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First aid for a split half coupling on our boat


adagio

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Thanks for reporting back on that one. As you say, the clamp wouldn't be holding all around the shaft, just in two places. Every time it slipped, it wore the clamp a bit more and made the job a bit harder

 

One to watch for in the future

 

Richard

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To all those who provided advice, suggestions, solutions, here is an update. I replaced the coupling as suggested using the loctite and replacing with new nuts and bolts on both the flange and coupling. A day after the work was done we took the boat for a test run and the coupling failed almost immediately. A passing RCR guy suggested moving the shaft towards the stern to see if we could get a better fix on part of the unscored part of the shaft. That worked for a day then that failed above the River Trent below Fradley junction. RCR suggested a tow to a marina but Steve from Shobnall Marina came out and as a temporary measure inserted some makeshift shims to get a fixture. This got us going to Shobnall with a date for dry docking and a permanent fix.

 

Steve phoned on our way to the dock and said he had indentified the problem, which I and many more experienced missed. The Vetus shaft (which I didn't know I had) is 30mm but the coupling I had was a R&D and measured 1 ¼ inches!! A difference in diameter of about 0.03. No wonder it could never be fully tight! A lesson learnt by me.

May I ask whether there are any markings on your R&D coupling that state the size, or was it purely a matter of measuring it? Many thanks for the info you have provided.

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No we didn't measure anything. When I went into our chandlers with the old coupling they said yes that was a R&D inch and a quarter coupling. At that stage it never occurred to me, or them, to question what shaft I had. So beware in the future if faced with this problem. Since fitting the new coupling I have spoken again to the marina again and they said. 'Oh yes, if you have a Vetus shaft you must have one of their couplings'! Moral of the story tell them what shaft is fitted.

 

A lesson learnt by me and hopefully posting this may save someone else from a drydock to replace a shaft.

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No we didn't measure anything. When I went into our chandlers with the old coupling they said yes that was a R&D inch and a quarter coupling. At that stage it never occurred to me, or them, to question what shaft I had. So beware in the future if faced with this problem. Since fitting the new coupling I have spoken again to the marina again and they said. 'Oh yes, if you have a Vetus shaft you must have one of their couplings'! Moral of the story tell them what shaft is fitted.

 

A lesson learnt by me and hopefully posting this may save someone else from a drydock to replace a shaft.

Great info, thanks. I often wondered why, when my Vetus engine was delivered, that the half coupling was already fitted to the gearbox. Your post explains all.

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