Wooooohooooo!!! Finals are DONE, papers are DONE, presentations are DONE, and it is officially summer! There was a period there where I didn't think I would make it. The past several weeks have involved some long, long nights at the library, but it paid off. I found out that I aced my big final and I feel good about the papers I wrote and presentation I gave. I should have my grades in a few weeks, but I feel like I did alright in both classes.
So now that I am done with finals I can finally focus on Creeky a bit more. Last week I sold my bed, which was a big step towards moving aboard. I have started packing some things up, and as soon as I have my motorcycle back from the shop I plan to start spending most nights on Creeky. The next big goal is to have everything else that I don't need sold or given away by the end of June (if anybody needs/wants any stuff please let me know). Pretty exciting.
Unfortunately, the issue with the propulsion persists. I have triple confirmed what I already knew about the transmission; that it cannot be run in reverse. I also found out that the V-Drive can be run in either rotational direction based on the input, but that doesn't help me very much. As for the prop, I still have not been able to get any information from West Mekan, but I did manage to get in touch with Gunner at Scandia Propeller Service, where it looks like the system originally came from. He is working on doing some more research on the system but was able to give me at least some valuable information in the meantime. He confirmed that the prop blades can only be installed in one direction and that they can't just be flipped around, which makes sense. He also thought the easiest thing to do would be to replace the V-Drive to get the right rotation at the prop. He thinks that will be cheaper than getting new blades, but is looking into whether or not they are available just in case.
So it looks like I need to do some hunting for a used V-Drive that will fit the bill. I can't afford to drop $3,200 on a new one right now, and I don't think it would be right to put something new and fancy in with the current setup. I'm going to try to find a rebuilt Walter RV-20 with the opposite rotation and see if that takes care of everything.
Despite all this seemingly productive research I am still in the same place I was a few weeks ago. Let's not forget the other major mechanical projects like the steering, diesel tank installation, permanent control mounts, etc... Then there are also the critical things to make the boat inhabitable, like getting the deck plate put on for the forward head (which is disgustingly over-full), getting water sorted out, and getting the propane system installed. Obstacles or not, progress will continue!
Friday, May 17, 2013
Monday, May 13, 2013
Home stretch!
I'm in the home stretch! One more night of studying, a final tomorrow evening, and then I am free! I can't wait. Almost there...
Friday, May 3, 2013
I am not good at waiting
I have to admit that while I do like to do a lot of things the old fashioned way, I am not very good at being patient when that's what the old fashioned way requires. Being spoiled with having all the information you could ever need on most topics available at your fingertips makes it really hard to do things like wait for marine specialists to get back to you about outdated boat parts. I got in touch with a woman at Scandia Propeller Service earlier this week, who it looks like sold Henry the West Mekan setup, and she said that Johann would almost definitely know about the system. She took down all the details and asked me to email her what documents I have, which I did. No response as of yet. I also emailed West Mekan twice and made the long distance call to Norway speak with Konrad. He said that he got my emails and was sure he could find some more details on the setup I have and would send them to me via email. Nothing from him yet either. Now it's Friday evening and I don't expect that I'll get much more news over the weekend. Efffff...
How did anybody get anything done in the 80's?!
Not that I have any time to do anything on the boat this weekend, but I was hoping to at least spend a few hours on it if I make enough progress. Beyond that it would just be nice to get some definitive info for the sake of closure. Now I will continue to be consumed with trying to mentally figure out something that is impossible to understand without some more information. Oh well, at least I have studying to keep my mind mostly occupied until next week. Maybe I'll try to get in touch with Henry and Birgitta this weekend and see if they remember anything about the setup.
One thing I was able to get some info on was the V-Drive. I emailed Walter Machine and explained to them that I have an RV-20 V-Drive from the 80's with zero hours on it that I would like to trade with them for the same model with the opposite output rotation as the one I have. I thought maybe they would have some dusty ones lying around in their shop somewhere or a rebuilt one or something. This is the response I got:
"Your RV-20 V-Drive would be replaced by current production model RV-26; cost with Idler Gear Assembly is $3,224.00 plus $118 for new #25 prop shaft coupling (if required in your installation). The new RV-26 would come with new mounting brackets and a 12" long #27 splined connecting shaft."
Not quite what I was hoping for, but it was worth a shot!
How did anybody get anything done in the 80's?!
Not that I have any time to do anything on the boat this weekend, but I was hoping to at least spend a few hours on it if I make enough progress. Beyond that it would just be nice to get some definitive info for the sake of closure. Now I will continue to be consumed with trying to mentally figure out something that is impossible to understand without some more information. Oh well, at least I have studying to keep my mind mostly occupied until next week. Maybe I'll try to get in touch with Henry and Birgitta this weekend and see if they remember anything about the setup.
One thing I was able to get some info on was the V-Drive. I emailed Walter Machine and explained to them that I have an RV-20 V-Drive from the 80's with zero hours on it that I would like to trade with them for the same model with the opposite output rotation as the one I have. I thought maybe they would have some dusty ones lying around in their shop somewhere or a rebuilt one or something. This is the response I got:
"Your RV-20 V-Drive would be replaced by current production model RV-26; cost with Idler Gear Assembly is $3,224.00 plus $118 for new #25 prop shaft coupling (if required in your installation). The new RV-26 would come with new mounting brackets and a 12" long #27 splined connecting shaft."
