Propeller takes about 5 minutes to bite the water and propel me.

[Sisco n Pu]

Sorry for the question. Im 8 days old on the canals and know very little to nothing at all.

 

1) I put stern grease in as it was empty screwed it down until I felt some torsion, and then gave it a little twist

 

2) since then when I start the boat and put her into drive. the propeller does not propell and I have no control

 

3) After about 4-5 mins, the propeller kicks into life ("right at the critical moment Im about to crash into somebodies boat")

 

4) Then we are all back on and cruising

 

" I have checked the weed hatch and its all good from what I have seen"

 

" Do you think I have put too much grease into the propeller shaft and its just free spinning and not biting?"

 

there is about 4-5 inches of water building up in its own chamber under the area of the stern area

 

Cheers Guys !

 

 

[RLWP]

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

 

Which gearbox has your boat got?

 

Richard

[matty40s]

sounds like you may have not enough oil on your gearbox (only major revs make the shaft spin)

greasing your stern gland wouldn't make your shaft stop spinning, if the gland was too tight it may get warm quickly though.

[Tony Brooks]

I think there is no chance this has anything to do with the grease.

 

It might be something as simple as insufficient gearbox oil or a faulty box. That is why Richard asked what gearbox you have. A photo will do if you do not have the information.

[David Mack]

With the gearbox in neutral, can you turn the prop shaft by hand? For some gearboxes you may need to do this test with the engine running, but out of gear.

 

Can you see any water dripping through where the prop shaft enters the stern tube, either when the engine is running in gear or stationary, especially after running for a while?

[bizzard]

Sorry for the question. Im 8 days old on the canals and know very little to nothing at all.

 

1) I put stern grease in as it was empty screwed it down until I felt some torsion, and then gave it a little twist

 

2) since then when I start the boat and put her into drive. the propeller does not propell and I have no control

 

3) After about 4-5 mins, the propeller kicks into life ("right at the critical moment Im about to crash into somebodies boat")

 

4) Then we are all back on and cruising

 

" I have checked the weed hatch and its all good from what I have seen"

 

" Do you think I have put too much grease into the propeller shaft and its just free spinning and not biting?"

 

there is about 4-5 inches of water building up in its own chamber under the area of the stern area

 

Cheers Guys !

 

 

First I think I'd check that the propeller has not come lose and maybe sheared the key. Secondly is the shaft ALWAYS free to revolve (check in neutral) unless its a Lister LH150 box. Is the shaft securely connected to the gearbox output. Thirdly which gearbox and controls do you have and is there oil in the gearbox.

[RLWP]

With the gearbox in neutral, can you turn the prop shaft by hand?

 

An interesting test if the engine is a Lister with an LH150 gearbox...

 

Richard

[Tiggs]

With the engine off and out of gear, open the weed hatch and check that the propeller can turn the shaft and the shaft can turn the propeller. Check there is a split pin on the propeller nut and that the nut is tight.

 

If all is well on this suspect the gearbox. Start by checking its oil level.

[Sisco n Pu]

Thanks for your help

 

 

Engine Make: Isuzu 35

 

Im really not sure what gear box make it is right now.

 

Yes I do have to give it some hard core throttle for it to finally catch and propel. then I can just set it back to alittle tick above neutral.

 

The oil level on the dip stick is about 1.5-2 inches

 

I did have a problem a few days back , when I put her into reverse in a lock and the cable from the gear box went wrong and I was stuck in reverse.

 

I called the Emergency call out and he fixed it, So I am feeling now this is more to do with the gear box like you guys said

[nicknorman]

Thanks for your help

 

 

 

Engine Make:

 

Isuzu 35

 

Im really not sure what gear box make it is right now.

 

Yes I do have to give it some hard core throttle for it to finally catch and propel. then I can just set it back to alittle tick above neutral.

 

The oil level on the dip stick is about 1.5-2 inches

 

I did have a problem a few days back , when I put her into reverse in a lock and the cable from the gear box went wrong and I was stuck in reverse.

