can be managed as time and budget permits! The boat will float and good maintenance goes a long ways!
Well another day in the life of the carefree loopers. Just kidding....intermingled with the carefree looping an page of reality steps in and this adds to the tales of boat life. Another yarn to add to the experience and a good nights rest will give you a renewed sense of travel. Enjoy,
Absolutely - thanks for the support Buck!
Elliott is about 1000x calmer than I would be in this situation. I keep waiting to see him get rattled by something.
Haha thanks... This was definitely a high stress day... just the unknown with water coming into the boat and why đŹ But we got through it and learned something along the way!
Elliot need to take the boat into a marina with a shipyard put the boat in the house holler up out of there and redo all your sales from the shaft log packing to the other struts check those out and just replace everything and then drop her back in the water you should be good to go
Hopefully we are good from here on out. No more leaks!
Rough times,man,that older boat is sure a constant project,thats a downside to not being affluent and thats not a dig by the way.....keep the chin up and ask for help sometimes from fellow loopers/social media...its not a weakness sign to do that.You have no real agenda and if you can afford parts etc then all is good...trouble is when costs prohibit the fixing off....try chill and relax ,especially jen, as you seem super frustrated and ready to throw in towel a lot recently...pet the dog and feel better,then get rest...
As they say, everything on an old boat is broken you just don't know it yet. Ollie is definitely getting lots of head pats đ Thanks for the support Masai!
Thanks for your comments about your weather criteria for cruising the Chesapeake. You mentioned waves (
We have a no-go with any height more than half of the period. 1ft 2s would barely pass but would be go/no go based on direction. .5 ft 2 second is a go - and greater than 1ft and 2s is a no go. Its a ratio so the line is 1.5ft 3s, 2ft 4s, 5ft, 10s although we that would probably be a little much for us haha. maybe nothing more than 4 feet đ
@@SchoandJo That is most helpful, thanks. I'm going to give your criteria a try and see how it works for us. Did you get this information from Foster?
Nope, this came from our friends Andy and Gwen who have another CZcams channel named Abroad ReachTravel. Foster's discussion did help us with coming up with a go/no go matrix though!
You're doing a lot of pivoting on Pivot. Maybe you should rename her Smooth Sailing or Knot Broken or ... :-) JK You are amazing at keeping your cool, Elliot, and learning all the things. I am very proud of the both of you for preserving. Amazing boaters and humans you are. Keep going! Life does smooth out for longer periods at a time.
Just an observation: As you said, boats are hard. I can not picture you both continuing boat life if you finish the Great Loop. Am I wrong?
Who knows what will come next after the Loop - even though boat life is hard, its full of highs and lows. Today was more of a low! I definitely see us living aboard another boat one day, especially with all we've learned onboard Pivot and the Loop!
I installed 2 of these on my boat. The bellows puts pressure on the shaft seal to keep it from leaking. There is a certain spec on the degree of compression required. They will leak if too little compression, or dirt between the faces. Also if your transmission/engine allows the shaft to move toward the bow as you increase thrust, you may not have the required tension on the bellows.
The bellows are a replacement item(I believe after 6-10 yrs). Unfortunately difficult to do with boat in the water.
In any case you can increase the pressure on the bellow by sliding the stainless collar towards the stern.
On a boat there is ALWAYS an item or two that needs attention. Just part of boating!
Thanks for the tips and info Randolph!
I just had 2 of these replaced on my 'new to me' 21 yr old boat. Not a minor expense, as I also had the shafts and props reconditioned !! However, upon sea trial, it was discovered that the engine mounts are loose, allowing the engine/shaft/rotor to move forward and come off the graphite bushing. Still waiting on the mechanic to get it fixed. But just another reference point for those who have a seal leaking.
@@thetattooedladyfan good luck getting it all fixed Jim!
@@thetattooedladyfan Remember that engine mounts can be faulty or âlooseâ, but most engine mounts are designed to flex a little to isolate vibration. So in that situation all engines will move slightly on their mounts based on torque and thrust angles. So a drip less seal has to be designed and adjusted for that. That is why there has to be a significant amount of pressure created by the bellows to keep the seal tight if the shaft moves forward a couple millimeters in gear at high thrust. Not to mention that fiberglass boats can actually flex a little also.
@@randolphh8005 Understood. But I videotaped my mount going from idle to 3600 rpm, and itâs moving significantly more than a few millimeters. See video link czcams.com/video/0KNEzh4QSno/video.html. FF to 1:35, 1:50, 2:00, 3:30 and see the movement.
Where do/did you go to research the cause and fix of the leak?
I started with figuring out what the part was (A PSS Shaft Seal) then trying to understand what its purpose / how it works. Then googling common problems with our problem like (spray at high rpms) etc. and then reading a ton. For this one, it is a common issue so I found it relatively quickly!
@@SchoandJo good deal and thanks! How long do we wait to find out what the permanent fix is?
