The first is a small project but one that I'm sure will significantly add to my sailing enjoyment:
A Plastic Classic inspired Pot Warp deflector! For this I used some frp scraps from another project. No more diving! I'm sure I'll loose at least .008 knts from the drag but I don't care.
Next is a new cutlass bearing, which turned into a new shaft, coupling and prop.
Old setup:
Having everything apart let me replace the stuffing box hose which looked ragged.
When I had the shaft and prop out, I began looking at the prop, which appeared quite pink from zinc loss. The prop was large, less than a half inch clearance from the tip of the blade to the hull. Also, the prop to shaft mating surfaces were odd in that the prop hub taper was stepped inside, only a third of the hub touched the shaft. The guys at NE prop suggested that the prop looks like it was originally a larger prop cut down and re-tapered to fit a smaller shaft. So, I sprung for a new Campbell Sailer prop. I hope it lives up to the reviews. I laughed when it arrived, so much smaller than the old prop. New issue: the new prop fit poorly on the old shaft. After measuring the old shaft I discovered that the taper was non-standard, no way the new hub would fit properly. Great. I ordered a Aquamet 22 shaft from NE prop. They were great to work with and had my shaft built and shipped to me in 48 hours.
Putting things back together I was delighted in the ease of aligning the new coupling to the transmission. The prior system was a Vetus flexible coupling that was very difficult to align:
![Image](http://lh4.ggpht.com/_DjiBX1vNLIU/S8B-JocJI8I/AAAAAAAAEvs/sHgJsvq69s8/s800/IMG_5438.jpg)
One thing that does bother me is the ID of the shaft log. I measured the shaft log to be 1 1/16 ID, for a 7/8 shaft that's not much room!
I console myself with the thought that It had been like that for years and the shaft had no scoring, and after consulting the Alberg mailing list this does not appear to be a problem. Still, I'll be always listening for that metal-on-metal sound as the prop is turning.
With the boat in the water by Wednesday, I'm hoping for some returns on my efforts.
-jeff