 

I called the Emergency call out and he fixed it, So I am feeling now this is more to do with the gear box like you guys said

 

You can probably unhook the gear change cable from the box quite easily, then check the maximum travel on the lever. This should be pretty much the same as the travel with the cable attached. It does sound like either low gearbox oil or a lack of travel on the gear change lever. Typically the levers have different holes to attach the cables, if one further out is chosen, the angular travel will be reduced so maybe they out the new cable in the wrong hole.

[Sisco n Pu]

yes there is dripping(of water) when I turned the stern gland grease. and also this fills up an inch or so from an hours cruise of water under the prop shaft enters the stern tube

nicknorman thanks I will get on this in the morning, this is what the call out man said there was a weird tie of with the cable and gear box.

[bizzard]

Check the cable adjustment. In fact disconnect it from the gearbox shift lever and move the gearbox lever forwards by hand and see if it goes into gear right away. The adjustment or the cable clamp may have come adrift allowing the gearbox lever to move forwards almost enough but not quite enough to put it into gear and maybe vibration or joggling eventually after the delay moves the lever the rest of the way into gear. The movement to being in gear and not in gear can be very small.

[DHutch]

The oil level on the dip stick is about 1.5-2 inches

 

Is this the gearbox dipstick? Or engine?

I did have a problem a few days back , when I put her into reverse in a lock and the cable from the gear box went wrong and I was stuck in reverse.

 

I called the Emergency call out and he fixed it, So I am feeling now this is more to do with the gear box like you guys said

 

Certainly as suggested, I would if all else appears in order, look at the gear cable adjustment/securing.

 

 

Daniel

[Scholar Gypsy]

On the dripping water point, as well as refilling the greaser (which you have already done), you may need to tighten or repack the gland - which is letting in far more water than I would be comfortable with.

 

Does your stern tube look a bit like this - especially the two pairs of nuts where the prop shaft disappears on the left of the photo?

 

[Sisco n Pu]

 

Scholar Gypsy Thank you for your reply , yes It looks like this. the drip comes from the left side of your photo.

[MtB]

"Propeller takes about 5 minutes to bite the water and propel me."

 

Nobody appears to have really addressed the info in this heading (apart from that nice Mr Bizzard who commented on it).

 

If the prop is turning, it will grip the water and propel you immediately. Therefore we know the prop fails to turn initially, for about 5 minutes. During this 5 minute period of the absence of propulsion, have you looked at the section of prop shaft coming out of the back of the gearbox? Is it turning?

 

If not then its a gearbox problem. If it IS turning then as Bizz suggests, the blade is not properly fixed to the end of the shaft.

[The Bagdad Boatman (waits)]

While still moored up, Start the engine put it in gear then see if the prop shaft is turning. If not move the lever on the gearbox connected to the cable. if when you move the lever the shaft turns then the cable needs adjustment. if you have a single lever control then remove the cover and study how to shorten the cable travel.

[dor]

"Propeller takes about 5 minutes to bite the water and propel me."

 

Nobody appears to have really addressed the info in this heading (apart from that nice Mr Bizzard who commented on it).

 

If the prop is turning, it will grip the water and propel you immediately. Therefore we know the prop fails to turn initially, for about 5 minutes. During this 5 minute period of the absence of propulsion, have you looked at the section of prop shaft coming out of the back of the gearbox? Is it turning?

 

If not then its a gearbox problem. If it IS turning then as Bizz suggests, the blade is not properly fixed to the end of the shaft.

 

 

Or it could be a coupling which is not tight on the shaft.

 

The first thing to do is check what is turning and what isn't.

[Sisco n Pu]

I Will update everybody after I've checked all what we have discussed.

 

Cheers

[Scholar Gypsy]

Scholar Gypsy Thank you for your reply , yes It looks like this. the drip comes from the left side of your photo.

 

OK, once you have sorted out the main problem, you may want to tighten your stern tube, or repack it with the special rope, to reduce the rate of leakage.

 

There are loads of threads about this, or come back for more advice...

[Chalky]

Something simple to check. On the end of the prop shaft where it joins the gear box there is a coupling that clamps on to the shaft. Are all of the bolts tight? (Guess how I know...)