Stern thruster

C

captd

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 23, 2008
Messages
447
Fluid Motion Model
C-24 C
Hull Identification Number
FMLT2528I809
Non-Fluid Motion Model
27 ft. 1979 Sports Craft
Vessel Name
Lucky Finagin
Calling all experienced thruster repairmen including Andrew. I launched the Lucky Fin onto Flathead Lake. Made a test run for the Wedding. Coming in and using the thrusters, I sheared a pin on the stern. Now I got to haul the boat and fix it quicky. ( I NEED IT) Any suggestions for tools I will need or tips on how to or better yet , come on over and do it for me. 😉 I think the extra pin is in the bag if I remember correctly. Can a guy with fat hands even get to it? Any and all help will be appreciated.
captd
 
Darryl,

I think that an extra set of pins came with the boat library. Don't know about fixing it though,

Frank
 
captd":3qmyn5df said:
Calling all experienced thruster repairmen including Andrew. I launched the Lucky Fin onto Flathead Lake. Made a test run for the Wedding. Coming in and using the thrusters, I sheared a pin on the stern. Now I got to haul the boat and fix it quicky. ( I NEED IT) Any suggestions for tools I will need or tips on how to or better yet , come on over and do it for me. 😉 I think the extra pin is in the bag if I remember correctly. Can a guy with fat hands even get to it? Any and all help will be appreciated.
captd
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear... bummer. 🙁

When you have time (or any other person for that matter) can you explain "sheared a pin". I'm guessing this is self explantory but I want to understand this issue more clearly in the event I run into it as well. There must be a pin that engages the drive shaft with the impeller, right ?

It would seem to me that a better design would be for the pin to be strong enough to not shear under any form of angular force -- and that it would therefore be better for the fuse to blow instead.
 
bazIt would seem to me that a better design would be for the pin to be strong enough to not shear under any form of angular force -- and that it would therefore be better for the fuse to blow instead.[/quote said:
Gonna be very tricky engineering to get a fuse to blow at the right point before the shaft breaks without the pin in it. :shock:

Charlie
Click to expand...
 
captain's cat":3aoit54f said:
bazIt would seem to me that a better design would be for the pin to be strong enough to not shear under any form of angular force -- and that it would therefore be better for the fuse to blow instead.[/quote:3aoit54f said:
Gonna be very tricky engineering to get a fuse to blow at the right point before the shaft breaks without the pin in it. :shock:

Charlie
Click to expand...

If pin shears does that mean the shaft spins leaving the impleller stationary ?
Click to expand...
 
Are you sure it is the pin between the thruster inside and the drive outside? The thruster prop is also designed to 'let go' with too much strain on it. If memory serves me right, it doesn't use a pin but some small plastic tabs that fit into some groves on the shaft. You can just unscrew the prop; stick a screw driver between the blades and use a wrench to take the nut off. I had the prop go after a piece of wood got stuck in the thruster. I did a temporary fix with a small screw through the side of the prop. Now it is my backup. I ordered a replacement prop from Andrew.

If it is the pin between the thruster engine and the thruster you are in for a tough ride. Luckily I felt your pain first. Check out viewtopic.php?f=5&t=125

I posted some pretty detailed instructions on how I did it.

It's not so bad to get the thruster engine off but getting it back on is hell!

Doug K.
Nauti Dream
 
capt. d ,, doug gave you some great advice, after leaVING [OUR CHRISTINA BEE] IN THE northwest for several weeks and then bringing her home to SACREMENTO I launched and found the stern thruster [locked up] after getting the boat out of the water i removed the prop , doubled nutted the shaft and slowly broke loose the windings of the motor[ why the motor was locked is still a mystery to me.... the point..... do everything possible to solve this problem before pullong the thruster motor... it;s got to be a nitemare getting it back in good luck,,, notaclue got lucky with a rear thruster,, steve
 
had one of these pins blow out on me already ,its not much fun driving the boat in the marina with out any side power on the ass end .I think what happened was it sucked up some chum in the water and the shear pin worked just like its was suposta . now let me guide you on a trip to the deepest darkest bowels of you ship , start by takeing the bait well out and removeing the port side swinging door then remove the u turn exaust pipe from the motor there are also some deck drain pipes that need to go away now you should be able to see the motor with a flashlight and start your repair you will be laying flat on your belly with one arm going thru the storage compartment hole and the outher down thru the battery compartment there are two allen head bolts that hold the motor in place to the thruster unit . i think the allen wrench needs to be metric but it still wont work until you cut off about 1/2 of the short side of the wrench to make it stubby because when the bolts come out they back into the houseing or you can just order the special tool made to do the job from the thruster folks mine got delivered two days after we finished the job it looks perty neat .did you hear me say "we "in the last sentance , your first mate will need to hold on to the rope comming out of the bait well that is tied to the motor as you finish removeing the two bolts with your fingers tell her to hold on tight because its a heavy bugger. the motor also has some power and control cables hooked up to it dont remeber what we did with them they may have had slack ??? any way replace the pin and read this post backwards when you get to the top you will be done and ready to go on a boat ride ...EASY
 
Holy moley,
Are you guys saying I need to pull the whole thing out to replace a shear pin? The motor is not siezed. I still have the boat in the water so I have not looked into the thing. Just assume it is a shear pin. Weds I will take every tool I might need , load the boat , pull it out of the water and hope it can be fixed easily right at the ramp. Hopefully Andrew will weigh in before then. Has anyone out there replaced a shear pin or am I the only one that has had that problem? :shock:

captd
 
You will have to remove the motor to replace the pin...if that is it. I would check the prop first. You will get no thrust if the inside of the prop is stripped but the motor will run just fine.
 
I just remembered, I changed the thruster prop when it was in the water. Maybe you should pull it and check it before you take it out.
 
capt d,, dokeo1 is right on the money,, back in the sixties with our outboards we called 'spinning the prop' whereas the vulcanized rubber that connected the spline to the prop itself failed, dont think this applies to these tinyeeee thruster props, but it makes sense that you may have a prop failure and not a shear pin.. but then again you are listening to a guy who's got no clue,, good luck,, skipper steve [[CHRISTINA BEE]
 
Jeff just informed me: the prop sometimes spins off. Sounds like it is easier to fix then the shear pin. You can lose the prop but that is better then pulling out the motor. I am not going to pull the motor. I will haul it back to the factory just before the Bremerton gathering. I will add one to my spare parts list.
Going to pull the boat this morning and see what has happened.

captd 🙁
 
You're obviously back from the boat, posting here and on C-Brats....What's the verdict on the thruster? Inquiring minds want to know...

Charlie
 
Charlie,
Yup, I am back. I didn't pull the boat. Reason: If it spun off, I have no replacement. If it is a shear pin , the factory is going to fix it. It is a job for a young, flexable, skinny guy, which I am not. So I figured why pull the boat. We are planing on being at the Bremerton gathering. We will go to the factory 1st. In the mean time Andrew is sending me a spare prop. One way or another we will need one.

captd
 
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