Stern gear options - Beta50

[ditchcrawler]

2 minutes ago, IanD said:

 

A conventional stern gland can be difficult to access with the "Super Silent" Beta 50 that the OP is proposing, the box gets in the way.  

Surly that depends on the length of the shaft and the distance the engine is mounted from the stern of the boat. so no different to any other engine/box

[IanD]

48 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Surly that depends on the length of the shaft and the distance the engine is mounted from the stern of the boat. so no different to any other engine/box

 

The box is a big rectangle the full height/width/length of the engine/gearbox -- so at the rear of the gearbox where it couples to the propshaft it extends vertically upwards to not far below the deck, unlike a conventional (unboxed) engine where there's a lot of space behind the engine and above the gearbox. Depending on where the deck hatches are, this can make getting to the stern gland a lot more awkward -- I've seen into the stern of a boat fitted out like this and that was one of my first thoughts.

 

You're right that this might not be an issue with a longer stern tube/coupling (or lots of liftable deck boards), but the OP is specifically looking to push the engine back as far as possible.

 

Which may be why a lot of boats using the super-silent Beta engines (often also avoiding having too many liftable boards to keep noise in) also use a non-greased stern gland -- also if you've spent that much extra to keep the engine quiet (about £3k IIRC) another few hundred quid for a PSS gland is small change... 😉

Edited October 28, 2022 by IanD

[TandC]

Thanks all.

 

I have decided to go with the conventional stuffing box, mainly driven by necessity to fix on an option promptly.   The lesson is to spend more time considering this stuff.... and to ensure you're well ahead of the builder.  IanD - thanks for your suggestions, unfortunately I think I've run myself out of time at this point.  

 

Nick at TW Marine has been extremely helpful and it will allow the build to progress without delay and we've found the right solution in the circumstances. 

[ditchcrawler]

11 minutes ago, TandC said:

we've found the right solution in the circumstances. 

Which was what?

[TandC]

It looks like this - basically able to source the components around the aquadrive and conventional stuffing box, keeping the distances minimal but not unworkable.  And able to get these fitted pronto. 

 

I should have had this all thought through long before this point of the build.  If anyone wants to learn how to plan and build a boat don't ask me!!