by Simon Jollands | Boat Maintenance, Preparation, Yacht ownership
There are less maintenance tasks to carry out on a saildrive transmission than on a traditional inboard shaft drive system with its associated stern gear. For example, you don’t have to worry about engine alignment, cutless bearings and stern glands. I owned a...
by Simon Jollands | Boat Maintenance, Preparation, Yacht ownership
Just before a propeller shaft meets the propeller it passes through a bearing known as the cutless bearing, which supports the shaft and helps it rotate smoothly. Cutless bearings are tube shaped and typically made from bronze, marine grade brass or stainless steel...
by Simon Jollands | Boat Maintenance, Preparation, Yacht ownership
The term “stern gear” encompasses propellers, propeller shafts, shaft couplings, rudder tubes, rudder assemblies, propeller shaft brackets, propeller shaft seals, stern tube assemblies, bearings and more. The stern gear of a boat needs to be checked...
by Simon Jollands | Boat Maintenance, Preparation, Yacht ownership
Boat owners who grew up sailing boats without engines often treat the idea of boat engine maintenance with a fair amount of trepidation, whether inboard or outboard varieties. This trepidation has a tendency to go up a notch when the subject of maintaining an...
by Simon Jollands | Boat Maintenance, Preparation, Yacht ownership
Some boat engine breakdowns are unavoidable but those caused by lack of maintenance or regular checks can be avoided. Failure to maintain an engine’s cooling system is a well known example of this, so it is well worth spending time checking over the cooling...
by Simon Jollands | Boat Maintenance, Preparation, Yacht ownership
Most marine exhausts are water cooled, with water from the engine’s raw water cooling system used to cool the exhaust gas. The water and exhaust gas mix together in the injection bend, where it turns into steam before cooling and condensing back into water which...