bobgritz
Petty Officer 2nd Class
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2009
- Messages
- 185
As a commercial clammer, we spend a lot of time out at low tide and it is not uncommon to ground-out in the sand flats. As the tides withdraws, we need to stay in channels but inevitably we find the edges of the channel ... there's no way around this ... it's a fact of the trade.
I'm in the process of repairing some electrical issues on my workhorse and everyday motor (15hp Johnson) so I tossed on my backup engine (an old 1968 Johnson Sportwin 9.5hp). The very first time I grounded out, the rubber bushing 'spun' within the prop cavity and I limped around the flats until I got back to the landing. At first I thought I broke the shear pin but it was fine and I realized that the rubber hub was no longer tightly fixed within the housing.
Obviously I could go and buy a new prop or have a new bushing pressed into the prop but I have grounded my primary motor (the Johnson 15) at least 300 times and it shows no signs of 'spinning out' (I suspect it is simply a superior design). I have access to a machine shop and could press a new rubber bushing into the prop but I cannot find a supplier (other than one in Australia ... seems a bit far). Does anyone know of a supplier (of reasonably priced bushings)? A new prop costs about 100 bucks so a bushing replacement needs to be considerably less. I am a cheap s o b and wondered about a diy repair to my 'spun' prop ... here's my thinking:
Obviously the rubber has dislodged, or perhaps dried out and shrunk over the years, and no longer is a tight fit. I assume it functions based on a friction fit (i.e. oversized rubber bushing within an undersized metal housing). Mastics or glues don't seem to make a lot of sense (once their bond breaks the residue is ground up within the housing like a pepper mill). But, what about pulling a thin rubber membrane over the bushing then pressing it into the metal housing. In essence, you'd be restoring the size of the original bushing and if it doesn't get ground up, perhaps it will spin (as originally designed) until slower rpms allow the two components to become in sync again.
My first thought for a possible replacement part can be found in drugstores (ahem) but then I wondered if I could simply cut a finger section off of a medical glove (or other type of thin, unlubricated, rubber utility glove found in any hardware store). Has anyone ever tried anything like this or had any luck repairing an old bushing? I'm really looking for thoughts about a diy repair rather than the 'buy a new prop repair'. It may come to that ... but not yet.
I'm in the process of repairing some electrical issues on my workhorse and everyday motor (15hp Johnson) so I tossed on my backup engine (an old 1968 Johnson Sportwin 9.5hp). The very first time I grounded out, the rubber bushing 'spun' within the prop cavity and I limped around the flats until I got back to the landing. At first I thought I broke the shear pin but it was fine and I realized that the rubber hub was no longer tightly fixed within the housing.
Obviously I could go and buy a new prop or have a new bushing pressed into the prop but I have grounded my primary motor (the Johnson 15) at least 300 times and it shows no signs of 'spinning out' (I suspect it is simply a superior design). I have access to a machine shop and could press a new rubber bushing into the prop but I cannot find a supplier (other than one in Australia ... seems a bit far). Does anyone know of a supplier (of reasonably priced bushings)? A new prop costs about 100 bucks so a bushing replacement needs to be considerably less. I am a cheap s o b and wondered about a diy repair to my 'spun' prop ... here's my thinking:
Obviously the rubber has dislodged, or perhaps dried out and shrunk over the years, and no longer is a tight fit. I assume it functions based on a friction fit (i.e. oversized rubber bushing within an undersized metal housing). Mastics or glues don't seem to make a lot of sense (once their bond breaks the residue is ground up within the housing like a pepper mill). But, what about pulling a thin rubber membrane over the bushing then pressing it into the metal housing. In essence, you'd be restoring the size of the original bushing and if it doesn't get ground up, perhaps it will spin (as originally designed) until slower rpms allow the two components to become in sync again.
My first thought for a possible replacement part can be found in drugstores (ahem) but then I wondered if I could simply cut a finger section off of a medical glove (or other type of thin, unlubricated, rubber utility glove found in any hardware store). Has anyone ever tried anything like this or had any luck repairing an old bushing? I'm really looking for thoughts about a diy repair rather than the 'buy a new prop repair'. It may come to that ... but not yet.