@@eugeneproulx5082 well the next couple videos will be about this! So stay tuned, one coming out today and the next one on Monday! đ
Recently replaced our PSS shaft seal (while out of water by professional). There is a lifetime for the PSS bellows and it varies by specific PSS model. (6-years max for non Pro model). Someone advised me to replace for insurance reasons (since the age was could not be verified- no records from prior owners).
I imagine there is quite a lag in your posts and you may know this already but I suggest checking with your insurer so you know your responsibilities!
Yea we found this out too, 6 years until the bellows should be replaced. Itâs hard to say when ours was installed but the boat really doesnât have that many hours on it. We may take care of it after the loop on our next haul out. Our insurance didnât mention it so not sure, but I could definitely see them asking for it. Thanks for sharing!!
The shaft should not have that much thrust movement. When you showed the shaft and put it in gear the shaft moved quite a bit.
Hmm thanks for the advice.. I'll do some research!
@@SchoandJo Also the source ( pump ) of the water for the dripless will have more volume and pressure as rpm's increase if it is spun by the engine.
@@SchoandJo I posted a comment above about my problem. Dripless Seal packages definitely needed replaced (they were compressed all the way down), but I also found that my motor mounts were loose, allowing engine/shaft movement which let water in. However, still waiting on mechanic to repair the motor mounts. I took a video of it under load.
When was the last overhead ran on that engine , not that the overhead has anything to do with your leak
The previous owner did a huge over haul of the engine right before we took ownership! So 1.5 years!
@@SchoandJo if your putting a lot of hours on that engine ,I'd get one done , check on it may save you a lot of money in the long run
Ps , if that's a engine used in tractors , call on a tractor dealer , Ford New Holland, Massey Furgeson , ect
@@roydora It is a tractor engine but it is also very old :) Unfortunately, this part of the boat (the part that is leaking) won't have anything to do with the old tractor sections, it's part of the marine parts where the transmission ( a marine transmission) and propeller shaft exit the boat. A good engine review and inspection would definitely be great though!
@@SchoandJo the shop Manuel for that motor wold be really handy , explain the overhead, trouble shooting , overhaul. Bet you can get parts for it at NAPA
You see , my English is bad . I was talking about screw , not about prop and shaft, it is hard to talk about technical stuf in a different language . This was what i meant. You Will get it done . đđđđđââïž
Ah ok haha! Thanks so much Martin đ
You need a new carbon graphite seal...I'd stabilize the shaft with 2 pipe wrenches, call for sea tow to get her hauled out.
Not only she's taking on water, saltwater spraying all over the engine room now.
Yea that saltwater spray was not good... and who knows exactly how long it has been happening for? Thanks for the advice!
A little late but tap it with a wood block and a hammer
We ended up doing this! Plus a lot of dish soap!
Quick, sell the boat and buy a motor home. Lol! Nice channel.
Haha đ
Keep aware of how close you stand near a turning shaft. One time, the gear cable on one of the two engines, broke - which required me to stand over the engine, and manually change gears, while my father steered the boat - apparently, I was standing too close to the turning shaft (about 800 RPMs - idling speed) when the turning shaft literally ripped my jeans I was wearing, completely off of me. Fortunately, I was not harmed by the incident; but repairs were a lot more than simply replacing the gear shift cable! We had to do a haul out, to complete the repairs. And fortunately, I was wearing underwear!
I hope you didn't have an embarrassing skidmark in your underwear at the time. LOL
Whoa!! Good thing you were wearing underwear haha, that could have been much much worse - thanks for the heads up!
Mr & Mrs Potato Head!
đ
You guys are getting an inordinate number of "spammers" in your comments section, check your settings.xx
I wish we could do more, all we can do is report them and remove them! Sometimes they come when we aren't checking comments and survive a little longer than they should. I would be nice if CZcams caught them, but I suppose they will eventually, until a new type of spam comes out đ
B.O.A.T......BREAK OUT ANOTHER THOUSAND!
Right!?!
Rubber hammer???
Just using the tools we have onboard đ
@@SchoandJo Harbor Freight 3 bucks
Oh we have a regular hammer too but the rubber mallet is what we chose for a more surface area and a softer impact đ
I would rather have a real shaft seal of rope , they only drip
Its all a compromise đ
This guy look like Beeker from the Muppets..đ
?
If you aren't audibly groaning, to me, you aren't putting in anywhere near 100%
haha!
5:50 SLAM THAT BRAIN WAKE UP JUICE you need to ENGAGE THINKIN DEviCE!!!!!!! :LOL :) !!! :) woah!!! THERE ARE BOATS THAT SINK cuz of that SEAL !!! OUCH ...... little boat has it's SCREW LOOSE ??? lol snikker.... sorry.... BOAT ALMOST TRYING TO SINK not really FUNNY!!!
haha today got fast very quickly đ