Not quite what I was hoping for, but it was worth a shot!
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
The end of the semester is in sight!
Well, the semester is almost over and I can't wait. I have two ~20 page papers to write by May 7th, one presentation to give, and one final on May 14th. After that I can set my sights back on making some serious headway with Creeky. However, despite my efforts to focus on school and work, Creeky keeps creeping into my train of thought. It's kind of a problem. Where I intend to spend 5-10 minutes researching things online between homework assignments or meetings I end up spending at least an hour. I'm just trying to put some dots together in my head so that when my schedule opens up I have an action plan to complete projects rather than taking more measurements and spending more time researching things online.
The main thing I have been researching is the engine and drivetrain configuration. To recap, the issue I am having is that when the transmission is in forward the thrust is in reverse. Right now I am chasing down as much literature as I can find on the various components involved (see below). I have managed to find quite a bit of information on just about everything except for the controllable pitch prop system, which is Norwegian. I have emailed West Mekan a few times, but have not received a response to date. I plan to call them tomorrow morning.
Engine: Westerbeke W80
Transmission: Velvet Drive C71 (Model 10-17-004, Ratio 1:1)
both of these are reverse mounted with a driveshaft going into an independently mounted V-Drive
V-Drive: Walter RV-20 (Ratio 2.56:1)
which goes into a controllable pitch prop
Prop: West Mekan AS Type 40 HV3 Controllable Pitch Prop System
What I know so far is that looking from the stern of the boat the engine rotates in the RH direction. When the transmission is in forward the driveshaft going into the V-Drive also rotates in the RH direction. This is reversed by the V-Drive and the output of propshaft is in the LH rotation. From what little bit of information I have been able to find online about the West Mekan system it appears that the prop is likely a RH prop. I have tried adjusting the pitch of the prop all the way in both directions, but it does not go past the feathered position to allow a reversal of the thrust while maintaining the same rotational direction.
It seems like the issue may be that the V-Drive is the incorrect model (they made the same model with an idler gear to keep the rotational direction) or the prop is incorrect. However it seems extremely unlikely that Henry (the original owner of the boat) would have made such an oversight given all the thought he put into everything else. Another possibility is that when the prop was installed the blades were put on facing the wrong direction, but I don't even know if that is possible. Since the prop is underwater, this is the one thing I can't visually diagnose, at least not easily. A final possibility is that everything is correct and I just need to use the reverse gear to obtain forward motion, but I am almost certain that is not the case. From what I have read this will kill the transmission in a hurry, but there are a few sources that also disagree with this.
What I really need is a free weekend to really go through all of the possibilities while I am on the boat! For now I will just have to keep digging for more info and try to be patient, which is not one of my strong suits.
The main thing I have been researching is the engine and drivetrain configuration. To recap, the issue I am having is that when the transmission is in forward the thrust is in reverse. Right now I am chasing down as much literature as I can find on the various components involved (see below). I have managed to find quite a bit of information on just about everything except for the controllable pitch prop system, which is Norwegian. I have emailed West Mekan a few times, but have not received a response to date. I plan to call them tomorrow morning.
Engine: Westerbeke W80
Transmission: Velvet Drive C71 (Model 10-17-004, Ratio 1:1)
both of these are reverse mounted with a driveshaft going into an independently mounted V-Drive
V-Drive: Walter RV-20 (Ratio 2.56:1)
which goes into a controllable pitch prop
Prop: West Mekan AS Type 40 HV3 Controllable Pitch Prop System
What I know so far is that looking from the stern of the boat the engine rotates in the RH direction. When the transmission is in forward the driveshaft going into the V-Drive also rotates in the RH direction. This is reversed by the V-Drive and the output of propshaft is in the LH rotation. From what little bit of information I have been able to find online about the West Mekan system it appears that the prop is likely a RH prop. I have tried adjusting the pitch of the prop all the way in both directions, but it does not go past the feathered position to allow a reversal of the thrust while maintaining the same rotational direction.
It seems like the issue may be that the V-Drive is the incorrect model (they made the same model with an idler gear to keep the rotational direction) or the prop is incorrect. However it seems extremely unlikely that Henry (the original owner of the boat) would have made such an oversight given all the thought he put into everything else. Another possibility is that when the prop was installed the blades were put on facing the wrong direction, but I don't even know if that is possible. Since the prop is underwater, this is the one thing I can't visually diagnose, at least not easily. A final possibility is that everything is correct and I just need to use the reverse gear to obtain forward motion, but I am almost certain that is not the case. From what I have read this will kill the transmission in a hurry, but there are a few sources that also disagree with this.
What I really need is a free weekend to really go through all of the possibilities while I am on the boat! For now I will just have to keep digging for more info and try to be patient, which is not one of my strong suits.
It doesn't help my brain that the prop is feathered in this picture because I don't know which way the blades rotate.
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