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Home Port: Punta Gorda, Florida
Vessel Info: Looking to purchase a 3100 Open
Live in SW Florida
Posts: 30
Threads: 25
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Joined: Oct 2017
Home Port: Punta Gorda, Florida
Vessel Info: Looking to purchase a 3100 Open
Live in SW Florida
recently lost the port engine on my 2000 31 Open. Proceeded on the starboard. Mechanic on call. Overheated, so I imagine it wasn’t getting raw water.
Is there any trick for running on one? Getting out of the slip was a b.... at slow speed, the bow would just not come around. Boy, did I miss the thrusters on my prior boat!
Thanks,
Bill
Punta Gorda, Florida
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Joined: Mar 2018
Home Port: Vancouver, British Columbia
Vessel Info: 1980 31 Open
twin 454 Crusader's with Velvet Drives
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Home Port: Vancouver, British Columbia
Vessel Info: 1980 31 Open
twin 454 Crusader's with Velvet Drives
I had some port engine trouble this past summer and had to return home on starboard only a couple of times. It's definitely more difficult to maneuver but I got reasonably good at it.
One thing to note though...you need to lock of the shaft from spinning as, without power, there is no coolant flowing through the tranny / gear which my mechanic told me could burn it out. I used a vice grip directly on the shaft and let it rotate until it came to rest up against the hull. Worked well and then I could cruise a bit faster on my strb engine (approx. 7 knts)
is this trans locking thing a for sure requirement? That sure would seem to make it b*tch if you lost an engine, then just to get home have to jerry rig a transmission stop.
Each manufacturer has different freewheeling requirements so it really depends on how long and what gear is installed in your boat. One way around shaft lock is to fill the transmission with oil so that it has lubrication without pump running. Otherwise there are lots of ways to stop a shaft from freewheeling including pipe wrench, strap wrench, etc. I prefer a dock line wrapped around the shaft several times counter to rotation and looped over itself and secured to trans or motor mount.