POD uppers resealed, Ceramic coated shafts installed

[JamesT]

Per my previous post, Cummins came today to lower both my pods and reseal all seals on my upper pods as well as the king pin plates. All looked great to him. He resealed them, re-hung them and also installed my newly ceramic-coated prop shafts with new seals. All is back together and the boat is ready to launch. Some photos of the day.

Inner shaft-coated

Outer shaft coated. (The top is just electrical tape to protect the threads in shipping)

Upper POD with King Pin Plate removed:

King Pin Plate (the side that is up faces downward when installed)

This is one of the pods in a custom made lift. He locks it into place and wheels it away from boat.

And here's everything all put back together. Note the green film on outside of pod. That's gear lube leaking out from the top, which is why I had them resealed.

 

[Shaps]

No skegs?

 

[JamesT]

No skegs?

I roll without skegs ever since one fell off in open ocean and got fouled in my props. Lost a blade off one, the other was chewed up and I got a nice ding in the hull. They do nothing for performance and are there to “protect” the props haha, no thanks!

 

[Shaps]

We run in shallow water here on south shore of long island. Id rather lose a skeg then the pod. To each their own.
I do make sure the pins are red loctited in.

 

[JamesT]

Here’s photo. I was on my way to a 3 day weekend for Labor Day. Major bummer. I now carry a pair spare props.

 

[Blueone]

We run in shallow water here on south shore of long island. Id rather lose a skeg then the pod. To each their own.
I do make sure the pins are red loctited in.

So the skegs are bolted on?

 

[Dunigan]

Re ceramic...what did the Cummins tech think of the ceramic solution? Re the skegs: There are updated skegs that don't fall off. (So Mercury says.) Don't know if you had the old style. My 2013 Sabre still has the old ones. BTW, your pic of your prop damage looks like blade failure to me. This failure is more common than you would expect. The previous owner of my boat had the exact same issue and I have heard of others experiencing this as well.

 

[Blueone]

BTW, your pic of your prop damage looks like blade failure to me..

Same...shiny edge or bright metal was what was left when it let go

 

[Shaps]

So the skegs are bolted on?

No they are pinned in place with these

 

[Blueone]

That seems just a little problematic

 

[blaster]

Here’s photo. I was on my way to a 3 day weekend for Labor Day. Major bummer. I now carry a pair spare props. View attachment 101136

How do you get under there to change props on the water?

 

[BEH]

Same...shiny edge or bright metal was what was left when it let go

I don’t think so.
Shiny smooth surface is pre existing defect and rough dull surface is sudden failure.

 

[Shaps]

That seems just a little problematic

Why?

 

[Blueone]

Why?

They are roll pins... so the pin collapses in the hole. Each hole in the skeg and each hole in the main body have a tolerance on size and location. So not all holes are holding equally... to me it would be something that could be knocked off easily.
Would be interested what the upgrade was...someone mentioned

 

[Blueone]

I don’t think so.
Shiny smooth surface is pre existing defect and rough dull surface is sudden failure.

Corrosion dulls or oxidizes the surface of the crack...what’s left is raw metal...in the case of stainless, bronze, steel it’s bright

 

[Richey rich]

I don’t understand if it’s a known issue that the pins vibrate loose causing the skegs to fall off and cause substantial damage. Why wouldn’t they use some sort of other fastener that can’t it vibrate loose. I understand that it needs to be able to break away in case of sticking something but they could still accomplish that using bolts and nuts that sheer away?

 

[Shaps]

They are roll pins... so the pin collapses in the hole. Each hole in the skeg and each hole in the main body have a tolerance on size and location. So not all holes are holding equally... to me it would be something that could be knocked off easily.
Would be interested what the upgrade was...someone mentioned

the roll pins along with the loctite and different attaching methods are the upgrade

 

[Blueone]

I have a boat next to me in storage that has Volvo pods where the props point forward... I took a good look at that setup and thought no matter what you hit it was going to be expensive.
Mercury it seems wants to sacrifice the skeg and props instead of losing the pod if the hit is low... either way there is a lot of money hanging down there

 

[Shaps]

They are roll pins... so the pin collapses in the hole. Each hole in the skeg and each hole in the main body have a tolerance on size and location. So not all holes are holding equally... to me it would be something that could be knocked off easily.
Would be interested what the upgrade was...someone mentioned

you can see the difference between old and new in the attached service bulletin.

 

[JamesT]

Re ceramic...what did the Cummins tech think of the ceramic solution? Re the skegs: There are updated skegs that don't fall off. (So Mercury says.) Don't know if you had the old style. My 2013 Sabre still has the old ones. BTW, your pic of your prop damage looks like blade failure to me. This failure is more common than you would expect. The previous owner of my boat had the exact same issue and I have heard of others experiencing this as well.

The Cummins mechanic was very impressed and excited at the prospect of this becoming a solution he could now recommend to other clients in the same position.

I know about those updated skegs but I'm still dubious and have PTSD from that Labor Day weekend lost. When the props turn they come within about .75 inch of the skegs and those things are some serious hunks of metal. Maybe it was prop failure, but when I saw that skeg missing and the other side hanging on by a thread.....well let's say I didn't think it was coincidence. I grabbed the port skeg and wripped it off and never went back to them.

Heck, look at Volvo IPS pods, those props are forward facing and totally exposed and that's becoming the pod of the future. Makes you wonder why they even have a skeg, with it being aft of the props. And ZF pods for Yanmars have no skeg at all.