I hate going off topic....but I can’t help myself ...what would cause a crack that didn’t fully brake until time past.... I am in the machining and heat treating business...and this to me would be wrong heat treat...to hard, bad alloy, alignment, vibration and stress over time... what would be the reason in this situation??Adversities suck...but boating relationships make it all work.
I got stories Coach....
..picked up this vessel in Ft. Myers this passed year and had all intentions of arriving in the C&D Canal a few days later. Went around the Keys and through Marathon, heading back north. Departed Canaveral in route to Hilton Head when I started to fell a vibration. Backed her down rapidly and felt for anything at idle. Less than a minute later, bang....both engines still running, only one side moving, dang it!
20 miles offshore, replot course to nearest inlet. Idled on one motor for sometime before reaching cell service. Called Bruce at Daytona Boat Works and advised my eta was 1800. He hooked me up with a side tie which I appreciated due to being on one engine but damn if it wasn't right in front on the Chart House Restaurant...I wanted to yell out the window to the patio patrons "brace for impact!!" but refrained, yes dear.
0800 the next morning, my bow was pointing into his travel-lift. 15 minutes later the boat is out of the water, and up pulls Ken (Flounder Pounder) in his dually with 2 new shafts for that boat model. Boat had spare props so new prop and new shaft go on, and tied the extra shaft to the swimplatform caulks..... departed early that afternoon.
After coming out of the ocean and arriving in time for a nice supper, then have the boat hauled and splashed back in less than six hours is friends indeed!
notice 3/4 of the surface of this shaft end having a rusted finish. And on the right hand side you see the 1/4 moon shape with no rust yet. That means I ran this boat from the west side of FL, around the Keys and half way up the east coast, with only 1/4 of the shaft carrying the load since the crack shows signs of not being new. Lesson learned is always have your surveyor or you, examine the shaft and look for hair line cracks. You see this one was right at the taper, aft of the strut.
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Capt. Rusty