Shaft Log Replacement

During last year's commissioning activities I discovered an item which I had ignored for many ( 13 ) years: the flexible rubber hose which joins the shaft log in the hull and the shaft packing assembly. A nasty surface crack could be felt in the hose but it was still water tight.

To get to this beauty you have to remove the shaft coupling and the shaft packing assembly which were attached with double stainless hose clamps. The whole process is a lot easier if the shaft is out of the boat and the boat isn't in the water.... This was my case since I was playing with the folding propeller and checking the shaft for straightness after a tangle with a mooring line.

The hose looks like a piece of exhaust hose but it is not. It is built with extra layers of reinforcing plies like a tire to put up with the constant flexing as the shaft rotates ( normal on my boat with a supple 3/4 inch diameter shaft ). I spoke to the builder, TPI, and they recommended Essex Machine Works, 203-767-8285, as a source for this type of hose. After measuring the hose's inside diameter & length and most importantly providing my credit card number, Essex was able to UPS the hose to me. Feelings of guilt about not attending to this hose earlier caused me to buy a spare hose. The existing rusty hose clamps that secure the hose were also replaced at this time.